Data from precision ranching technologies have the potential to help producers make decisions that improve profit margins, ranch sustainability and manage natural resources.
As this technology grows in popularity and usage, South Dakota State University Extension has hired Logan Vandermark as the university’s first ever precision livestock field specialist.
“It's pretty exciting that SDSU is taking the initiative to be a leader in precision livestock technologies, both on the research and application side of it,” Vandermark told the Tri-State Neighbor.
While precision ag has been prominent in the row crop and dairy industries, Vandermark said it’s starting to crop into the beef industry.
Stemming from successes in the dairy industry, which he said runs on very thin profit margins, Vandermark believes precision livestock technologies can help combat some of the fluctuations in the beef markets.
Incorporating cattle monitoring technology allows producers to select more efficient and better producing animals, which will help producers’ bottom lines, he said.
Vandemark’s research has focused largely on virtual fence technology such as Vence, which allows producers to create virtual fences to dictate grazing behavior as well as monitor animal wellbeing via GPS tracking.
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Other precision livestock technologies include those that evaluate cattle weights, along with feeding and watering systems that can allow producers to evaluate animals on an individual basis and take some of the guesswork out of production.
“Some of my work also focused on collecting daily weights from animals so we could start looking at individual animal performance, as opposed to waiting until the end of the summer and hoping that we did a good job,” he said.
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Vandermark likened it to humans running a race. If there are five people who are all asked to run three miles, no matter what their exercise regimen has been up to that point, they will all perform differently based on genetics and epigenetics, he said.
If they were to continue a running regimen from that point, they would have different plans on maximizing their performance and getting the most out of their potential.
“So our ability to really manage on the individual animal level allows us to disseminate that and then in the research side, we can start looking at the genetic selection,” he said, adding that this is becoming more visible with Expected Progeny Differences (EPD) values that some seed stock producers utilize.
Vandermark said he’s also looking at what he referred to as “low cost precision technologies.” Stock tank monitoring systems such as Frontier Precision Remote Livestock Tank Monitoring Solution can be especially beneficial when stock tanks are a long way from the house. From a cell phone, producers can monitor water levels as well as which individual cattle have accessed the tank.
If it’s discovered that some animals are skipping days, then producers can make the trek out to see if the animal is ill or if they’ve found a closer water source.
Cameras are also a fairly low-budget but beneficial resource, Vandermark said. Cellular based trail cameras can take photos throughout the day and send a picture via text that provides visual confirmation of the water that’s available.
Calving barn cameras, such as CowCams, can also reduce stress on producers, especially in inclement weather.
“During the wintertime when it's snowing or sleeting and raining, you don't have to get out of your pajamas to go check animals at 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock in the morning,” he said. “You could just look on your phone and see if anything's happening or if you need to go out there and check in person.”
Vandemark said that could be considered more of a quality of life improvement than a financial one.
“But I would argue that that increase in quality of life has a monetary value to it,” he said.
Producers who are curious how incorporating precision livestock technologies can have Vandemark visit their operation. Contact the SDSU West River Research and Extension office in Rapid City to set up a visit.
Melisa Goss, Assistant Editor for the Tri-State Neighbor, is a South Dakota farm girl whose love of travel has allowed her to see ag’s vital impact around the world, from America’s heartland to the rice paddies of Southeast Asia and many places in between. She makes her home in Hartford with her husband, daughter and miniature schnauzer. You can reach her at mgoss@lee.net.