BeefEx set to be biggest ever, as registrations near capacity ahead of Friday 11 September close
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BeefEx 2026 is on track to be the largest gathering in the grain fed beef industry conference's history, with more than 1,000 delegates now confirmed to attend, and registrations closing this Friday, 11 September.
The biennial event, hosted by the Australian Lot Feeders' Association (ALFA), will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 September, bringing together lot feeders, nutritionists, veterinarians, processors, exporters, government representatives and international guests from across the grain fed beef supply chain.
ALFA President Grant Garey said the record interest reflects a sector experiencing significant momentum. "BeefEx 2026 arrives at a genuinely exciting time for Australian grain fed beef," Mr Garey said, pointing to rising cattle turnoff and growing global attention on the industry's approach to trust, technology and people.
The milestone attendance figure marks the biggest turnout in the event's 30-year history, and the largest trade exhibition BeefEx has staged to date.
Delegates keen to secure their place are being urged to register before the Friday 11 September deadline, with organisers expecting the event to sell out.
Among the headline sessions is a keynote from Dr Kee Jim, founding partner of Blackshirt Feeders, one of the boldest feedlot developments underway in North America. Dr Jim's session, "More cattle, less footprint – inside the Blackshirt Feeders model," is presented as part of BeefEx's Session 3, "What can growth look like?", and has been brought to the conference by Apiam Animal Health.
Blackshirt Feeders, based in Nebraska, is being built to lift capacity to 200,000 head while reducing its physical and environmental footprint – using roller-compacted concrete (RCC), tighter systems and integrated technology to rethink what a modern feedlot can look like.
Dr Jim's career spans more than four decades in the North American cattle industry. He founded Feedlot Health Management Services in 1983, growing the consultancy until its acquisition by TELUS Agriculture in 2020, and has since been inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame. In his current role, his profile describes him as "leading a team focused on exploring growth opportunities" across North America and globally.
"Blackshirt Feeders was designed and constructed to fit the cattle, as opposed to making the cattle fit into a design," Dr Jim said. "This approach greatly enhances operational efficiencies by streamlining feed delivery, re-handle management and animal health management."
Dr Jim said pen maintenance costs at Blackshirt Feeders were effectively eliminated through the use of RCC. "In traditional feedlots, when pens are cleaned, the manure can be up to 40 per cent dirt, which needs to be replaced as part of standard pen maintenance. The manure from RCC pens is a pure manure product, and there is no maintenance required following manure removal."
He said adoption of RCC across the industry, while historically slow, was now accelerating, and that Australian lot feeders had much to gain from the efficiencies that come with scale. "The US industry admires the Australian grain fed sector's willingness to continually evaluate new technologies and readily adopt those that demonstrate a value proposition."
Dr Jim's session will also look ahead to what he believes is the biggest shift coming for the industry: growing adoption of automation and autonomous technologies across cattle feeding operations over the next 15 years.
That forward-looking spirit runs through the entire BeefEx conference. BeefEx is Australia's flagship grain fed beef industry event, run by the Australian Lot Feeders' Association. Held every two years, the conference brings together the entire grain fed supply chain – from lot feeders and service providers to processors, exporters, researchers and government – for three days of learning, innovation and networking.
Registrations close Friday 11 September. For more information or to register, visit www.beefex.com.au.
ENDS.
Media Enquiries:
Grant Garey
ALFA President
(02) 9290 3700
Niamh Bartley
ALFA Marketing & Communications
0417 610 150
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