More than 300 people attended the BESTWOOL/BESTLAMB conference to hear from 16 individuals and groups on issues affecting the industry and how they could make the most of their business.

BESTWOOL/BESTLAMB chair Jason Trompf said there was “significant opportunity” in the sheep industry.

He said lamb and mutton prices were high, “in the top 10 per cent for prices historically”, and a lack of supply was also bolstering the wool market.

“How effectively and efficiently you capture that opportunity is what this conference is about,” Mr Trompf said.

One of the keynote speakers was Rabobank commodity analyst Georgia Twomey, who gave attendees an update on the current state of play, particularly in regards to the wool market, and factors driving prices.

Ms Twomey said the outlook for the industry was “reasonable”, demand was holding up and the depreciation of the Australian dollar had kept local returns strong.

But both she and Mr Trompf said despite the positive state of the domestic industry, it was important producers did not rest on their laurels.

Ms Twomey said it was an opportune time for producers to think about the future of their business and what they could do to cushion themselves from market volatility.

Vicky Geddes, a meat and wool producer from Holbrook in southern New South Wales, also presented at the conference.

Mrs Geddes once had cattle and sheep, but with the 2006 drought, decided to replace the cattle with ewes.

As someone who had made significant changes to her business, she said she hoped to give others the confidence to make changes and evolve their business.

Lubeck producer Graeme Maher attended because as a farmer, he said, learning was critical to ensure he did not go backwards in his business.

Mr Maher was also optimistic about the industry, saying he would not have invested the significant amount of money to enter it several years ago if he did not see a strong future.

Mr Trompf said the conference provided not only strategic information but also applied information, which producers could take back and immediately implement in their business. 

He said the conference differed from many others of its type because it was organised by the BESTWOOL/BESTLAMB production network, which numbers about 3000 members and has 60 producer groups, each headed by a co-ordinator.

Mr Trompf said many of these co-ordinators attended the conference and took the information back to their groups, resulting in wider dissemination of the information.

The sheep meat and wool industry is Victoria’s third-largest agricultural industry by value.

Victoria is Australia’s largest lamb and mutton producing state and is also one of the world’s largest suppliers of sheep meat.