PDS: Livestock health & wealth – interpreting carcase feedback for profitable production
| Project start date: | 15 June 2025 |
| Project end date: | 28 August 2028 |
| Project status: | In progress |
| Livestock species: | Grass-fed Cattle, Sheep |
| Relevant regions: | Southern Australia |
| Site location: | Western Victoria |
Summary
This Co-contributor Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project is underway in Western Victoria to help livestock producers unlock the value of carcase feedback and turn it into practical on-farm improvements. The initiative, led by Coleraine Livestock Consulting in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia, aims to reduce costly non-compliance and boost productivity, profitability and sustainability across the beef and sheep industries.
Non-compliance costs the beef industry an estimated $127-$163 million annually and the lamb industry $8.4 million, often due to issues like high pH, dark cutting, low fat cover, and health-related defects. Many producers receive processor feedback but struggled to interpret it or link it to actionable changes in nutrition, genetics, animal health and handling. This project bridges that gap by providing training, technical support, and peer learning opportunities.
Over the next four years, 15 core producers and 50 observers will participate in workshops, discussion groups and field days. Three demonstration sites will showcase how using carcase feedback as a management tool can improve compliance, animal performance, and economic returns. Producers will also gain hands-on experience with tools such as MLA’s myFeedback and MSA indices to track progress and benchmark results.
Expected outcomes include a 20% reduction in non-compliance among core producers, improved livestock health and handling, better genetics selection, and measurable gains in profitability. Knowledge sharing through case studies, webinars and extension activities will ensure benefits extend beyond the project group, strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the red meat industry.
This project represents a practical step toward data-driven decision-making on farm – helping producers turn feedback into action for healthier livestock and stronger business outcomes.
Objectives
By Feb 2029, in Western Victoria:
1. 15 core producers will demonstrate and assess that using carcase feedback in sheep and/or cattle enterprises as an integrated management tool will:
a. Decrease incidence of livestock health issues on farm and of health-related non-compliance at the processor level (measured by incidence of livestock health issues in feedback received from processors).
b. Help meet livestock nutritional requirements, increase weight-for-age at slaughter and increase the percentage of carcases that meet market specifications (measured by increased compliance rates, liveweights, feed testing and ration formulation).
c. Improve livestock handling on farm, particularly in the lead up to slaughter (measured by increased compliance rates and reduced rates of dark cutting).
d. Enable producers to select for genetics that will help them to hit their target market (given the project timeframe, this will be measured by EBV and ASBV sire team averages, and core producers setting genetic trait targets to meet target markets).
e. Increase average MSA index (where applicable – measured by MSA index at processor level).
2. 15 core producers will increase the use of feedback systems such as MLA’s myFeedback to make decisions on farm (measured by number of producers utilising feedback tools at farm level).
3. 3 demonstration sites will conduct an economic analysis, including a lost opportunity economic analysis, in each year of the project (or as deemed appropriate by the project team) to determine how on farm practice change has impacted financial performance. This will include the use of the MSA Opportunity Index where applicable.
4. A range of 1:1, group skill development and training sessions, plus larger events, will be implemented to increase the confidence and skillset of 10 core and 50 observer producers to utilise their carcase feedback to make decisions on farm.
5. At least 75% of core producers will have changed their practices on farm, resulting in a 20% decrease in non-compliance.
6. At least 50% of observer producers will intend to change their practices on farm (measured by Observer Producer KASA survey results).
