Feedlot industry GIS database

Summary

In 1990, the Lot Feeding in Australia book was produced. It reported the results of a survey that was undertaken to gain an insight into the general management and husbandry practices adopted by lotfeeders at that time.

Since that time, there has not been any public collection or collation of equivalent information, to the point where there is currently a lack of feedlot industry data in the public domain. As an industry representative, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) recognises there is a need for a quality industry dataset that industry can draw on in the event of an industry or regional based issue (e.g. disease outbreak).

In 2007, FSA Consulting developed an in-house database of feedlot information by collating data collected from an assortment of sources over the previous 15 years. At the time, Geographic Information System (GIS) software was utilised to analyse the status of the Australian feedlot industry, comparing it to the 1990 results.

FSA Consulting continues to update this dataset with new data as it becomes available. These data are contained in spreadsheet form, and have been used in previous MLA projects to provide feedlot statistics at various levels.

Given the status of feedlots has changed since 2007, it was considered worthwhile to again utilise this information to create a series of GIS maps highlighting the various changes in feedlot infrastructure, capacity and location that have occurred relative to 1990 and 2007. These maps and the associated tables are presented in this report.