18 Nebraska Cattleman August 2023 INCREASING FEEDLOT EFFICIENCY Tried and True / New and Innovative By Jessica Wesson, Contributing Writer Feedlots across America face several challenges when raising high-quality beef. The biggest concern for many feedlot owners and operators is efficiency. Whether that is feed or cost efficiency, it affects every area of the feedlot operation. Luckily, there are many tried and true practices and products as well as a host of new innovations available for operations of all sizes and types to increase profit. Data Management Managing a feedlot involves a large amount of data collection, and that can get overwhelming. A data management system is a good way to handle the sheer amount of information that feedlots must process. Midwest MicroSystems LLC is the provider of Cow Sense NxGen, a digital herd management software system. The software is optimizable for operations of all sizes, including feedlots. The platform is designed to be easy to navigate and use with video tutorials and electronic help guides for users to consult when needed. The flexibility of the main platform allows operations to complete inventory by animal type, animal status, animal ID (such as visual ID, electronic ID, brands, bangs tag or tattoos), age, origin and purchase price. The user can also generate customized reports based on their data. There are several add-ons for Cow Sense NxGen, and they can be valuable for feedlot operations. Chuteside is a component in the Cow Sense Suite that allows data to be collected manually or automatically for more timely management decisions. It gives the user instant access to animal history and to record current data while the animal is in the chute. It puts the data in the hands of the person working the animals so they can make decisions while the animal is in the chute. Operation Monitoring When a feedlot has thousands of animals on site, it can be hard for pen riders to have time to inspect each one. Precision Livestock Technologies offers an automated solution that simplifies herd monitoring for cattle performance, bunk management and herd health. The system features cameras that are installed over the pens to monitor cattle and the bunks. The cameras are weatherproof, solar powered and Wi-Fi enabled. The installation is fast and simple with remote updates and diagnostics to keep the software current with little work on the feedlot’s part. The system gathers data, including bunk feed levels, bunk slicks, feeding behavior, fill events and intake predictions. Soon, weight, performance and health will be added to the platform to enhance the feedlot manager’s ability to intercept low-performing or ill cattle earlier. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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