The Auto Weigher is changing the game for Australian farmers

The Gallagher Auto Weigher has proven to be a ‘game changer’ for Australian cattle farmers. Once animals reach 250kg and have been on and off the scale for 14 days, farmers have been able to consistently track weight gains.

One cattle farmer that has been making the most out of the Auto Weigher is Rob McLellan from Yass, NSW. He took the time to talk to us about how an Auto Weigher has taken the guesswork out of raising animals for him.

What is the Gallagher Auto Weigher in your words?

The new Auto Weigher is a fantastic tool for cattle farmers to monitor cattle weights daily, leaving them where they’re grazing. The Auto Weigher estimates their daily weight gain and/or weight loss to determine if they’re hitting their target weights. Like with all movements of livestock, bringing them in to weigh puts stress on the animals. This technology solution enables us to come to them, easily.

How portable and practical is it for you?

The Auto Weigher is a well-built machine. With the ‘pull of a pin’, you can engage the wheels to have it towing and on the move to the next paddock within minutes. 

Has it proven to be accurate against final sale weight?

We had a herd of Wagyu’s using the Auto Weigher. At the time of sale, they averaged 372kg. With the cattle then curfewed and some lighter ones taken out, they came in at an average of 362kg. This is a fantastic tool to monitor cattle and hit the contract weights. In this case, with an accuracy of within 2.7%. 

The attractants are key for the system to perform well. From Salt licks to molasses, the more movement on and off the machine, the better the data. With a herd of 160, 138 were recorded over a 7 days period at an 86% visitation rate, more than adequate numbers stepping up to be counted.

What’s next for the Gallagher Auto Weigher?

We’d like to see some more information around the number of times each animal is weighed and the total weight gain since the first weighing. The better we understand the cattle that aren’t performing, the better chance we have of improving their performance in time for market.

Australian Regional Marketing Lead, Sam Osborn said,“We’re on to it Rob! The functionality you’re talking about is on the way in the dashboard under development. Watch this space for updates!”

It was great hearing from Rob. Feedback from farmers like him is essential to making these products even better so we can continue serving farmers.