Anna Plains Station, a large 18,000-head Brahman operation near Broome, WA, is using Optiweigh to improve their remote cattle management strategy and the DPIRD produced a fantastic case study showcasing the value of remote livestock monitoring through their Remote Beef Development Program.
The team have identified some key advantages of the Optiweigh units in remote livestock management:
- Optimised Supplementation: One of the primary benefits highlighted by Anna Plains is the ability to fine-tune their supplementation program. As they navigate the challenges of the dry season, the Optiweigh Unit provides crucial data to determine “if we need to bring out extra supplementation, if they’re starting to drop back a bit.” This targeted approach ensures resources are used efficiently and the cattle maintain optimal condition.
- Early Detection of Issues: The real-time weight data acts as an early warning system. The team can quickly identify when the animals aren’t gaining weight as expected, prompting investigation into potential issues like fly burdens or pasture availability. This proactive approach allows for timely intervention, preventing more significant health or production setbacks.
- Improved Sale Readiness and Stock Movement Decisions: Having access to consistent weight data allows Anna Plains to make more informed decisions about when cattle are ready for sale or when movements between paddocks might be necessary. This optimises marketing strategies and ensures cattle are moved at the right time for their development.
- Increased Efficiency and Reduced Labor: While weighing cattle has always been a part of livestock management, Optiweigh streamlines the process significantly. As noted, “We get more bang for your buck.” Our system automates data collection, reducing the need for manual weighing and freeing up valuable time and labor resources on the station.
Read the full transcript below:
“We run a 18,000 head here on Anna Plains Station. It’s a couple hundred kilometres south of Broome, on the 80 Mile Beach. It’s a unique station, with the beach on one side and the desert on the other.
We have a lot of buffel and birdwood grasses out here on the marine plain, and typical spinifex pastures on the pindan. We mainly run Brahman cattle, which are suited to the climate here in the north of Western Australia. And, they’re also in, in demand, in Indonesia. So that’s what they seem to like there, the grey Brahmans.
The Producer Innovation Fast-Track grant certainly helped us get the Optiweighs in place. The application process was pretty straightforward and was all really seamless and gave us a kick along to get this sort of technology so we’re very grateful for that.
We’ve got an Optiweigh, and it allows us to monitor real time weight data on these cattle here and wherever you take it. the grant process is pretty straightforward and, you know, getting the money and that sort of thing. So, you know, DPIRD certainly did a good job in managing the grant process. And encouraging people to get hold of it. The whole process was pretty straightforward.
The cattle can benefit from optimising their supplementation. That’s the key benefit and we can also see if they’re not gaining weight when they’re not happy so we’ll investigate that. Whatever reason there is for that, you know, it could be a fly burden or the paddocks getting a bit eaten out or whatever it is, you’ll know that sooner from having the Optiweighs than you probably would otherwise just by observing the cattle as you drive past.
How it works is we put a supplement into that feeder there, and then they would step onto it with their two front feet. It only needs their two front feet and then that’ll give us the weight recorded and it scans their NLIS tag.
Definitely the main benefit is being able to keep track of your weights within that 24 hours. So we can see if anything’s going backwards, if they’re ready to be sold, if we need to move them. It’s really good for that. We get more bang for your buck.
Weighing cattle has been there for, a long time. There’s been various walk over weigh systems, and Optiweigh seem to have perfected that method of measuring cattle weights of cattle out in the paddock in real time. I feel that it’s a bit of an advantage of the system and you know the data gets transferred back to your phone, or computer or whatever so you can look at the data on a daily basis if we want to and make decisions much more quickly than you would otherwise.
We’re at the end of the dry season so it’s all dried up and we’re just waiting on some rain. So this is a good this allows us to keep track of if we need to bring out extra supplementation, if they’re starting to drop back a bit, which they often need that extra supplement during this drier time.
All this extra data used correctly allows you to make better management decisions. You can’t just look at the data, you’ve got to really make sure you’re using it. There’s plenty of technology and you know, everyone knows you’ve got to farm smarter as the years go by. So, it’s a matter of grabbing whatever technology you can and implementing it in your business the best way possible.”
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