Tag: Weighing Cattle

Accurate Weights Drive Livestock Success

Posted on by Cattle- Web-Manager-2

Accurate Livestock Weights Drive Successful Operations 

From optimizing feed and dosing medications to maximizing profitability, weight plays a crucial role in cattle ranch operations. With reliable livestock scales, producers can obtain actionable insights and improve herds. 

The Importance of Weighing Cattle 

Weight is an essential benchmark for a successful cattle ranch. Although scales are integral equipment at many ranches, weight is often estimated visually or with weight tape. Estimates introduce human error and can lead to significant financial losses due to overfeeding or underselling.  

Routinely weighing cattle with dependable scales eliminates the guesswork. Weight is a conventional way to establish health benchmarks, monitor growth, dose medications and analyze other aspects of herd management. Accurate data enables ranchers to make strategic decisions, strengthening operations and maximizing bottom lines.  

Livestock scales are often paired with specialized software to determine metrics such as rate of gain and shrink, turning weight data into actionable insights for herd management. Ranchers can utilize the rate of gain to adjust feed plans and determine the next stage of production. It also helps with timing market sales and ensuring livestock meet target weights.   

Supporting Ranchers with High-quality Livestock Scales and Customer Service 

Understanding successful livestock operations require durable scales and instrumentation, Rice Lake Weighing Systems has worked closely with producers to provide systems that enhance weighing and data collection. Rice Lake has been an industry-leading provider of innovative weighing and measurement solutions across a wide range of industries since 1946.  

According to Sam Solie, livestock scale product manager at Rice Lake, a focus on supporting customer experiences makes Rice Lake stand out. “We make sure to take care of the customer. We want them to have the scales and instrumentation needed for a thriving ranch.”  

As a beef cattle producer herself, Solie understands that scale integrity is about more than design—a high-quality construction is the foundation of a long-lasting weighing system. Rice Lake livestock scales are manufactured in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, by specially trained welders and fabricators who have completed a comprehensive training program before beginning scale construction. Customers who purchase Rice Lake livestock scales receive high-quality systems built to withstand harsh conditions.  

Solie takes a hands-on approach to customer support. She’s committed to building close partnerships with Rice Lake livestock scale distributors and ranchers, understanding their operations and scale mechanics, and aiding with any questions. Solie provides on-site training for Rice Lake sales teams and distributors, helping ensure they have the product knowledge and practical expertise needed to serve cattle producers effectively.  

Selecting the Optimal Livestock Scale for Your Ranch

A variety of livestock scales are on the market, but the type of scale is dependent on each cattle ranch’s site and herd size. Solie explains, “The first thing to consider about a livestock scale is where the animals will be weighed.” Determining the weighing location is a crucial factor in selecting suitable types of livestock scales. For operations that weigh animals at one location, stationary animal scales may be ideal, while mobile and portable scales are ideal for multisite ranches.  

The size of the herd determines whether a single or group animal scale is necessary. Single animal scales are ideal for smaller ranches. Group animal scales are essential for high-volume ranches, as they can weigh numerous head at a time, streamlining weighing operations and maximizing efficiency.  

Ranches that use weight data for herd growth or vaccination dosages may benefit from utilizing a basic weight indicator. Ranches that buy and sell livestock may require an indicator package with specialized software to calculate the rate of gain, export data and complete transactions.   

A New Mobile Livestock Scale from Rice Lake 

Rice Lake offers a variety of scale systems to meet the demanding needs of nearly any ranch. Recently, Rice Lake released the MAS-M2, an enhanced mobile animal scale designed to weigh multiple livestock simultaneously. Ideal for multisite weighing, it is a durable, lightweight scale that can be towed behind a standard vehicle and withstand uneven terrain. It obtains Legal for Trade weights without the need to be recalibrated, even at locations with up to a 6% grade.  

The MAS-M2 is an easy-to-use scale that promotes animal and operator safety with treaded flooring, a low-profile platform, higher gate panels and quick-release swing gates. It is also equipped with locking systems and independent air-ride suspension to prevent equipment damage.  

The onboard weigh center features a weatherproof 920i® digital indicator and printer. This enables ranchers to complete Legal for Trade transactions onsite and export data for reports. Equipped with Group Weighing and Rate of Gain software, ranchers can make informed decisions based on total weight, headcount, shrink, daily rate of gain, average gain and more.  

During the product development process, Solie considered distributors and wanted to make maintenance easier for the MAS-M2. Routine maintenance is good practice for any scale, but it is required for Legal for Trade certification. Many cattle ranches sell livestock based on weight, meaning routine maintenance and recertification are necessary. 

“The MAS-M2 makes weighing and maintenance simpler,” says Solie. The new-and-improved scale enables greater access to key components for scale technicians. Swift troubleshooting means less scale downtime, preventing unexpected scale malfunctions and ensuring legally compliant weighing.  

Rugged Cattle Scales Improve Herd Management 

Accurate livestock weight data is essential to improving herds and maximizing profits. Paired with data management software, ranchers use weight to make strategic decisions about production processes, herd management and sales.  

Rice Lake strives to provide easy-to-use, durable and trustworthy solutions for any application. Taking care of the customer, they offer a variety of livestock scales and instrumentation, ensuring each ranch can integrate the optimal solution and use weight data to enhance operations.   

To learn more about Rice Lake and its livestock weighing systems, visit www.ricelake.com/livestockscales.   

 

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Benefits of Weighing Beef Cattle

Posted on by Weicks-Webmaster

Benefits of Weighing Beef Cattle

Weighing Your Beef Cattle Can Be Helpful in Increasing Efficiency throughout your Herd and Feeder Cattle.

Weighing your cattle can benefit you in several ways and increase efficiency throughout your herd. However, a scale is often absent on smaller farms. Industry experts share that it is often thought that this one piece of equipment can help save and make money, grow better cattle, and gain efficiency in your herd.

An absent scale on the farm will leave beef producers estimating cattle weight gain (or loss), pharmaceutical dosages, feed requirements, and average daily gain. It can also increase the risk of penalties when selling groups of cattle.

Cow-Calf Producers

Regarding cow-calf producers, record keeping, diets, and stocking rates can be managed efficiently by knowing accurate weights. Feed is commonly said to be the highest cost to a beef producer. With correct cattle weights, one can avoid over-feeding, saving significant money in the long run.

Record keeping of weights can also provide an average daily gain (ADG) and ensure that rations fed to growing cattle efficiently meet their dietary needs. Most performance records in cow-calf operations are based on weight. Weighing mature cows within a herd will allow producers to manage the herd and genetics better and provide knowledge to assist in reaching production goals. For example, when looking at weaning weight, one might assume that a group of steers that averaged 600 pounds was better than the group that averaged 520 pounds. However, when you consider that the 520-pound calves were weaned off 1100-pound cows versus the 600-pound calves that came off 1350-pound cows, the overall efficiency of the two herds is different.

Over or under-estimating mature cow weight will also significantly impact one’s stocking rate. For example, assuming your average mature cow size is 1,000 pounds when, in reality, you are running 1,200-pound cows will result in over-stocking your pastures and lead to future problems with feed and mineral supply. On the flip side, if you are underestimating by just 100 pounds, you would be missing out on grazable pasture per head and are likely overspending on the mineral. Many producers would also agree that fertilizer is a high cost. Suppose a producer cannot determine the total pounds of cattle an acre supports or animal units per month (AUM). In that case, fertilizer or supplemental feedstuff investments are not adequately managed.

Cattle Feeders

Cattle Feeders will benefit from weighing their cattle by monitoring animal performance, improving animal health, and forecasting the best time to sell the cattle. An idea of the animal or group of animals’ average daily gain (ADG) will allow the producer to manage better feed rations, underperforming animals, and grouped cattle.

Feeding programs for stockers and feeders can vary based on region, by-product availability, and goals. Routinely weighing cattle will help determine the success of different feeding programs and allow the selection of animals for preferential feeding. Even if the goal is to sell freezer beef, an accurate live animal weight is needed. Either an invoice for the live animal is made before the date of slaughter utilizing the butcher processing fees and live weight, or a live weight and the USDA pricing guide can be used for retail beef.

Accurate Numbers and Healthy Cows

If the producer has contracted cattle to sell at a specific weight, having accurate weight numbers will provide better guidance to meet those requirements. It will also assist in avoiding weight penalties at the packer plant. Weight penalties will add up over time if uniformity is not prioritized. Utilizing cattle weights can help determine where to buy calves. For example, suppose you have a group of cattle performing poorly from a specific farm compared to other cattle on the same ration. In that case, you may make management decisions not to buy from them again.

When an animal is sick, the accurate pharmaceutical dosage is crucial to management and beef quality assurance. In addition, correct body weight will allow the dosage to be precise, which is best for the calf and the most cost-effective for the stocker.
Livestock owners and veterinarians should work together to make decisions that improve animal health. All drugs should be administered as directed by its label.

Conclusion

Collecting accurate weights on beef cattle will be nothing short of beneficial to managing your operation and finances. In a time like today, where the profit margins in the beef industry are continually being challenged, a simple practice can grow significant returns. Pencil-pushing accurate numbers will always provide the producer with the best information to allow for changes and growth within cattle production.

By Taylor Zahn, Extension Educator, Penn State Extension

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