Red Meat Advisory Council chairman Don Mackay to speak at Food Heroes event

The former president of Australian Lot Feeders Association and Meat & Livestock Agents Australia Board Selection Committee is a guest speaker the Queensland Country Life’s Food Heroes event at Australian Country Choice, Brindley Park feedlot on February 10. 

Speaking about the growth of the industry, Mr Mackay said the animal welfare standards first brought about by the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme some 20 years ago had influenced other areas of agriculture.

“When it started it was principally about environment and then obviously developed into a complete quality system; product quality, environmental management and also clearly welfare of people and welfare of cattle,” he said.

“It was probably the place where animal welfare in the cattle industry was front and centre because you have got a lot of animals in the one place at the one time.

“I think what has flowed from that, is broader welfare issues that have been managed well buy the grain feeding sector, by the processing sector and progressively pushed its way back into general cattle production.”

He said producers had not only become a lot more educated but production welfare was now a priority, not an option. 

“The whole industry is being drawn up by the need to understand the customer and all the expectations of the community, animal welfare and environment,” he said.

“The industry has moved very quickly.

“For feedlots today, I think the vast majority have production welfare front and centre.

“They have got high numbers of staff on hand, they have got very well developed systems and veterinary support and all those types of things that have progressively gotten better and better over the years.”

A lot of research and work has already been done on treatment for Bovine respiratory disease, the most common cause of illness and death in feedlot cattle which is caused by stress and disease causing agents. 

Mr Mackay said he hoped further progress in treating the disease would be the next innovation in animal welfare in the industry.

“The number one thing would be a better way of treating it (BRD),” he said.

“If we can continue to find better ways of managing it then that would be significant step forward, for us in particular.

“The learnings are translating into the broader industries.”