Talk about getting my arse handed to me. I’ve spent a very large percentage of the past 6 years looking at cattle (and sheep) weight data and almost as much time trying to find ways to display it in a form that clearly communicates what is important.
Turns out I haven’t done much of a job of it!
Last weekend I had a round of golf with Barney Buntine. He’s an Optiweigh user, a smart bloke, and we were chatting about his livestock data. His weights didn’t seem to be going in the right direction and he was having trouble finding his way around the Optiweigh data to validate the numbers.
So we got together over a laptop and once I showed him what was where, he quickly picked up on the key points that I have evidently done a lousy job of communicating.
So here are 6 tips for looking at the data and getting to the bottom of things:
- The 14 Day ADG number is best considered as a leading indicator.
It is not a true measure of weight gain because 14 days is such a short period of time that any sort of fluctuation can move the number around quite a bit. What this means though, is that it can quickly highlight a need to have a look at what is going on in the paddock.
- Head the data portal on the Optiweigh website.
The email and phone app have only some of the information. For the detail head to the data portal from the link on the email, from the Optiweigh website or at http://client.optiweigh.io.
- The weight chart on the data portal is the next place to look.
Does the ADG being reported for the individual animals match the change in weight of the green line? Also, check out the blue dots – they are the actual average for the animals weighed on any one day. We use a 5 day rolling average for the green line so more animals are being included – but the blue dots can also help get a more current picture.
- Make sure the sample size is good enough.
Check the sample size – the number required for accuracy depends on the range of weights in the mob and is generally between 30 and 60 animals. The purple dot on the weight chart tells how many animals are contributing to the green line (rolling mob average).
- Head to the report called Session Data.
Here you can view the weight and ADG for individual animals. This is where the summary data comes from and the ADG time period can be changed using a dropdown box at the top.
- Look at the Data Over Time report.
This is the best one of all – you can summarise the animals by day, week or month over any time period. It can look noisy but if you have good enough data you will be able to confirm the mob trend by seeing the same trend for individual animals.
Here at Optiweigh HQ we have just completed a rebuild of the systems that deliver this information. It will allow us to add more features in the near future and make it all easier for you to navigate and easier to get the insights you need to make management decisions.
If there is anything you would like to see, or you can think of ways to communicate things better, please let me know.
– Bill.