Why Merino? Program

Day 1
11.30am	Registrations, viewing of trade sites and sheep displays.
12.00pm - 12.15pm	Introduction by MC
12.15pm - 1.15pm	Chris Wilcox, Executive Director, National Council of Wool Selling Brokers What has driven the recent wool price rally and what will affect it in the short to medium term? Have wool prices peaked? What lies ahead in the world of wool marketing?
1.15pm - 2.00pm	Peter Trefort, Director Hillside Meats and WA Q-Lamb Supply Chain. MLA Director A meat processor's perspective: Why does the processing industry need Merinos? Where is there room for improvement?
2.00pm - 2.30pm	Afternoon tea. An opportunity to browse trade sites and sheep displays/judging.
2.30pm - 3.15pm	Dick Richardson, Internationally-renowned grazing management educator and farm manager at Boorowa, NSW Maintain livestock performance, increase profitability AND improve your land's ecology. Dick will define the effects of animals on the environment and how livestock can be used to improve your grazing land. What are the five principles of grazing? Why are they so important?
3.15pm - 4.00pm	Geoff Lindon, Head of Sheep Technologies, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) Overview of the latest industry research and development extension into the management of breech flystrike
4.00pm - 4.15pm	Panel discussion with day 1 speakers.

Day 2: What the top 20% do differently A day of farmers learning from each other. Brought to you by Holmes Sackett and PrincipleFocus. Today, we will hear from Merino producers who feature in the top 20% of benchmarked Merino enterprises in 2010 results.
8.30am - 8.35am	Introduction to day two by MC.
8.35am - 8.55am	Holmes Sackett Director, Sandy McEachern The big reveal: what did you divulge from benchmarking 73 wool production systems in 2010, for the latest AgInsights publication? What do the top 20% do differently?
8.55am - 9.30am	Case Study #1
9.35am - 10.15am	Case study #2: 2008 NSW Farmer of the Year, Nigel Kerin, Kerin Poll Merino Stud, Yeoval, NSW
10.15am - 10.45am	Morning tea. An opportunity to browse trade sites and sheep displays/judging.
10.45am - 11.00am	PrincipleFocus Managing Director, Sean Martyn Benchmarking explained: Just how are benchmarking results gathered? How can they help farming businesses?
11.05am - 11.45am	Dr Jason Trompf, Lifetime Ewe Management (LTEM) Program co-author and grazier from Greta, VIC Our national sheep flock: the big picture. Turning reproductive potential into reality. Between 2006 and 2010, more than 220 producers - who manage nearly a million ewes - completed the Lifetime Ewe Management Program (LTEM). LTEM participants increased their whole-farm stocking rates by 14% and lamb marking percentages by 11 to 13%, depending on enterprise type. Dr Trompf will discuss how these results were achieved.
11.50am - 12.30pm	Case Study #3
12.30pm - 12.50pm	Panel discussion with day 2 speakers
12.50pm - 1.00pm	Conference Summary