A Tasmanian couple who are one of the country's highest performing lamb producers has been judged Zoetis Prime Lamb Producer of the Year.
Australian Community Media's 2022 Lambition Awards honour the best in the sheep and wool industry, celebrated annually at Australia's Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo.
James and Lucie Peddie, Cluan, Tas, took out top honours tonight for the Zoetis Prime Lamb Producer of the Year, praised by judges for their high productivity and innovation.
CATEGORY WINNERS:
- Troy Animal Health's Woolgrower of the Year: Alistair Lade, Highlands, Vic
- Marcus Oldham's Flock Leader: Georgia White, Coolah, NSW
- Elanco Sustainable Producer of the Year: Neil Harris, Costerfield, Vic
- Boehringer Ingelheim Industry Innovator: Jock Lawrence, MOBBLE
- Zoetis Prime Lamb Producer of the Year: James & Lucie Peddie, Cluan, Tas
Stock & Land editor Joely Mitchell applauded the Peddie family's impressive production achievements, which she said was an inspiration for the entire industry.
The Peddies run 10,000 breeding ewes across 1500 hectares, where their cost of production averages $3.96 a kilogram of dressed lamb for the past four years, compared to the industry average of $5.54/kg - according to Aggregate Consulting.
"James and Lucie push production boundaries, turning off lamb production dressed weight of 31.6kg a hectare, compared to the average of 20.4kg," Ms Mitchell said.
Victorian commercial woolgrower Alistair Lade was crowned Troy Animal Health's Woolgrower of the Year, praised by judges for his passion and ambition to produce a highly-productive ultrafine wool clip that was globally sought after by processors.
Ms Mitchell said judges were impressed by Mr Lade's long-term focus on production, customer awareness, sustainability and innovation.
"Alistair's story is nothing short of inspirational - producing a globally-revered ultrafine Merino flock 20 years after being devastated by Ovine Johnes disease," she said.
The future of the industry looks bright with Georgia White, with the Coolah, NSW, producer awarded Marcus Oldham Flock Leader.
The 25-year-old graduate of Marcus Oldham Agricultural College, Waurn Ponds, is livestock manager at the family's 1822-hectare property Talbragar.
Ms Mitchell applauded Ms White's enthusiasm for progress that was inspiring the industry's next generation through the NSW Farmers' sheepmeat committee and Sheep Connect.
Elanco Sustainable Producer of the Year was awarded to Costerfield woolgrower Neil Harris, who runs about 4500 Merino ewes north-east of Heathcote.
Mr Harris produces 18-micron wool and attributed his success to regenerative agriculture.
An important aspect of his operation is soil biology.
Each year he purchases about 500 tonnes of compost to spread.
"The soil is no different to our stomach really because you go out to a restaurant and let's say you only have steak, you're going to be pretty flat the next morning because you haven't had a balanced diet and your soil is the same."
"It's a mixture of 90 per cent biological and 10pc traditional inputs."
Boehringer Ingelheim Industry Innovator was awarded to Jock Lawrence, founder of livestock management app, Mobble.
Ms Mitchell said Mr Lawrence was working toward solving a crucial problem and established livestock management software, utilised by 1200 farmers.
"The cloud-based software simplifies record keeping, management and communication for farmers," she said.
"This innovative software was born out of significant consultation and feedback from farmers and was designed for farmers.
"Mobble is built to make farmers' lives easier and more successful."
Ms Mitchell said the quality of the entrants this year was outstanding and it was great being able to celebrate the best of the sheep and wool sectors.
"Most sheep and wool producers don't like drawing much attention to themselves, but it's great to be able to highlight the superstars of this fantastic industry," she said.