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Drones Boost Efficiency and Herd Health

Drones may have started as tools of high tech hobbyists and military strategists, but their role in agriculture, including within the cattle sector, has grown from novelty to necessity. As technology improves and the industry adapts to modern tools, drones are proving to be a cost effective and labor saving solution that enhances productivity and herd performance.

Applications include herd monitoring, land management and with more opportunities on the horizon. From feedlot operators to cow-calf producers, these machines are offering a new perspective on how to run a more efficient cattle business.

What can they do, anyway?

The practical applications for drones in cattle operations are wide ranging and continuously expanding. On larger operations, where it can take hours or even days to monitor herd activity or assess property conditions, drones significantly cut down the time and manpower needed for routine tasks.

According to Caitlin Maddock-Bahr, writing for Caterpillar’s Down to Earth Agriculture blog, one operation now uses drones to count cattle in under two hours using only one person. The process involves creating a flight plan, running the drone over the property and sending the data to a drone management provider. From there, they can run a headcount in less than an hour, greatly cutting down on time and energy.

The technology also extends into feedyard management. Drones can map pen surfaces to pinpoint specific drainage issues, improving animal welfare and pen maintenance over time. They’ve also been used to assess feed bunks, scout for discrepancies in feed distribution and even evaluate silage pit volume to aid in ration planning.

Drones are becoming just as useful on the grazing side. Samantha Daniel, in her 2024 article for CropWatch from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, outlines how drones can determine forage utilization and monitor pasture health. No more lost hours spent on foot or ATV riding for routine inspections. Additionally, drones can scout for insect outbreaks, disease pressure or changes in biomass, providing better visibility into forage production without disrupting the landscape.

Herd health, stress and surveillance

One of the most significant benefits drones offer is improved monitoring of animal health and behavior with minimal stress to the herd. Human presence, especially during gathering or close inspection, can lead to elevated stress responses in cattle. This in turn can negatively impact weight gain, fertility and immune function.

According to 3Laws Robotics in their overview, Drones and the Future of Beef Cattle Ranching and Farming, including Feedlots, drone technology has been shown to reduce labor costs by up to 40% and minimize cattle stress by as much as 50%.

Beyond cost savings, these metrics also show improvement in herd performance. Their research also points to reduced incidence of bovine respiratory disease, improved detection of injuries and illnesses, and better tracking of feeding patterns and animal behavior.

As calving season demands constant surveillance and estrus detection becomes more precise, drones allow ranchers to maintain a bird’s eye view without disturbing their animals. Over time, cattle tend to acclimate to the drone’s presence, making it a practical tool for daily observation.

Worth the buy?

The barrier to entry for utilizing drone technology is lower than ever, but it’s still not insignificant. As Daniel notes, startup costs can range from $500 to $5,000 depending on camera resolution, flight range, and capabilities like thermal imaging or mapping software. Battery life and wind resistance are critical considerations for operators managing large or rugged terrain.

Legal use is another factor. Anyone using a drone for commercial or agricultural purposes must pass the FAA’s Part 107 exam to obtain certification, which comes with a cost and some paperwork. (Additional licensing is required for any pesticide application done via drone, should it be used for treating pasture.)

Maddock-Bahr advises ranchers looking to optimize their drone’s performance to prioritize long battery life and high resolution imaging, especially if their goal is to count animals, measure feed intake or identify small changes in terrain or plant growth.

In windy regions, more powerful drones are necessary to withstand conditions and complete flight plans without interruption.

And while the learning curve can be steep at first, once integrated into an operation, drones quickly pay for themselves through savings in time, labor and improved management decisions.

A new standard?

While drones won’t replace the human touch anytime soon, they are quickly becoming a valuable tool in the toolbox. Their efficiencies aren’t just theoretical. Ranchers are already seeing returns in the form of healthier cattle, better grazing outcomes, and earlier interventions. As regulations become more accommodating and hardware prices continue to fall, drone technology may well become as commonplace on the ranch as a pair of working boots or a reliable side-by-side.

By Jaclyn De Candio

September 2025

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Weighing Success

On any working ranch or farm, producers depend on powerful performance measurement tools to evaluate the health and wellbeing of their herd. Key measurement tools need to be dependable and rugged, including weigh scales, which provide ranchers with an assessment of calves’ weight gain. This allows them to receive accurate treatment dosages and proper nutrition as well as a glimpse into the animal’s health and performance.

Rice Lake Weighing Systems has been building and perfecting livestock scales since 2011. Originally founded in 1946 in Rice Lake, WI, as Thomas & Johnson Scale Service, the company provided pivots and bearings for mechanical scales used on dairy farms in the area. Eventually, the company changed its name to Rice Lake Weighing Systems and has been making an impact on the weighing and measurement industry ever since.

Using What you Can

By utilizing advanced manufactured processes and state-of-the-art technology, the company has become a global leader in livestock scales.

“Our company vision is ‘Take care of the customer and the rest of the business will take care of itself” and ‘To be the best by every measure.’ We do our very best to take care of the customer and make sure our products are of very high quality,” says Sam Solie, product manager for livestock scales at Rice Lake. “Our staff works hard to make sure we are here for our customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Over the years, we have expanded our company and added new products.”

Indeed, Rice Lake offers a wide variety of products to help satisfy customers and the needs of their applications. The company’s stationary livestock scale receives updates and is one of the most popular models. Specifically, the MAS-LM stationary mechanical animal scale provides reliable, accurate weighing for ranchers and processors that prefer a mechanical pipe lever weighing system.

Multiple Sizes

“We offer this scale in many different sizes and have the opportunity to do customs to help satisfy customer needs,” Solie says. “The stationary scales are very robust and built to last.”

Rice Lake’s stationary weighing models comes in a variety of sizes and boast various flooring options. In addition, the main weighbridge on stationary models is built with heavy-duty steel to stand up to the toughest jobs. Rice Lake also understands that the layout and functionality of each ranch and farm is different, so there are many different style customs to fit in sale barns, ranches, feedlots and county fairs.

“Our mobile animal scale is another popular model that customers use to be able to go out and weigh their animals in the field instead of needing to bring them on-site. Currently, we are working on updates to our mobile scale, with updated features customers are requesting,” Solie says. The current model of the MAS-M mobile livestock scale features a low-profile weighing platform to allow for faster and easier multi-site livestock weighing.

“On our mobile scale, we offer a very easy-to-use scale with instrumentation. The indicator on the side of the scale helps simplify weighing and allows producers to keep track of animals the customer is shipping out,” Solie adds.

Thorough Evaluation

While Rice Lake has developed some of the most durable scales to meet the specific needs of farmers and ranchers alike, there is not a “one size fits all” weighing solution. The company strives to provide custom products that are perfectly suited to every application.

When looking for a livestock scale, Solie advises producers to consider some key factors – namely, scales need to be accurate, durable and easy to use. As Solie explains, having an accurate scale to weigh livestock on-site is a huge benefit that lowers costs by avoiding shrink. To help calculate the potential savings when investing in a Rice Lake livestock scale, the company provides a simple livestock shrink calculator on its website.

“When evaluating weighing systems, the scales need to be durable in order to withstand the job of moving and weighing animals. Making sure the scale and instrumentation is simple to use is another big item,” Solie says. “When you are out weighing your animals, you want to make sure it is easy to weigh them without having to do hours of set up each time. Once you are done weighing the animals, it is also imperative that the scale and instrumentation is easy to close down.”

Deciding Whether or Not to Grow

In addition, when purchasing a livestock scale, customers need to evaluate their herd size and if they need the scale on-site permanently or require a mobile unit for different locations.

“Shrink is a big factor that needs to be considered when you own livestock. If you send your cattle to a sale barn to be weighed, the stress they go through during the travel process makes them lose a good amount in shrink,” Solie says. “The benefits of weighing the animals on-site is that you are able to weigh them before shipping – saving money that you would typically lose in shrink.”

Continuous Evolution

Since its inception nearly 80 years ago, Rice Lake has continued to enhance and improve its product offerings, expanding into a myriad of industries. Because of the company’s focus on continuous improvement, the Rice Lake team is well-versed in incorporating technological advancements and state-of-the-art instrumentation into its product offerings.

Looking ahead, Solie says data will continue to be “king” within the livestock weighing industry.

“The more data we can provide from the scale to a rancher’s database or herd management software drives overall process efficiency gain,” Solie says.

In addition, producers have come to rely on technology that provides continuous feedback on the status of their livestock. That’s why communication, specifically being able to connect wirelessly between the scale and software, is paramount for today’s producers. As such, Rice Lake will be offering even more communication options to keep producers “in the know.”

“We will also see scales with self-reporting diagnostics and self-healing capabilities,” Solie says. “The scale’s uptime is critical for ranch operations, being down costs time and money. We are working towards scales that monitor their health and report errors and potential concerns. The next step is to create scale systems that can automatically adapt to error conditions and allow scales to continue to work at critical times.”

To learn more about Rice Lake Weighing Systems and its complete line of livestock weighing systems, visit www.ricelake.com.

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