A year of progress for the MLA Feedlot Program

The Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Feedlot Program continued to turn levy investment into practical outcomes for Australia's feedlot sector throughout the 2025–26 financial year.

In partnership with the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA), the program continued to support advancements in workforce development, animal health, automation and environmental sustainability.

Funded through grainfed cattle levies and matched investment from the Australian Government, the program delivered research, development and adoption initiatives that addressed the priorities and challenges facing lot feeders.

Guided by the five-year MLA-ALFA Feedlot Research and Development Strategy, MLA's Strategic Plan 2030 and the Red Meat Advisory Council's Red Meat 2030 strategy, the program maintained a strong focus on delivering value to levy payers.

Throughout FY26, MLA invested across five key pillars including; labour, automation, environmental sustainability, preventative health and wellbeing, and feedlot productivity and compliance.

ALFA CEO Christian Mulders said one of the program's greatest strengths was its ability to address multiple industry priorities through a connected approach.

"The five pillars give us a very practical framework for making sure the MLA Feedlot Program is addressing the issues that matter to the industry," he said.

"What I like about the program is that these areas aren't being treated in isolation.

“There are strong connections between them."

Several projects progressed from early-stage development towards commercial applications. Long-term research delivered valuable findings and new initiatives emerged to help shape the future direction of the industry.

Building skills and advancing technology

Workforce capability remained an important area of investment.

MLA continued to invest and support workforce capability through Feedlot TECH, the industry's online training and professional development platform, which expanded to 3,596 users during the year.

Enrolments increased to 283 per module and course completion rates remained strong at 63 per cent.

Ten courses were completed through the year’s development program with five of those courses launched. The remaining five courses are staged for release at a later date.

The Feedlot TECH Virtual Tour, an interactive learning tool designed to showcase feedlot operations and best-practice management, was accessed by more than 4,700 users.

Several technology projects also progressed towards practical industry use.

Bunk-scanning technology, which uses cameras and artificial intelligence to assess feed bunks and support feeding decisions, expanded to 13 operational scanners across Australian feedlots to support approximately 432,000 head of cattle.

FeedMetrix 2.0, a livestock monitoring and management platform, entered live pilot operation and DeliverEase 2.0 is advancing through system integration to support more efficient livestock handling and operational processes.

A next-generation weather prediction system also completed pilot data collection ahead of planned deployment across eight Australian feedlots.

Christian said technologies that delivered a clear commercial benefit would have the greatest impact on industry adoption.

"There are some really promising outcomes emerging from work in areas such as automated feed management, animal health technologies and performance-enhancing technologies," he said.

"The challenge now is to take the strongest results and turn them into adoption across the industry."

The projects demonstrated how automation and digital technologies could support labour efficiency, improve decision-making and enhance animal and operational management across commercial feedlot businesses.

Supporting environmental performance

Environmental sustainability remained a key area of investment throughout FY26.

Research focused on reducing emissions, improving odour management and identifying opportunities to extract greater value from feedlot resources.

A project investigating hydrogen-utilising probiotics made significant progress during the year.

Researchers characterised more than 1,000 microbial isolates and identified approximately 10 priority candidates for further assessment.

The research aimed to support the development of new technologies capable of reducing methane emissions from cattle and increasing productivity.

A large-pen trial evaluating a lower dose of the methane-reducing feed additive 3-NOP was also completed.

The project delivered a valuable multi-year dataset to support future industry decision-making regarding emissions management.

Research into odour measurement and modelling continued throughout the year. This project is improving the understanding of odour generation within sheltered feedlot systems and is helping inform future management approaches.

A final report examining manure and effluent value-adding technologies established a baseline for future investment.

The findings identified opportunities to improve resource utilisation and support more sustainable feedlot operations.

Improving cattle health and wellbeing

Several important animal health and wellbeing milestones were achieved within FY26.

Field trials of autogenous vaccines targeting P. multocida, H. somni and M. bovis delivered measurable reductions in subclinical disease. The results provided encouraging evidence for new approaches to preventing disease and improving animal health outcomes in feedlot settings.

An evaluation of a Bacillus subtilis probiotic was completed following a large-scale study involving 8,000 head of cattle. The project examined the probiotic's potential to support cattle health and performance during feeding.

Research into covered housing is also progressing.

At Charles Sturt University's research feedlot, three of six trial cohorts were completed as part of a project investigating the effects of stocking density and bedding rates on cattle performance, health and carcase characteristics under shelter.

The Feedlot Research, Adoption and Demonstration (RAAD) program commenced in March 2026. The program was designed to accelerate the adoption of research outcomes and best practice management across the feedlot sector.

The initial round of funding within the RAAD program for shade and shelter has approved three projects during FY26 with a further four progressing through planning and approval stages.

Christian said the ALFA Shade Initiative demonstrated how research could translate into measurable commercial returns.

"The research shows a measurable productivity benefit," he said.

"The 518,305 cattle newly provided with shade in 2025 are projected to generate around $28.1 million in additional returns to Australian lot feeders over the 2025-26 summer."

The Feeder Cattle Preparation Best Practice Guide was completed and launched in June 2026.

The guide provides producers and lot feeders with practical guidance to support cattle preparation, health, wellbeing and performance.

Turning research into productivity gains

The MLA Feedlot Program continued to support the adoption of research-backed practices to improve productivity and operational performance within the sector.

Industry uptake of short duration lairage continued to grow with an increase from 700,350 head in FY25 to 826,730 head in FY26.

A further study conducted under winter conditions found the practice increased hot standard carcase weights across all market categories.

Carcase weights increased by 2.62kg in domestic cattle, 4.64kg in short-fed export cattle and 1.66kg in long-fed export cattle.

The study also found lower rates of dark cutting in the domestic and short-fed export categories. No adverse impacts on food safety were identified.

Economic analysis highlighted the commercial benefits of the practice. Additional gross revenue was estimated at $13.65/head for domestic cattle, $44.95/head for short-fed export cattle and $20.37/head for long-fed export cattle.

The findings reinforced the value of reducing time off feed prior to processing and provided further evidence to support industry adoption.

The Carcase Endpoint Sorting Model project was completed during the year.

This project delivered new breed-specific data to help improve the accuracy of carcase composition predictions and support more informed management and marketing decisions.

Researchers also continued evaluating LactiProEDGE, a next-generation performance technology being assessed for its potential to improve animal health and production outcomes in feedlot systems.

A large-scale commercial study completed its first round of testing with 12 of the planned 36 pens finalised during the program year.

The trial remains underway with further research set to assess the technology's productivity and animal health benefits at a commercial scale.

Demonstrating the value of feedlots

The fifth Regional Feedlot Investment Study, updated by Deloitte Access Economics, highlighted the sector's contribution well beyond the farm gate.

The study found that in FY23-24, the feedlot industry added $4.6 billion in value to the Australian economy and supported approximately 24,000 full-time jobs.

The sector further accounted for 36% of the national cattle slaughter and contributed 25% of Australia's total beef exports.

The research demonstrated the flow-on benefits feedlots delivered to regional communities and the wider beef value chain.

Modelling shows that a new 30,000-head feedlot in Queensland's Western Downs could generate an additional $25 million in regional value, support an average of 283 full-time equivalent jobs annually and deliver significant economic benefits to regional communities.

The findings reinforced the important role feedlots played not only in producing high-quality beef, but also in supporting employment, regional development, processing businesses, grazing enterprises and local communities across Australia.

ALFA President Grant Garey said the study highlighted the contribution feedlots make well beyond the feedlot gate.

"Our industry supports employment and economic activity across regional communities, including through grain, transport, animal health, equipment, maintenance, processing and a wide range of other services," he said.

"Having independent evidence of this contribution helps us communicate the importance of the sector to governments, regional communities and other stakeholders."

What’s next?

The focus now shifts to ensuring MLA investments continue to deliver practical benefits for feedlot operators and the broader beef industry.

Christian said the biggest opportunity for the feedlot sector lay in accelerating the translation of research into practical outcomes for lot feeders.

"We have a strong research base across the feedlot industry, but the next step is making sure we can demonstrate the commercial value of innovation and give businesses the confidence to adopt new technologies and management practices," he said.

"Ultimately, the question we need to keep asking is simple: will this make a meaningful difference to a feedlot business?"

Emerging technologies, ongoing workforce development and the adoption of proven management practices are expected to remain key priorities.

Future investment will continue to support productivity, sustainability and animal wellbeing while helping strengthen the industry's long-term competitiveness.

Grant said maintaining a strong connection between research and commercial feedlot operations would be critical to the industry's future viability.

"The objective should always be to translate research into outcomes that strengthen individual businesses and the competitiveness of the wider sector," he said.

"Levy payers should be encouraged by the breadth of activity underway and the increasing focus on delivering practical value for their businesses, their cattle and the regional communities in which they operate."

MLA and ALFA will continue to invest in solutions that address current challenges and opportunities to position Australia's feedlot sector for future success.