Feedlot readiness turns animal history into a welfare and performance specification

Preparing cattle for feedlot entry starts before transport, not at receiving. That was the central message in a recent Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) report following BeefEx 2026. MLA links preconditioning, vaccination and animal socialisation during backgrounding with more stable adaptation to the changes in housing, ration, water, transport, handling and mixing of origins that accompany feedlot entry.