In today’s life of farming, farmers want to farm smarter to save money and time, and to use the technology available to them to make their lives easier. Identifying the best scale set-up for your individual operation can be a weighty decision.
Whether you are managing a smaller cattle, goat or sheep operation or a large feedlot, by closely monitoring individual bodyweights, you can increase your profitability.
When considering the various options available from manufacturers, a farmer should ask himself some important questions to help identify the best option for his farm.
Why is weighing your livestock important?
Weighing animals is critical on any farm. Accurate weighing helps to keep a check on the health of animals at different stages of their growth. Livestock scales come in handy for optimising the performance of your animals.
It is critical to accurately monitor the with gain of animals on the farm, which is also one of the most challenging tasks.
Important factors why you should weigh the animals on your farm
Identify optimal breeding time
One critical decision that has to be made on any livestock farm is breeding. Based on the health of the herd and animals’ weight, you can easily identify the optimal time for the farm animals to breed. This can help to prevent complications in the future, and with the weight data collected, you can make better, informed decisions that will guarantee healthier animals in the herd.
Determining feed quantity
You need to constantly weigh your animals to check and track whether they are gaining weight as desired or not. The data collected by weighing them will give you a better understanding of when to increase or reduce their feed. The data can also be used to suggest any changes in the diet or recommend more nutrients. Having the right feed conversion rate will help you to determine the right ration composition that will help to achieving the desired growth rates.
Monitoring health
It is critical to maintain healthy animals on the farm, which is also one of the most challenging tasks. However, this can be made a little simple by investing in a livestock scale as it can help you to easily monitor the health of the animals. They help in detecting sudden weight loss which can be indicative of a serious disease or health condition. If a health concern is detected, visit a veterinarian and get the right treatment before the disease spreads to other animals.
Weaning time
Weigh the calves and lambs before making the decision on weaning. Moreover, you can predict the future growth of the calves and lambs by analysing the captured data and studying the performance graphs. This data helps in determining the performance of your herd.
Evaluate breeding performance
By regularly weighing the animals, you can easily determine the right breed for your farm. The breeds which add weight constantly are preferred for breeding as they guarantee healthier calves and lambs and a higher return on investment. You can even decide to produce a cross-breed of the healthiest animals based on the weighing data that is collected over time.
So, what do you need to start weighing your livestock?Buying weighing equipment doesn’t need to be expensive but you do want something that is robust and easy to use. First, you need some load bars. Load bars are used in conjunction with a weighing platform to weigh livestock. Install them on a flat, hard surface, bolt them down and you are ready to go. Once you have these in place you can connect the cables to a compatible weigh scale. Gallagher leads the market in robust, easy to use equipment with a full support backup service to match.
Gallagher is dedicated to providing products that help a farmer to farm smartly and efficiently. Gallagher offers a wide range of weighing equipment, including: scales and data collectors, EID tag readers, drafters, platforms, wireless load bars, stock prods and accessories.
