The Australian cattle industry is responsible for producing 3.9% of world beef productivity and due to 60% of the nation's entire beef production being exported, Australia operates alongside America and Brazil as one of the largest beef exporters worldwide. Slaughter rates in the Australian feedlot sector tend to increase during drought periods which can last for a number of years. This is due to the limited availability of grain which the onset of drought brings with it, meaning that feedlots are generally lacking in activity during this time. The Southern rangelands typically operate their feedlots by running smaller herds via more intense operations compared to the Northern rangeland sector.
The vast majority of Australian feedlot production falls in Queensland and the Northern Territory. The use of these feedlots has grown substantially since 1980 and the industry is currently able to feed over 1 million cattle in feedlots at once. The increasing use of feedlots in Australia is due to a consumerist demand for grass fed beef. Feedlot sectors are typically characterised by climates where crops and pastures are able to survive and typically consist of vegetation where short term crops such as wheat, oats and barley and long term crops such as clover can survive Australia's subterranean climate where conditions will endure for over 5 months. Further, this also encompasses those months where the ratio of rainfall and evaporation exceeds 1 cm and where the average monthly temperature exceeds 7 degrees.