This Research Front comprises invited papers from Animal Production 2016 – the 31st Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production, jointly held with the New Zealand Society of Animal Production in Adelaide, South Australia from 5–7 July 2016. With a theme of ‘Animal Welfare – Meeting Consumer Needs and Increasing Productivity’, keynote speakers included animal behavioural expert Professor Temple Grandin, whose paper is published open access within this issue, alongside papers from the named ASAP lecture series.