THIS year's annual Livestock Saleyards Association of Victoria (LSAV) conference will be held in Melbourne under the theme of "Livestock Marketing: Future Trends".
The two-day conference at the Amora Hotel, Richmond, will focus on several issues that will affect future marketing, with electronic identification devices (eIDs) again a big ticket item.
It begins on Thursday, August 14, with the saleyard managers forum, AGM, and sponsors presentations in the afternoon, followed by the conference dinner.
On Friday, August 15, there will be several guest speakers from across the industry: Professor James Rowe, Sheep CRC; PrimeSafe CEO Brendan Tatham; Dr David Rutley, Thomas Foods International (TFI); and Brett Thompson, Woolworths.
A workshop session on Marketing and The Media with guest speaker Mick Maguire from The Prime Agency, will be held after lunch.
Dr Rutley, lamb supply chain co-ordinator for TFI, is one of the keynote speakers at LSAV annual conference.
Dr Rutley comes from a strong research background at the University of Adelaide where he has worked as a researcher, consultant and lecturer since the mid-1990s.
His interest is in all aspects of the red meat supply chain, but he has particular interest on the value of consistency and using individual animal information to pass consumer feedback through the value chain to producers, breeders and geneticists.
Dr Rutley said that TFI processes about 20 per cent of Australia's lamb, of which about 70pc is exported, and this accounts for about 8-10pc of global exports, servicing between 70-80 countries.
He will speak on potential missed opportunities in the lamb industry, even though the industry appears in really good shape.
"There is a potential for the EU to mandate electronic tagging of sheep and lambs," he said, and his employer, TFI, does not want eID mandated.
"I would prefer the industry to embrace eID collectively, slowly and successfully because it is what producers, processors and the industry wants.
"It would be better to implement eIDs properly over time, rather than make mistakes, or provide misinformation."
Dr Rutley will speak on these issues, and where saleyards can, and will fit in throughout the process.
Mr Tatham will be speaking about the role of PrimeSafe as an industry regulator.
He did not want to give too much away, but said he would be talking on what PrimeSafe is doing now and into the future, and consumer requirements.
Peter Kostos
Prime stock analyst analyst for Stock & Land.
Prime stock analyst analyst for Stock & Land.
