• Charles Sturt University PhD student needs lamb feedlot operators to complete online survey
• Research aims to identify opportunities to boost performance of lambs in feedlots
• Drought and high lamb prices are driving growth in feedlot enterprises in Australia

Dry seasonal conditions and high prices for well finished lambs are driving a growth in feedlot production systems and it’s the focus of new research at the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation.

The study by Charles Sturt University PhD candidate Thomas Keogh (pictured) aims to understand current practices and identify constraints to growth rates to guide further research to improve lamb feedlot performance.

“Many producers have turned to feedlotting lambs as a way to add value to lambs and grain, capitalise on the strong market demand, and manage seasonal variability,” Mr Keogh said.

“But there’s not a lot of scientific research available to help guide management decisions and the growth rates of lambs in these systems do not always meet expectations.”

Mr Keogh is calling for people who own or manage lamb feedlotting enterprises in Australia to complete a short survey online at https://www.research.net/r/Lamb-Feedlot

“The survey is anonymous and will take less than 15 minutes to complete,” Mr Keogh said.

“It includes questions about the feedlot, management practices, animal nutrition and health.

“The aim is to develop a greater understanding of the Australian lamb feedlotting industry to identify some of the constraints to lamb daily growth rates so we can undertake further research to improve the performance of these production systems and inform decisions about feed and financial budgeting.”

The research is funded by the Australian Research Training Program and the Fred Morley Centre at Charles Sturt and the MLA Donor Company, and is supervised by Graham Centre researchers Dr Shawn McGrath, Professor Bruce Allworth and Associate Professor Marta Hernandez-Jover and Dr Hutton Oddy from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and University of New England.

The survey has been approved by the Charles Sturt Human Research Ethics Committee.