2022 SA Livestock Advisor Update
The SA Livestock Advisor Update is back in person after 2 years of online conferences! Join us at the Lakeview Function Room at the Adelaide Hills Convention Centre on 9 & 10 November 2022.
Wednesday 9th November
7pm | Networking Dinner
Featuring guest speaker Dr Penny Schulz, delivering the Jim McColl AIA Young Consultant Oration.
Thursday 10th November
8am-5pm | Livestock Advisor Update
SA Livestock Advisor Update Program
Click the image for full size program
Speaker Profiles and Topics
Mark Hutchinson
Professor Hutchinson is the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and a Professor within the Adelaide Medical School at the University of Adelaide. Mark is also President of Science and Technology Australia, the peak body in Australia that represents 90,000 scientists. The team he leads is world-leading, developing innovative technologies that allow for the early diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases, including pain. Mark also serves as a founding member of the Operating in Contaminated Environments Advisory Council for the DSTG CBRN STaRShot. As such, he is uniquely positioned to speak to the molecules to systems impact that animal welfare has and the importance to national security.
Cam Nicholson
Cam Nicholson is a partner in Nicon Rural Services, a consulting business near Geelong working with the grazing and cropping industries. Cam has been involved in many farmer programs for the GRDC, MLA, Landcare and the current Future Drought Fund initiative. He provides consultancy advice to farmers and lectures on animal and pasture systems at Marcus Oldham College. For the past decade Cam has been advising farmers on carbon farming. He will share his current thinking on the potential opportunities and pitfalls emerging in this space. He and his wife Fiona also run a 400 ha beef and sheep farm on the Bellarine Peninsula turning off cattle for the long fed feedlot market and fine wool.
Andrew Whale
Andrew is a veterinarian that has been working in his current role for 10 years. He is based on Hamilton and provides livestock consultancy services to sheep producers in Vic, NSW and SA. Andrew enjoys the relationship building that consultancy work offers and the ability to put the work into practice on his property at Hamilton. His work centres around animal health and optimising stocking rate with a keen focus on financial outcomes for his clients.
Often sheep producers are frustrated they cannot achieve their marking percentage goals, even though they’re implementing industry best practice in the lead up to, and during, lambing. An underlying reason for this may be they are joining ewes unfit to rear a lamb. A review of existing literature and industry information, and coordinated ewe selection case studies on three commercial farms, confirmed an opportunity to improve lamb and ewe survival outcomes by rigorous ewe assessment and selection before joining. This presentation describes, the methodology, results and risk factors identified in the fit-to-join project.
Andrew Thompson
Andrew Thompson leads the sheep research team at Murdoch University in Perth. Over the last decade Andrews work has improved our understanding of factors influencing the reproductive performance of ewe lambs. A new project has developed a DST that will assist sheep producers to identify whether mating ewe lambs is a priority for their enterprise, identify what improvements can be made to their current management practices to increase profitability from mating ewe lambs and identify how key management practices may vary depending on seasonal and market conditions. Andrew’s presentations will cover key factors influencing the performance of ewe lambs and demonstrate the Ewe Lamb DST.
Darren Koopman
Darren is a Lecturer in Agribusiness and Economics in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide. He is currently working on a number of projects with the Davies Research Centre on maternal productivity in beef cattle, and drought resilience in sheep and beef cattle enterprises.
Darren and his family, run a mixed grazing property in the Adelaide Hills focused on stud beef cattle and prime lamb production.
Darren’s presentation will provide an update on some of the key findings from the project Optimising Heifer Development.
Anthony Pearce
Anthony Pearce has been working in the industry of Ruminant Production for the past 25 years specialising in ruminant nutrition. He holds degrees in both Agricultural Science and Agribusiness and is a managing partner in Hills Farm Supplies. A business that focuses on all aspects of ruminant production. The business operates a specialised feed mill, seed blending plant and a rural supplies store as well as consulting around nutrition and pasture programs to clients across SA and interstate. Anthony also has interests in several sheep and cattle seed stock businesses in both SA and North QLD with his family. He has a real passion for growing better pastures and finding ways to close production gaps through novel approaches to pasture production. This has led him down the path of exploring new species and a shift away from traditional approaches. In this presentation he hopes to share with you the journey of trial and error and the discoveries along the way to success when it comes to growing feed for livestock.
Emily King
Emily started with AWI in 2012 and has worked in a number of teams but has always focussed on working with people and sharing information across the supply chain, whether that be discussing marking rates with growers, chatting with consultants about extension or promoting the benefits of Australian wool to a designer.
AWI invests in RD&E to improve the productivity and sustainability of the Australian wool industry and Emily will highlight several tools that have been delivered from R&D outcomes.
Elke Hocking
With over 20 years’ experience in the livestock industry, Elke has worked in the areas of sheep and beef research, meat science, facilitation, adoption and communication. She is currently a private livestock consultant, involved in the development and delivery of extension and adoption programs within the red meat value chain. Elke and her husband, Peter, run a prime lamb and beef cattle operation in the South-East of SA and have three children. Elke also has farming interests on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island with her parents’ beef cattle and wool enterprises.
At an industry level, Elke is the public officer for the SA Livestock Consultants group, SA Sheep and Beef Industry Blueprint working group member and sits on the Sheep Industry Fund board, SA Livestock Research Council (SALRC) and MLA’s Producer Adoption Reference Group.
Over the last few years, Elke has been involved in the development of tools and training to assist producers and their advisers turn processor beef and lamb carcase feedback into information that can be used to make on-farm decisions to improve carcase compliance. It’s important that advisers understand they have an important role in assisting clients identify causes of non-compliance for beef and lamb and in helping them find potential solutions to improve their compliance, production efficiency and profitability.
Tony Randall
Tony Randall is the Knowledge Broker with the South Australian Drought Hub and has worked across the agricultural and natural resources management sectors for over 25 years. Tony has worked extensively in the not for profit sector as a project officer, land management advisor and in leadership and management roles, and has held positions in government managing soils and sustainable agriculture programs that deliver meaningful on ground benefits to producers and the environment. Tony believes strongly in the engagement and active participation of communities in the design and delivery of projects to ensure outcomes are user focused and beneficial. Tony's presentation will detail the SA Drought Hub and key priorities and identify how livestock consultants and producers can best engage in the Hub and its activities.
Royce Pitchford
Royce is an Agribusiness Consultant for Pinion Advisory within the Pinion Centre for Family Agribusiness Team.
Royce enjoys working with clients to achieve practical outcomes that benefit long-term business performance. His skills include strategic planning, business management, financial analysis and livestock production.
Royce has experience working with clients on a one on-one basis, as well working on larger scale industry projects. Recently he has worked with the University of Adelaide for the Future Drought Fund looking at managing variability in herd numbers.
Royce’s presentation will explore a project aimed to create information on the impact on stocking rate and profitability over 5 years in both herd decreasing and increasing scenarios.
Kat Giles
Kat is a respected leader in agricultural policy, advocacy, and governance. She is a veterinarian, livestock nutritionist, executive manager and board director in amongst being a mother of three and a wife.
Kat has technical skills in biosecurity, food safety, product specification, community expectations and trade and market access. Her career includes being a member of the South Australia Executive Service, as Director, Regional Services, PIRSA and the CEO of Sheep Producers Australia. She is currently a board director of Rural Business Support and a consultant in agricultural policy. Kat has an interest in South Australia’s emergency animal disease response plan and the role that industry can play.
Penny Schulz
Dr Penny Schulz has recently been appointed to the new role of Livestock Production Specialist with the SA Drought Resilience, Adoption and Innovation Hub, with a focus on farmer adoption and an area of great passion for Penny. Outside of this role Penny and her husband Jason run a sheep and cattle operation at Field in South Australia’s Limestone Coast region, producing first cross ewe lambs and recently dispersed their stud beef enterprise.
After time as an agronomist and senior dairy extension officer, Penny started her own agricultural consulting business, which has just ticked over 10 years, with her expertise in the fields of agtech adoption, livestock genetics and farm business management. She has delivered numerous projects and workshops for the livestock industry and lectured in agricultural consulting at UNE. Penny also holds a number of board and advisory group roles including Chair of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board, Chair of the SA Cattle Industry Fund Board, a member of the Premier’s Climate Change Council and a member of the Minister for Primary Industries & Regions Agtech Advisory Group.
Penny is passionate about having a positive influence on the next generation of agricultural professionals. This has included being actively engaged with PIRSA’s Stepping into Leadership Program for rural and regional women where she is a regular mentor, and also mentors students studying tertiary agricultural courses as they near graduation.