Dr Matt George and Melissa George from Bovine Dynamics with Jack Mayhew and ALFA’s Abbey Stuart at BeefEx 2026. Source: ALFA

A FEEDLOT management app that allows pen riders to record daily tasks and maintenance issues was named the winner of the Australian Lot Feeders Association’s Innovation Award at last week’s BeefEx conference.

The ALFA Innovation Competition, sponsored by Integrated Animal Production (IAP), recognises feedlots and their teams developing practical, non-commercialised innovations that improve day-to-day operations.

PenPilot was developed by Cleveland Ag Feedlot near Mungindi to record daily tasks, such as recording ridden pens, cattle pulls, trough cleaning, and maintenance issues.

Rather than tracking tasks on paper or across multiple systems, the app stores all the information digitally in one place, as well as creates an end-of-day report, and keeps outstanding maintenance jobs active until they are completed.

One of the key criteria in the competition is the innovation must cost less than $5000 in materials to implement.

An example of Cleveland Ag Feedlot’s PenPilot app.

“The app was developed using free software, including Visual Studio Code, Expo and React Native for coding assistance,” Cleveland Ag’s entry stated.

“There were no direct development costs other than the time invested in designing, building, and testing the application.

“If the app were developed commercially, costs would include developer wages, testing, maintenance, hosting, and future updates.”

Feedlot Nutritionist Dr Rob Lawrence explained this year’s competition was extremely close with three entries judged by an expert panel, which included Geoff House, Amanda Moon and himself, to decide the winner and runner up.

Koojan Downs Feedlot in Western Australia received runner-up honours for its skid steer fence line scraper.

The low-profile pen scraper has a pivot point on the front, tensioned by four springs to provide movement when scraping around concrete fence footings, tight spots and uneven ground.

“It minimises excessive force on the scraper and skid steer, reduces damage to fence footings and posts, and lets one scraper clean narrow spacings that would otherwise need multiple scraper sizes,” Koojan Downs entry stated.

The innovation cost $50 in consumables, with everything else made from scrap metal worth an approximate value of $150.

Research award winner

The ALFA Communicate Your Research Competition, sponsored by Bovine Dynamics, recognises the next generation of feedlot industry researchers who communicate their science effectively to the sector, was awarded to Jack Mayhew, a second-year student at the University of Sydney.

Jack’s research examined whether real-time, in-pen liveweight measurements could be used to directly predict empty body weight in feedlot cattle, a key input for modelling growth, nutrient requirements and feed efficiency.

Following a presentation and Q&A hosted by Melissa George, Jack’s findings showed that liveweight combined with days on feed offered a simplified, more accurate alternative to conventional estimation methods, reducing reliance on intermediate conversion steps.

The Herbert family from Gundamain Feedlot won the Community Heroes Award at BeefEx 2026. Source: ALFA.

Community Hero award winner

The ALFA Community Heroes Award, sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition, recognises those going above and beyond to give back to their local communities, was awarded to Gundamain, the sixth-generation Herbert family feedlot near Eugowra in Central West NSW.

Gundamain Feedlot was named the winner for its “Slow the Flow” flood resilience project, developed in response to the devastating 2022 floods.

Working with local landholders, ecologists and community groups, the initiative combines nature-based flood mitigation measures with improved early-warning systems, helping build long-term resilience across the region while protecting both the community and local businesses.

“On November 14, 2022 a wave of water that hit our property,” Tess Herbert from Gundamain Feedlot explained when accepting the award.

“It’s still the largest aerial rescue in Australia’s history with 170 people rescued off their roofs in our town, which is about four kilometres from the feedlot.

“The water hit our farm first, then went through town, and then went below the feedlot, but didn’t get into the feedlot.

“Two people died that day and there were no phones, no warning. So it was a very traumatic event.

“Very soon after that event, while we’re in recovery phase, a weird collaboration occurred between an ecologist from the Sisters of Mercy, a local group of landholders and a landcare group.

“We started what we called Slow the Flow – to improve the flood warning systems and have nature-based solutions to slow the water through riparian revegetation, contouring, leaky weirs, all of those things that we can do along the catchment.”

Chloe Gordon from ACC’s Opal Creek Feedlot won the Excellence in Feedlot Education Medal.

Education Medal winner

Excellence in Feedlot Education Medal, sponsored by Zoetis, recognises individuals investing in their skills through Feedlot tech, supporting a strong and capable feedlot workforce.

This year Australian Country Choice’s Chloe Gordon, Livestock Manager at Opal Creek Feedlot won the medal.

• Author Finn Pickering is a Year 12 student at Toowoomba Grammar School. He attended BeefEx on work experience with Beef Central.