National Procedures and Guidelines for Intensive Sheep and Lamb Feeding Systems

The National Procedures and Guidelines have been developed as an initiative of the Australian Lamb Finishers Group (ALF) and the Sheepmeat Council of Australia (SCA). Funding for the project was managed by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).

This document is the first of its kind for the Australian lamb finishing industry, and provides a framework of recommended procedures and guidelines. Originally titled the “Code of Practice for Intensive Lamb Finishing Systems”, the document has undergone many changes and enhancements during its 3 plus years of development.

The result is a document that encompasses industry best practice and incorporates sections on the approval process and planning, environment and design, daily operations, feed and water, induction, biosecurity, supply chain and animal health to assist producers and consultants with the planning and management of intensive feeding systems. Animal welfare is considered throughout the document and procedures and guidelines for outdoor feedlots, containment areas and shedded operations are provided.

Edition 2 (June 2011) includes a supplement “Planning and management checklists – a review tool for producers”. This supplement is presented as a series of easy to follow checklists to assist producers in assessing their intensive feeding system against the National Procedures and Guidelines. It also provides daily and periodic checklists to assist producers with ongoing best practice management. 

Click here to see a summary of other changes from Edition 1.

Please click below to download:

• National Procedures and Guidelines for Intensive Sheep and Lamb Feeding Systems, Edition 2 (pdf, 700 kb)

Please click below to download the supplement:

• Planning and Management Checklists - a review tool for producers (pdf, 700 kb)