Tag: Livestock Equipment

Equipment for use in the Livestock Industry for all animals but mainly for the Cattle Industry

2026 Trailer Tech Expo Powered by NATDA

Posted on by A.Miller-Cattle-Admin

Dealer Learning, New Tech, and Real Conversations Defined the 2026 Trailer Tech Expo Powered by NATDA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, VA – The North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) delivered a high impact 2026 Trailer Tech Expo Powered by NATDA, held February 17–19 in Reno, Nevada, bringing dealers and exhibitors together for concentrated learning, innovation, and face-to-face collaboration.

Despite winter storm conditions, nearly 60 innovation-driven exhibitors made it onsite, bringing their never-before-seen innovations, services, and products in the light- to medium-duty trailer industry.

The three-day event produced by NATDA centered on not only innovations and training, but also real conversations and connections. Trailer Tech Expo began with two days of instruction and education that provided actionable insights for dealers and hands-on technician training. On Wednesday night, recipients were revealed at NATDA’s Industry Excellence Awards dinner and ceremony, sponsored by Liberty Trailers. The event concluded on Thursday with a full day of innovations and dealer meetings on the show floor.

“NATDA’s Trailer Tech Expo was designed to equip dealers and trailer industry professionals with the knowledge, innovations and connections needed to navigate the rapidly evolving trailer industry,” said NATDA Executive Director Andria Gibbon, CEM. “With cutting-edge technology, hands-on training, forward-thinking discussions and best-in-class networking, Trailer Tech Expo has set a new benchmark for innovation and education inside the industry.”

HandsOn Training & Education That Moved the Needle

The highly rated service classes expanded from last year to 11 classes and more than two full days of training and included a new technician happy hour. Technicians praised the Dexter® supported hands-on instruction, providing maintenance fundamentals and diagnostic content for newer techs while still offering valuable refreshers for experienced professionals.

“Bill does a great job explaining the basic principles of maintenance that are easy for the new techs as well as good reminders for veterans and nonservice staff. I will be able to take a lot back to my dealership from these classes,” remarked one attendee.

The Expo’s education program sponsored by Dura-Haul Trailers emphasized immediately applicable fundamentals for dealership leaders, service teams, and marketing staff.

Top rated sessions by attendees included two TOW TALK panels:
  • Tow Talk -Get the Crew on Board: The Science of Making Change (Johnathan Aguero and Sara Hey)
  • Simple Step-by-Step Instructions for Additional Lead Generation (Drew Ryan)
  • Tow Talk – Driving Profit: Understanding Dealership Revenue Flow and Developing Service Leaders (Mark Spader, Sara Hey, Ronnie Enns)

The curriculum combined leadership, service productivity, revenue flow, and practical marketing tactics.

“Within hours it was clear – we’re not alone in our challenges. The sessions gave me a list to implement back home, and I’m planning to return and send more of our team. I’m impressed with how much we’ve taken away in just a few hours.” – Kingdom Equipment & Trailers (VT)

A Show Floor Designed for Discovery and Deeper Dialogue

The day-long, small-format expo encouraged longer, more substantive conversations between dealers, manufacturers and vendors, many offering hands-on demos as well as sneak peeks at new products and services.

“If you’re not here, you’re missing connections. That’s the real value: meeting people, seeing what

vendors offer, and finding new partnerships.” – Silverline Trailers (NV)

“The most valuable part has been hearing directly from industry experts and seeing what other manufacturers are doing. It’s important to see what competitors are bringing to the show floor.” – Craftsman Trailers (NC)

Exhibitors underscored the quality of dealer interactions and measurable outcomes:

“This show is a ten for us. We even launched AI-powered parts receiving here, dealers can upload

an invoice and skip manual entry entirely.” – Blackpurl

“The ROI here may actually be higher than a big summer show, the interactions are longer, the

networking is deeper, and we added several new dealers from last year’s expo.” – Delco Trailers

Elevating Excellence: Honoring the Industry’s Top Performers

NATDA’s Industry Excellence Awards banquet sponsored by Liberty Trailers was one of the key networking opportunities during Trailer Tech Expo. Now in its second year, the awards recognized 11 standouts including Lifetime Achievement recipient George Fehr, Owner and founder of Lamar Trailers. View all 2025 award nominees and recipients.

The dinner and ceremony brought hundreds of trailer professionals together to recognize business excellence, customer service, and community impact in the industry.

“What matters most is face time that turns into results,” said Andria Gibbon, CEM, Executive Director of NATDA. “Trailer Tech Expo is built around deeper conversations – on the show floor, in the classrooms, and during events – that help dealers align with vendors, sharpen operations and processes, and close real business when they get home.”

Looking Ahead

NATDA will share 2027 Trailer Tech Expo details soon. Dealers, technicians, and industry partners are encouraged to visit the website and follow NATDA social channels for event updates.

View images here.

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ABOUT TRAILER TECH EXPO POWERED BY NATDA™

Trailer Tech Expo offers an immersive experience in all things trailer innovation and technology. Discover new ways to accelerate dealership performance, get hands-on with technician certification workshops, test breakthrough solutions, meet the experts, and gain access to exclusive networking opportunities with industry leaders who are reshaping the future of trailer sales, service, and technology.

ABOUT NATDA

The North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) is the largest trade organization representing trailer dealers across North America. Our mission is to support the trailer industry and provide education, networking, and business solutions to professionals in the trailer community. At NATDA, your success is our mission™.

Introducing CERES GEN6

Posted on by A.Miller-Cattle-Admin

Introducing CERES GEN6
Measure, Manage, Multiply

Livestock producers across the globe make decisions every day that shape herd performance and long-term profitability. Those decisions are grounded in generations of experience formed from a learned understanding of land, cattle, and seasons. Yet even with that knowledge, uncertainty remains, particularly around reproduction, animal health, and labour efficiency. Beef production has always been built on resilience and responsibility, but modern pressures demand clearer, faster insight to support those requirements.

CERES TAG is not looking to change what has always been, but rather enhance it. CERES TAG offers more than a livestock monitoring device, but rather a phenotype performance and intelligence platform that gives producers clearer visibility and decisions across their ranch.

The launch of CERES GEN6 introduces a significant advancement, with the introduction of the industry’s first reproduction suite delivered via a solar-powered, satellite connected smart ear tag. This includes automated estrus detection for beef cattle, real-time calving alerts, and mounting behavior monitoring. These algorithms work alongside CERES TAG’s established capabilities, including pasture feed intake indicators, GPS location data, and behavioral patterns linked to health and welfare. By analyzing behavioral data at the animal level, producers gain clearer visibility across reproduction, health, movement, and pasture utilization, enabling more confident, data-supported management decisions that convert to greater productivity and profitability.

The CERES GEN6 device also delivers a new price point that changes the conversation. Through continued innovation and refinement, CERES TAG has introduced an 80% reduction in upfront price, positioning CERES GEN6 as not only more powerful, but more accessible. The focus on improvement and supporting ranchers to improve their profitability at scale remains at the centre of what CERES TAG does.

The impact of CERES GEN6 is practical and almost immediate.

Remote, in field, heat detection improves breeding timing, increasing conception rates and tightening calving windows. Real-time calving alerts reduce labor demands and enable faster intervention during high-risk periods, particularly valuable in large or remote grazing environments where constant visual observation isn’t feasible. Mounting activity monitoring provides further confirmation of breeding dynamics, offering insight into bull performance and identifying females that may require attention.

The cost of operating without this level of visibility is often underestimated; Missed heats, extend calving intervals and reduce lifetime productivity. Inefficient breeding timing wastes both labor and bull power. Calving complications that go undetected increase losses. Subtle health or welfare issues can quietly erode performance over time. Without objective behavioral data, producers may unknowingly retain animals that are underperforming or fail to identify opportunities to optimize herd efficiency. CERES GEN6’s design is there to reduce that uncertainty. It strengthens producer intuition with measurable, animal-level intelligence, not replacing experience, but enhancing it.

The goal is straightforward: provide clear insight so that every management decision carries greater confidence and economic impact.

By combining advanced reproduction algorithms, health and behavioral intelligence, and a significantly lower entry cost, CERES GEN6 represents a meaningful shift in what smart livestock technology can deliver. As innovation continues, accessibility increases, ensuring more ranchers can benefit from tools that improve reproductive performance, streamline labor, and drive long-term profitability.

The future of herd management is not about replacing tradition. It’s about equipping it with better visibility.

Contact your local supply store or one of our CERES TAG team to earn more from your heard today.

Email: info@cerestag.com

Web: www.cerestag.com

 

Brute Cattle Handling Equipment

Posted on by A.Miller-Cattle-Admin

Brute Cattle Handling Equipment

Every ranch and feedlot needs durable cattle-handling facilities. Even though there are many available today, some are more user-friendly and dependable. Austin Gubbels, Sales Manager for Brute Cattle Equipment, has been with this company for 10 years. “This is my family’s business–a multi-generational company in northeast Nebraska. My great uncle started it in 1968 as a manufacturing company that designed the equipment and hired another company to do the sales,” Austin says.

After his great uncle died, Austin’s grandmother owned the company for a little while. “My uncle purchased the company from her and at that time switched colors to tan, initiated the Brute Cattle Equipment name and began handling all sales in-house. That’s when we began a little different model, producing the heaviest equipment in the industry, to our knowledge. Our bread and butter has always been selling to the largest feedlots across the country, and more recently into cow-calf operations,” he says.

That doesn’t mean the facilities are any different. Ranchers must be able to restrain large bulls and need durable equipment. “Even for manufacturing it makes sense to utilize some of the same parts on all the chutes. It’s better to be extra strong than not strong enough. My great uncle believed in that goal because at that time everything—whether washing machines or TVs–were getting cheaper and only built to last 5 years. Cattle folks need something that will last. We are not just welders or businessmen; we are in the cattle industry ourselves. I use our equipment every day,” Austin says.

Today, Brute Cattle Equipment offers a full line of hydraulic cattle squeeze chutes, cattle alleys, tubs, and loadouts—designed to save time, withstand wear and tear of daily use and harsh weather and built with safety in mind for the operator and the livestock. “This is something we believe in, and also feel we have a responsibility to our fellow cattlemen to sell them equipment that will last forever; we know what they need.”

This company doesn’t utilize dealers. “Our customers deal with me directly, throughout the majority of the process. We have a hands-on approach, whether for customer service, quality control, etc. to make sure our customers actually receive the product they need. That’s also a way we can cut our margins and produce a heavy piece of equipment and still stay competitive in price. A dealership will want a 15 to 20% markup on top of our price, since they need to make money, too. If we sell something straight from the factory, we can give our customers a better deal,” he says.

Brute equipment has now gone into 40 states and 5 different countries. Over the years, quality control has become better, with a more consistent product. “Now with hydraulic chutes we not only have the heaviest, but also strive to be the quietest.” This makes a big difference when people are working cattle, stressing them less.

“We’ve made a lot of changes in the past couple years, making everything as quiet as possible as well as being as strong as it can be. We have a unique, patented angled headgate for these squeeze chutes. This is a simple design change, since cows don’t have square shoulders. Everyone else produces a square chute, but the angled headcatch spreads the impact across a greater surface area, which reduces stress and bruising,” Austin says.

“I know that cattle going through a facility or squeeze chute by themselves, if there are fewer bruise points, and less stress on the animal. The lower we can keep the cortisol levels in that animal and the less sore it is, the faster it will return to full feed. This makes for more efficient feeding.

Even on a cow-calf operation where cows may only be worked once or twice a year, if a cow has a bad experience in the chute, she doesn’t want to go into it again. “Our angled headgate sets us apart. People think our chute looks funny but it gives superior neck injection access—whether in front of the headgate or behind it. The animal also comes out more readily. The design encourages forward movement and the animal doesn’t back up in the chute as much,” he says.

A big factor is less bruising, fewer abscesses from vaccines, etc. “Antibiotics are going into healthy tissue versus damaged tissue, so the animal responds better to these drugs as well. Everything is geared to low stress handling. Temple Grandin has had an influence on what we do; we believe in keeping things quiet, and fewer bruise points.”

The way the Brute equipment is made, everything is built in sections. “We can talk the customer through many different scenarios based on their existing yard or pens or the setup they already have. We can outfit a barn that’s been there for 40 or 50 years. Also, we can help them remodel and improve what they already have. I can get a general understanding of what they need, whether through photos, hand sketches or visiting them in person, to get an idea how their operation works. Then I can put this through a computer program and drag and drop our pieces into that and see exactly how they fit, to scale with what the farmer or rancher already has,” he says.

“There are many different customizable designs that we can make work, in an existing infrastructure. This is a huge benefit and we can make a good, flowing system they will be happy with, utilizing a lot of what they already have. If they are going to spend a lot of money they want to do it once and do it right. I don’t believe in cookie cutter one-way-to-do things,” Austin says.

“We take a lot of things into consideration, whether we are using the equipment or hear from our customers; we are big on wanting feedback, all the time. We are always willing to change or see our product from a different point of view. In everything we do, we also use as many U.S. materials as possible. Our equipment is built here, our sales and shop are in the same area, using American hoses, steel, etc.”

March 2026
By Heather Smith Thomas

Home – American Cattlemen

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