LambEx Taskforce
The LambEx Taskforce is a skills-based group of industry leaders from across Australia, dedicated to shaping the future of LambEx.
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Chaired by South Australian sheep producer Jamie Heinrich, the Taskforce plays a crucial role in the planning, execution, and evaluation of the biennial LambEx conference.
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Taskforce members will provide strategic leadership and industry expertise across
key areas, including:
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Overseeing the recommendation of a professional conference organiser
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Curating an innovative program and securing high-calibre speakers
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Ensuring the event aligns with industry priorities and emerging trends
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Driving sponsorship and stakeholder engagement
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Collaborating with the host city to maximise regional opportunities
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Conducting a post-event review to inform future LambEx initiatives
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Taskforce members are integral to creating an engaging, high-impact event that delivers valuable insights, showcases industry innovation, and highlights and celebrates the contributions of producers, researchers, and supply chain partners.
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Together, they will bring LambEx 2026 to life, ensuring it remains Australia’s premier
event for the sheep, lamb, and wool industry.
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Jamie Heinrich
LambEx Taskforce Chair
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Jamie is a 7th-generation South Australian sheep farmer, co-owner and manager
of Ella Matta Pastoral on Kangaroo Island, the world’s first registered White Suffolk
stud, a Poll Merino and Maternal Composite seedstock operation, and a commercial
17-micron Poll Merino flock. He earned a degree in International Business from the
University of SA before spending three years at Thomas Foods International in meat
export and livestock.
Passionate about the future of the sheep industry, Jamie is the newly appointed Chair
of the LambEx Taskforce and looks forward to leveraging the positive momentum of
LambEx24 and driving further industry collaboration and innovation. He also chairs
Agriculture Kangaroo Island and serves as a director of Sheep Producers Australia,
28 National, and the Sheep Sustainability Framework, as well as being a member of the
Meat and Livestock Australia Board Selection Committee.
A 2017 Nuffield Scholar, Jamie studied ‘Attracting and Retaining Young People in
the Sheep Industry,’ traveling to 17 countries in 20 weeks. In 2014, he was the Youth
Ambassador for the Sheepmeat Council of Australia and has represented the industry
at six American Sheep Industry Conferences, Washington DC delegations, and a Middle
East delegation.
When he’s not busy with the industry, Jamie enjoys a nice slow cooked lamb shoulder.
Chloe Smart
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Chloe Smart is a passionate advocate for Australian agriculture, dedicated to
connecting with people across the sector and beyond. Growing up in South Australia’s
Clare Valley, she holds a Bachelor of Animal Science from the University of Adelaide
and brings extensive experience from roles on pastoral properties, government
projects, and committee roles.
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With her role at AgCAREERSTART (National Farmers Federation), Chloe supports young
people in building meaningful careers in agriculture. Chloe’s industry contributions
include serving as Secretary for the Peter Westblade Scholarship, a Committee
Member for Hay Inc Rural Education Program, and participating in Australian Wool
Innovation (AWI) Breeding Leadership and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Red Meat
Ambassador programs. Chloe enjoys spending time with her friends and family and
exploring the beautiful Flinders Ranges where she calls home. Chloe is committed to
representing the next generation in the sheep and wool industry, championing fresh
ideas and fostering innovation to create lasting knowledge sharing and collaboration
at LambEx 2026 and beyond.
Nathan Scott
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Nathan is the managing director of Achieve Ag Solutions. He has a background in
prime lamb, merino wool and beef production, and a passion for improving the
productivity and profitability of livestock enterprises. He works with producers to
increase conception rates, improve lamb survival, lift growth rates, and hone overall
management.
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Nathan provides advice to individual clients, works with a number of producer groups,
is a keynote speaker, guest lecturer and is involved within various industry projects.
His key contribution to the LambEx team will be to help maintain a focus on delivering
content that can initiate immediate change on-farm and drive profitability, productivity and achieve overall excellence in livestock management.
Based in the Victorian town of Inverleigh, Nathan loves exploring this amazing country
of ours via caravan with his family and friends.
Sammy McIntyre
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Sammy is a prime lamb producer from Parawa on the Fleurieu Peninsula, where she
is passionate about implementing technology into her high rainfall sheep operation.
Continuing with the Taskforce from the 2024 team, she is keen to see LambEx 2026
be even bigger and better, especially helping the next generation of sheep and wool
enthusiasts expand their horizons through the Trailblazers competition.
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Sammy also extends her expertise to representation on a number of regional boards
and councils in 2023 was awarded Nuffield Scholarship to study sheep production
across the globe.
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Sammy enjoys catching up with friends over coffee, wine or gin, and says that coming
home to lamb shanks in the slow-cooker after a cold and wet winter’s day on the farm
is pure bliss!
Emma McCrabb
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Emma and her family run a commercial self-replacing Merino and beef business,
based near Booroorban in south western New South Wales. Before returning to the
family business, Emma completed a Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Business at the
University of New England. Following her studies, Emma worked in Meat and Livestock
Australia’s Sheep Genetics team, where she supported ram breeders and the wider
industry in the use of objective measurement tools to inform genetic selection decisions.
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Emma is passionate about ensuring the sustainability of farming businesses into the
future and encouraging young people to engage in the Australian sheep industry.
Emma is excited to be a part of the Lambex Taskforce, bringing a commercial producer perspective and drawing on her experience working across the wider industry.
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Having grown up on the Hay plains, Emma’s favourite meal is a saltbush-raised lamb
rack with a glass of good (often South Australian) red.
Mark Ferguson
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Dr Mark Ferguson, originally from Hopetoun, Victoria, is the CEO of nextgen Agri
International, a consulting and innovation business focused on helping livestock
producers improve profitability through genetics and breeding strategies. Mark is
based in Christchurch, New Zealand and, alongside his team at nextgen Agri, works
across both islands of NZ and all states of Australia.
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Mark holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Melbourne University and a PhD
in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Murdoch University and has over 25 years of
experience in livestock research, development and extension. He has been involved
with and led a range of industry projects over the years. He is also the host of the Head
Shepherd Podcast.
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Mark has presented at several LambEx events and is a strong advocate for the
importance the event plays in celebrating the great sheep and lamb industry of
Australia. Joining the LambEx Taskforce, Mark aims to continue to build the momentum
for this great event and will bring his expertise and experience in genetics, innovation
and extension to the Taskforce.
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Outside of the business, Mark enjoys fishing, wood work and his favourite lamb
dish is a slow roasted lamb shoulder.
Tim Leeming
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Tim and his wife Georgie operate a diverse livestock business at Pigeon Ponds in
western Victoria, managing a self-replacing prime lamb flock, seed stock business
(Paradoo Prime), and backgrounding cattle. Their Paradoo Prime operation annually
markets 300-400 maternal sires, with a strong focus on productivity, land development,
and innovation.
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Tim has been deeply involved in sheep industry extension activities, including Lifetime
Ewe Management and High Performance Weaners. He coordinated the Glenelg
BestWool BestLamb Advisory Group for 13 years and re-joined as co-facilitator in 2024.
Co-developing PrecisionLambing.com, Tim has helped deliver industry-leading lamb
survival results. A frequent speaker on sheep reproduction and lamb survival, he’s
passionate about driving innovation and growth in the lamb industry.
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Joining the LambEx Taskforce excites Tim as it provides an opportunity to showcase
the industry’s potential, inspire producers, and foster collaboration. He sees LambEx
as a platform to promote innovation, celebrate success, and connect with the next
generation of producers while addressing the protein demands of global consumers.
In his downtime, Tim enjoys water skiing, lamb cutlets with buttery mashed potato, and
a glass of Coonawarra red.
Dan Korff​
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Dan is a Rural Manager with Rabobank based at Longreach. Prior to Dan’s financial
career his background was in stud and commercial merino production having
managed several operations in NSW and Victoria after finishing ag college.
Dan has completed several leadership courses and industry programs and is driven
to be part of Lambex to give back to the industry and provide a relevant, thought
provoking and inspiring event for all stakeholders.
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Dan has a passion for ongoing education at all levels from the paddock to lecture
halls and believes Lambex is our greatest opportunity for this in our industry and is thus
proud to be involved. Dan’s drivers and what he believes make for strong and sustained business are: clear communication; business optimisation (financial, production, infrastructure); sound advocacy when needed; and, our people.
On weekends, Dan spends time playing tennis, hanging out with his dogs and enjoys
testing his cooking skills! His latest success has been some gourmet lamb rissoles with
veggies and a sought-after carrot cake with two inches of cream cheese icing.
Ashlee Wachtel
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Ashlee Wachtel is the principal consultant at Tailored Livestock Consulting (TLC)
based at Robe in the south east of South Australia. Her passion for the sheep industry
developed from a young age working on her family’s sheep property. After completing
a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Ashlee worked for
eight years in livestock health and nutrition advisory roles before starting her consulting
business in 2020.
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TLC enables Ashlee to provide independent, tailored animal health and nutrition advice
to sheep and beef producers on best practice management that drives performance
and profit. She is particularly passionate about sheep fertility and weaning
management strategies, and joined LambEx to help promote this amazing industry,
ensuring we tell our own story and work toward making lamb a consistent and widely
chosen staple in households.
Paul Nenke​
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Paul Nenke has been involved in the agriculture sector for over 30 years. He is from a
farming family based at Kukerin in Western Australia. Paul’s family first established their
farm in 1908 and developed it into a grain and sheep enterprise. Paul is well known
across regional Western Australia for his involvement in and passion for agriculture.
Whilst running a busy sheep production and grain cropping program, Paul was also
involved in yabby farming and tourism, building a successful export segment for the
yabby business. Paul is now sales manager at Milne AgriGroup, the leading producer
of pelleted feed across Australia.
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He enjoys volunteering in his local communities as an ambulance officer, firefighter and coach of sporting teams. He also has a degree in Commerce from Murdoch University.
