The statewide Red Meat Updates conference heard from two leaders in their fields during the morning session of the conference.

Mr Quilliam said he put importance into traceability, temperament and breeding to create good mobs that suited rotational grazing patterns.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a finisher or a breeder, the identification of animals is paramount,” he told the forum.

“There’s no point breeding animals from any old cow, they need to have traceability right through.”

The conference was packed with about 350 producers and industry representatives to learn about how to manage their herds through unseasonable conditions.

The conference, held at the Tramsheds at Inveresk, had rolling speakers throughout the day and covered topics such as: the cost of irrigating pasture and fodder crops, finding a balance – intensive irrigation and native bush and nitrogen fertiliser response of new and old perennial ryegrass cultivars among many others. 

Concurrent sessions for sheep and beef were run throughout the afternoon.

Red Meat Updates working group chairman Georgie Burbury said the conference, that was attended by about 350 people was about presenting snapshots of information to assist producers.

The theme of the conference was how to manage during adverse conditions, an homage to the unseasonable weather conditions experienced in the state over the last 18 months. The conference aimed at giving producers snapshots of information, to give them key take home messages they could implement on their own farms.

Ms Burbury said the conference was producer driven and aimed at providing a theme that was relevant to the region and the industry at the time.