MINDA integration helps manage scale with precision
Friday, 31 July, 2026
| Kris Murray |
Young & Dry stock Manager |
| Temuka | Pye Group Farms |
| Large-scale Dairy | 3,000 young stock and 10,000 cows |
| Optimised with integrations | TWR-5, EID Panel Reader, Load bars, Animal Performance Plus with MINDA Integration |
Managing thousands of young animals across multiple sites is no small feat - and for Kris Murray, the sheer volume of data was becoming a major challenge. From weaning through to pre-calving, his role is to ensure replacements meet strict weight and growth targets, which means weighing around 3,000 animals monthly to track progress.
As Pye Group’s young stock and dry stock manager, Kris was spending countless hours manually collating and reporting data. The integration between MINDA and his Gallagher weighing system arrived just in time, streamlining the process by automatically syncing data and relieving pressure on his previous system.
“It’s all about performance growth,” Kris explains. “We weigh to monitor how animals are tracking against targets for mating and calving. If they’re behind, we need to know early enough to do something about it.”
“We used to bring the animals through, record their weights, then I’d spend half a day reformatting CSV files to upload into MINDA,” Kris says. “It was time-consuming and needed a lot of double-checking.”
That changed with Gallagher’s integration with LIC’s MINDA software. Now, weights captured in the yards sync directly into MINDA.
From half a day to just few minutes
Ease of set-up and portability are also real advantages at Pye Group, Kris explains. “The EID reader is an antenna on the crate and it uses Bluetooth to send to the TWR-5, so everything just goes with us to whichever yard we’re weighing in.”
“It’s literally half a minute at the yards and then the click of a few buttons, instead of half a day at the computer,” Kris says. “I can go home at night and spend time with the kids instead of staring at spreadsheets.”
With such a focus on on-farm mental health now, Kris is conscious of the significance of time-saving advantages, not just in terms of work efficiency.
“If it frees up a bit of time to spend with the family, or hang out with mates, that’s got to be a positive,” he says.
The efficiency gains are significant across Pye’s multiple farms and mobs. Contract milkers and managers can access real-time data in MINDA without waiting for manual uploads.
“Everyone can see what’s happening straight away. If an animal’s under target, we can draft it out there and then. It takes the guesswork out.”
The system’s ease of use is another plus. “It’s foolproof. Once you’re logged in, it’s just a couple of clicks and it’s done. You don’t need to be a tech expert, and the phone app is a massive, massive game-changer,” Kris says. He’s sure this simplicity helps overcome hesitancy among some farmers who are less confident with technology.
Better decisions, stronger outcomes
With more accurate, timely data, Kris can make better-informed decisions. Drafting animals under target weight is straightforward, whether that’s to manage feeding, relieve pressure on green feed, or identify health issues. “Instead of eyeballing mobs, we’ve got the data to back up decisions. It’s informed drafting, with informed data to do it.”
This was particularly valuable during a tight winter feed season. By using weight data to pull lighter animals out and keep them on grass rather than fodder beet, Kris freed up hectares of crop for other stock. “It meant we didn’t have to buy in extra feed. And, in fact, we had surplus we could on-sell. That’s a direct saving.”
The integration also supports collaboration. With all weight data instantly available in MINDA, conversations with farm managers and graziers are based on the same set of numbers. “It reduces double-handling and makes sure everyone’s working off the same data. That consistency is key.”
Looking ahead, Kris is keen to see further connections between systems, such as with Trev “the more these platforms talk to each other, the less duplication and the fewer errors. Everything flows better when it’s integrated.”
For now, he says the Gallagher-MINDA link is a clear win. “For any farmer with scale, it’s a no-brainer. It saves huge amounts of time, it’s accurate, and it helps you make better calls for your stock and your business. Plus, it gives you back some family time - and you can’t put a price on that.”
Key benefits for Pye Group
- Massive time savings: Syncing weight data from Gallagher’s TWR-5 directly into MINDA cuts admin from half a day to just minutes.
- Real-time access: Contract milkers and managers can see animal weights instantly in MINDA, reducing double-handling.
- Informed decisions: Accurate, timely data supports better drafting, feeding, and health management.
- Feed efficiency and cost savings: Weight data helps match animals to the right feed, freeing up valuable crops and avoiding unnecessary purchases.
- Work-life balance: Time saved on data entry means more time for family and wellbeing—an important mental health benefit.
Take a closer look at Kris' weigh system
