Australian feedlots are vital to the fabric of rural and regional Australia by creating jobs, supporting families, and contributing to local economies and the environment.

This award recognises and rewards those feedlots that are actively nourishing their local communities and environment by going above and beyond to support their community, that ‘give-back’ and better the environment around them.

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Examples of activities that feedlots undertake that actively nourish communities and environment include:

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Social initiatives:

• Outreach and engagement with local indigenous groups, schools, aged care, disabled groups

• Working with local council to improve parks and recreation facilities in the area

• Working with local clubs or show society to improve facilities for greater attendance

• Donating cattle, staff, feed etc to local initiatives such as competitions, camp drafting etc

• Flexible working arrangements so that staff can contribute to a local community initiative

• Hosting groups on site to conduct tours to help educate local communities on feedlot operations

Environmental initiatives:

• Planting of trees with local council or involvement in community clean up for a greener and cleaner community

• Engaging with local groups on the conservation and protection of natural habitats land, rivers and the wildlife within them

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For some real-life examples of initiatives, you can also read the below articles:

• Food Connect - the value of Farm Grown by Iranda Beef, SA.

• Food Connect gives Tintinara students a taste of Ag - Stock Journal article, SA.

• Lotfeeders embrace social media to build connection with city cousins - Beef Central / Smithfield Cattle Co, QLD.

• Molly Sage targets feedlot industry carbon emissions - Molly Sage, Beef City, QLD.

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There is no limit to the number of times an entrant can apply. For example, an entrant may enter more than one initiative per year and they may enter the same initiative more than once, over multiple years.
 

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To apply - you simply need to fill out the entry form with the basic background to your initiative, and then an ALFA appointed Journalist will contact you to craft your entry on your behalf. Their written article will then form your 'entry article' upon which will be judged by the judging panel based on the criteria. So apply today!

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ENTRY CRITERIA

To be eligible for entry, feedlots must:

• Be NFAS accredited.

• Be a current financial member of the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA).

• Fully complete the online entry form.

• Agree to be part of the promotion of the Award and agree to allow ALFA, the sponsor, and other interested parties to share their news article or video wider as they deem appropriate.

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To enter, you need to complete and submit the following:

• Fill out the online entry form and submit before the close date.

• Include a photos and/or videos related hat showcases your feedlot’s community initiative and its impact on the local community that can be included in the promotion of your entry.
   

JUDGING CRITERIA

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• The impact of the initiative on the community (50% weighting);

• The sustainability and longevity of the initiative (30% weighting);

• The practicality of the initiative to be scalable across other feedlots (10% weighting);

• The quality of story-telling: the what, why, when, who, and how (10% weighting).

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PRIZES

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Any feedlot that enters this Award and is also participating in the Australian Feedlot of the Year Competition 2024 will have a bonus point automatically applied in their second-round judging score.

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OVERALL WINNER 

• An engraved winners plaque.

• A $5,000 cash donation towards a local charity, business, or feedlot initiative.

• The opportunity to have your story shared to a national audience via ALFA publications (ie the ALFA Lotfeeding Journal and via grainfedbeef.com.au) with the express aim to support the feedlot's community standing.

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KEY DATES

• Entries Open:  May 2024

• Entries Close: 31 July 2024

• Winner Announced: ALFA BeefEx event held 15-17 October 2024

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enter

To enter, simply complete the following entry form telling us briefly about your initiative and our journalist (editor of the ALFA Lotfeeding Journal, Kate Stark) will follow up to setup an interview to craft your final entry article. You will be provided the final sign off on the article before it is published.