143 What Can Australian Nutritionists Offer the Feedlot Industry? H. Oddy NSW Agriculture, Cattle and Beef Industry Co-operative Research Centre (Meat Quality), University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351 Summary The beef cattle feedlot industry is here to stay. Early developments based on largely imported know- how have matured. Australian derived information relating to improving feed conversion efficiency by genetic means, changing growth path, use of alternate feedstuffs, application of new introductory feeding schemes and use of novel pre-boosting technology which integrates immunological, behavioural and nutritional strategies are under development. In addition, the rumen escape technology developed by Australian scientists has come of age and is a powerful tool to manipulate animals to meet specifications for high quality markets. These advances indicate that Australian animal scientists can make a significant contribution to the profitability of our feedlot industry. Introduction The Australian beef feedlot industry has developed primarily using the technical skills learned in the feedlot industry of the United States. This has enabled rapid progress in feedlot design, cattle handling, nutritional management and health control, without the trauma of learning from first principles. The industry has now come of age, and with current projections for expansion in both export and domestic markets should become a significant part of the Australian beef industry, and contribute substantially to the Australian economy. How then will the technical information required by the feedlot industry evolve? In particular what information is available which is presently not fully utilised, but which could be of significant value to the industry, and what is under development. This paper will describe some developments in the broad field of ruminant nutrition which may have a place in the feedlot industry. Our feedlot industry differs to that of the US in that it has to meet a diverse set of specifications in the live animal to meet the requirements of our different markets (Figure 1). These specifications require different growth rates, and for some markets, nutritional strategies to maximise fat deposition. In each case the objective is to obtain these cattle and meat specifications at the lowest possible cost. In US feedlots the major determinants of profita- bility are (in order of decreasing importance) price returned on sale of finished cattle, costs of feeder cattle and cost of feed (Lee, 1993). These important economic (and in part non-biological) elements are justifiably the main concern of the feedlot manager. Nonetheless, there are several biological elements where improvements can be made. Figure 1 Range of markets, and carcass weight and fat depth specifications, which the Australian beef industry supplies. To meet these markets rquires a wide range of finishing systems using different types of cattle. Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition in Australia: July 199.5 University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351, Australia