At MLA Updates in Adelaide, Sheep Producers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner shared her perspective on what a productive, profitable sheep enterprise may look like by 2030.

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the World Meat Congress alongside industry leaders, policy makers and supply-chain experts from across the globe. It was a valuable opportunity to reconnect with global colleagues, including counterparts from Beef + Lamb New Zealand, to share insights and compare emerging challenges and opportunities across our sectors.

In the heart of Western Australia’s south west mixed-farming country, Rhodes Pastoral has taken a deliberate, long-term approach to building a resilient sheep enterprise. Farm Manager Michael Wright explains how the 15,378-hectare operation built feedlot, finishing pens, invested in on-farm water security, and focused on producing high-quality lamb. Genetics have underpinned this plan, with Rhodes Pastoral breeding its own Merino rams and operating a registered White Suffolk

Sustainability isn’t just about carbon offsets, biodiversity credits or planting trees - those projects are important, but they’re not where it starts. 

For the first time, recently, teams of Merinos from across Australia were benchmarked side-by-side in a single commercial setting as part of the recent Australian Merino Production Trial 2025-2027.

A national effort to future-proof the Australian sheep industry and strengthen its sustainability will begin next year.

Picture credit: Zoetis As Australia prepares for the resumption of live sheep exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the end of...

Sheep Producers Australia (SPA) welcomes Gundagai’s launch of the world-first meat yield and IMF lamb grid and paying producers on lean meat yield, weight, intramuscular fat, and providing feedback on animal health at an individual carcase level last week.