AUSTRALIA’S top lamb industry expo – Lambex – has announced a new event organiser, venue, date and focus for the 2018 conference in Western Australia.

The biggest lamb industry conference in the country will return to Perth from August 5-7, 2018, and the venue has been set as the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre –in the heart of the WA capital city.

South Australian-based communications and education company AgCommunicators is now the conference’s professional organiser, taking over from EPP Events.

Conference chair Bindi Murray said LambEx 2018 would be working with Australian industry stakeholders to attract international interest.

“Australian producers are world leaders in the production of lamb and wool and we have significant relationships in other trading countries, so we will be leveraging these relationships to host international guests and raise the profile of LambEx 2018 on the world stage,” she said.

Ms Murray said LambEx 2018 planning started in earnest last week with the first full day meeting of the organising committee last Friday.

“With nearly 20 people on the organising committee and another 46 people on the working groups contributing ideas for what we want to achieve, we are glad to have unprecedented industry involvement in setting the direction of LambEx.

“There is such a great buzz around the event and the concepts being developed. We’ve even had unprecedented interest in the event from exhibitors before the prospectus has even been released,” she said.

Ms Murray said moving to August 5-7 ensured Lambe3x 2018 could accommodate and seat all the delegates for the conference and dinner, as well as host a significant trade exhibition supported by live sheep displays.

“We are really excited to be at the PCEC – it’s a fabulous space for us to be able to showcase all that is sensational about the sheep and lamb industry.

“With up to 5000 square metres, there is double the exhibition space of previous events so we will literally be able to fit whatever exhibitors want to bring,” she said.

“In addition to a change of date, it’s a change of day – we will be starting on the Sunday evening with the welcome function and running the event on the Monday and Tuesday with a raft of post-conference tours heading north and south from Perth on the Wednesday, so we really aren’t shying away from mixing things up and trying something new.

“Our role from here on in is to continue to grow the event and showcase our awesome and innovative Australian sheep and lamb industry.”

LambEx 2018 event partners are Meat & Livestock Australia, the WA Government Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and WAMMCO.

Members of the 2018 Organising Committee include chair Bindi Murray, producer and Sheep Alliance of WA; Jackie Kyte, Meat & Livestock Australia; Beth Paganoni, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; Graeme Martin, University of WA; Andrew Thompson, Murdoch University; Brad Ipsen, WAMMCO; Scott Pickering, Stud Merino Breeders Association of WA; Kathleen Allan, Sheepmeat Council of Australia; Ian Robertson, WAFarmers; Kelly Pearce, Grower Group Alliance of WA; Ashley Herbert, AAAC; Clayton South, producer; Holly Ludeman, Harmony Agriculture and Food Company; Josh Sweeny, SCA; John Smoker, Muresk Institute; and Esther Jones, Sheep Alliance.

Visit www.lambex.com.au or contact Event Organiser, Rebecca Jeisman, AgCommunicators on [email protected] or 08 8332 3277.