The Red Meat Updates Working Group is pleased to announce the release of the Red Meat Updates 2016 program!  Click here to view the full program.

Presentations include:

• MLA towards 2020: enhancing the profitability and sustainability of the red meat industry – Richard Norton, Managing Director, MLA
• Angus Australia Emerging Leader – Richard Sutton, Taroona Pastoral, King Island TAS
• Capturing branded opportunities in lamb – Tom Bull, LAMBPRO Partnership, Holbrook NSW
• What do the top 20% of beef producers do differently? – Basil Doonan, Macquarie Franklin, Devonport TAS
• The cost of irrigating pasture and fodder crops – Tom Graesser, Ben Lomond Ag, Evandale TAS
• Managing our beef business – Alison Napier, Harefield, St Marys TAS
• Optimising female management and productivity in beef breeding enterprises – Dr Shane Thomson, Holbrook Vet Centre, Holbrook NSW
• Pasture renovation — assessment, planning and commitment – Rob Winter, Heritage Seeds, Longford TAS

… and lots more.

Georgie Burbury

Frank Archer

John Francis

Dale Grey

Richard Norton

Tony Butler

Matthew Lester

Robbie Tole

James Walch

Chris Headlam

This year the theme of Red Meat Updates is preparing for, managing through and recovering from adverse conditions. The conference theme and program have been developed by the producer-led working group and it includes a great line up of local and interstate speakers, including many inspiring red meat producers.  See below for a sneak peak of the program.

Richard Norton

Dale Grey

John Francis

Tony Butler

Robbie Tole

Richard Norton, Managing Director, MLA

Red Meat Updates 2016 is being opened by Meat & Livestock Australia’s Managing Director, Richard Norton.  Richard will talk about what MLA is doing to support producers to build their skills in areas that drive business profitability, and to better manage risks and uncertainty, such as climate variability. He will also give a market overview, looking at key global markets and opportunities for the Tasmanian red meat industry.

Dale Grey, Seasonal Risk Agronomist, Agriculture Victoria

Have you checked out THE VERY FAST BREAK on YouTube?  The presenter of The Very Fast Break, Dale Grey, is talking at Red Meat Updates about climate drivers that impact rainfall in Tasmania and discuss their current status and how that is likely to impact rainfall and temperature for the next six months. For all of you who check five weather websites on a half hourly basis, this session will be of interest to you.

George Shea, Red Meat Producer, Lyndall

A study has recently been conducted in Tasmania to obtain data on the extent of losses and to define risk factors for sudden death of lambs on lucerne. A survey was conducted on 10 midlands farms in April 2016 and the results are being presented at Red Meat Updates.  Producer, George Shea from Hamilton, will discuss the survey findings and take home messages from this work.

John Francis, Holmes Sackett

What do the top 20% of sheep producers do differently?  John will discuss how the most profitable livestock producers generate double the level of profitability of the average over the long term.

The future of pasture biomass measurement

How will the amount of feed in a paddock be measured in the future? By your smartphone? By satellite? How will you be able to use this information to optimise your grazing management and boost meat production?  Researcher, Tony Butler, producer, Rob Tole,  and consultant, John Francis,  who are involved in an MLA funded project at Cressy trialing new realtime biomass estimation products will discuss this.

Virtual Farm Tour

How have three Tasmanian red meat producers managed seasonal conditions on their farms in the last year?  What strategies, tactics and tools do they have in place to recognise and respond to these challenges?  We hear from Chris Headlam from Woodbury, James Walch from Epping Forest and Matthew Lester from Lileah as we take a tour of their farms.

James Walch

Matthew Lester

Chris Headlam

Click here to register online for Red Meat Updates 2016.

Registrations for Red Meat Updates 2016 have now opened!

This year you can register online through EventBrite.  Click here to register online.

The theme for Red Meat Updates this year is preparing for, managing through and recovering from adverse conditions.  Given the drought conditions over the last 12-18 months, followed by recent flooding events, this theme is very relevant to the Tasmanian red meat industry.

The full program is currently being finalised and it is promising to be a informative and inspirational day for all of those who attend.  Click on the information flier below to find out more about some of the presenters and what they will be talking about.

Red Meat Updates 2016 Flier

We will keep updating the website with program developments, so stay tuned.

We are pleased to announce that sponsor positions for the 2016 Red Meat Updates event have now been filled.  Thank you to all of the businesses, organisations and individuals who have pledged support for this important industry event.

Due to the success of our sponsorship drive this year, we will be closing sponsorship applications on Wednesday morning, so we can focus on finalising the program and event logistics.  Applications will be accepted until 8am on Wednesday 1 June 2016.

A huge thank you to all of our sponsors this year – we have been overwhelmed by your support!

A few sponsorship positions are still available – click here to find out more.

This year we are very pleased to have Elders and Westpac on board and sponsoring our networking drinks at the end of the day.  Networking drinks is always a popular part of the program, enabling conference attendees, presenters and industry people to catch up, chat and ask questions about things they have heard about during the day.

We are pleased to announce that Landfall Angus will be sponsoring the beef updates section of the 2016 Red Meat Updates program.

Beef updates will this year look at what sets the top 20% of beef producers apart and management tips for improving production through breeding and fertility.  The full program will soon be released, so stay tuned.

Frank Archer

Heritage Seeds is the 2016 sponsor of the dryland pasture updates session.  The program is currently being finalised and will include information about how to go about renovating your pastures after the recent drought conditions, management tips for phalaris and a producer presentation about the role of dryland pasture in their integrated grazing system.  Full details about the program will soon be released, so stay tuned.

We are very pleased to announce JBS as our lunch sponsor for the 2016 Red Meat Updates.  Attendees at the conference will enjoy a delicious range of red meat dishes for lunch, featuring Tasmanian grown red meat supplied by JBS.

Lunch featuring Tasmanian red meat

Tasmanian red meat products

We are very pleased to announce the sponsors of our new Red Meat Champions session: Rabobank, Greenham Tasmania and Angus Australia.  It is fantastic to have support from organisations that are all passionate about championing excellence in red meat production.  Thank you!

The Red Meat Champions session will be comprised of three presentations, each given by a leading red meat producer.  The presentation topics are:

• Industry Innovator – sponsored by Rabobank
• Gate to Plate – sponsored by Greenham Tasmania
• Emerging Industry Leader – sponsored by Angus Australia

More information about the producer speakers will be released in the coming weeks.