National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme Review

Summary

The cattle lot feeding industry introduced a quality management program in 1994 to address the ever-increasing need to ensure that the feedlot sector was in charge of its own destiny. The current National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) incorporates a formal set of rules and standards, which compels accredited feedlots to meet certain requirements in the areas of food safety, product integrity, livestock management and the environment.

NFAS also serves as a mechanism to deliver continual industry improvement, assists in defending the credentials of the industry and ensures a systems-based approach that encourages improvement in the management of feedlots, over time.

This project was initiated in 2014, and independently reviewed the NFAS to ensure it is meeting the current and future needs of industry and other external stakeholders. It undertook extensive consultation with industry and other stakeholders who provided feedback on many aspects of the scheme including administration, auditing, ongoing development, relevance of certain issues and the potential for further improvements to the existing scheme.

This review focused on the mission, standards, rules, administration and auditing of NFAS to ensure it meets the current and potential future requirements of industry and other stakeholders over an extended time frame. The reviewers compiled recommendations (17) that can be used as the basis of a strategic plan for NFAS providing a road map for the scheme over the next ten years.