LambEx Taskforce

LambEx Taskforce

The LambEx Taskforce is a skills-based group of industry leaders from across Australia, dedicated to shaping the future of LambEx.

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.

Taskforce members will provide strategic leadership and industry expertise across

key areas, including:

Overseeing the recommendation of a professional conference organiser
Curating an innovative program and securing high-calibre speakers
Ensuring the event aligns with industry priorities and emerging trends
Driving sponsorship and stakeholder engagement
Collaborating with the host city to maximise regional opportunities
Conducting a post-event review to inform future LambEx initiatives

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.

Together, they will bring LambEx26 to life, ensuring it remains Australia’s premier

event for the sheep, lamb, and wool industry.

Jamie Heinrich

LambEx Taskforce Chair

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

Chloe 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.

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 LambEx26 and beyond.

Nathan Scott

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Dr Mark Ferguson

Mark, 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.

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.

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.

Outside of the business, Mark enjoys fishing, wood work and his favourite lamb dish is a slow roasted lamb shoulder.

Tim Leeming

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Ashlee 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.

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

Paul 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.

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.