WEID Solution Guides Better Cattle Buying

Steve and Fran Thompson run 350 cows over 2,025 hectares (5,000 acres) of owned and leased country, selling off the progeny as weaners. They also buy and sell store cattle; trading up to 1,000 in a good year.

Buying their original farm "Harewood" in 1988, the Thompsons have slowly added to their Darling Downs property, which has an annual rainfall of some 784 millimetres (30.87 inches).

Steve says, "We had a set of scales; they were okay, but did give us a few problems. But on top of not doing the job properly, we'd just outgrown them. They could just weigh, and that was it. We couldn't do any recording of any substance."

So the Thompsons looked around and chose the Gallagher TSi.

Record detailed information

"We want to watch the daily weight gain for the cattle we're feeding, but we also wanted to be able to record other statistics, for example, breed, purchase price and so on. I like keeping an eye on cattle weights when they're leaving here also, so I can make sure there are no discrepancies with sale weights.

"It also gives us a better idea of our cattle. We weigh them and know their weights exactly, rather than guessing. This lets us work out our yields accurately .

"Our eldest daughter Stephanie works off farm, but she's pretty keen on what this TSi can do. If we're inducting cows, she'll record a whole lot of detailed information, which is important in gaining knowledge about breeds which are most profitable for the enterprise.

"Some breeds perform better, and as we have adapted this technology to our business, we're buying better now, which obviously has advantages at the other end."

Scanner flexibility

And Steve likes the flexibility that the HR3 Hand Held EID Tag Reader gives him in the yards.

"I find the fact it's not attached to the scales very good. I do a fair bit of yard work by myself. I can walk back and scan the cattle while they're walking up on to the scales. So usually they're weighed and I can let them off straightaway."

Steve and Fran are also impressed with Gallagher's customer service. "If we have an issue, it's just a phone call away. When we bought the TSi, Rob [Doro, Gallagher's Territory Manager for South East Qld] spent time showing us how to use it efficiently."