Constant movement, flocking behavior and visual similarities make counting cattle a frustrating task. HeadCount Inventory uses innovative technology, combining drones and satellites to get the job done.
“Nothing is impossible, but getting a whole yard count is close to impossible as you get,” says Brandon Depenbusch, vice president of Cattle Feeding Irsik & Doll Feed Services, which has feedyards across Kansas. “Right now, with drones, we can count a whole feedyard in 40 minutes with an accurate head count.”
Delivering Real-Time Livestock and Commodity Reports
HeadCount currently offers two services:
- Full yard count. With this service, HeadCount launches a swarm of drones to accurately take an inventory for the yard. The technology can count 80,000 to 90,000 livestock in under two hours. During this time, the yard halts all cattle processing and movement to assist with the process.
- Automation service. This operation consists of mapping the feedyard with a drone, connecting to satellites and autonomously flying a drone over the designated area gathering statistics in under 15 minutes.
“Not only can we deliver a full inventory report on the animals on hand, but also for the commodities too,” says Tyson Johnston, director of operations for HeadCount.
This technology is not meant to replace humans, he adds, but rather help them. He compares drones to horses, as both are different tools used in the process of counting cattle. Humans still have the ability to verify the information.
“We’ve taken something that wasn’t verifiable outside of the human element,” Johnston explains. “We aren’t trying to replace humans … we have a platform that integrates the human and technology variable.”
Irsik & Doll uses HeadCount’s technology when it has cattle scheduled to be shipped out for harvest. Depenbusch uses the drone image for an accurate number on a weekly basis. He also uses this technology for the company’s annual whole yard count.
“The beautiful thing about this is it will take a still image and it’s easier to count stuff that is standing still,” Depenbusch explains.
Identifying Accounting and Inventory Discrepancies in Real-Time
When an animal is worth $3,000 to $4,000, accuracy is crucial. Not only is this technology revolutionizing the feedlot, but it’s also helping the financial side of the business. Being able to capture a full inventory report with an accuracy rate of 99.997% in hours makes a difference.
“If there’s any inventory or accounting issue, we have to find that as soon as we can because the dollar per animal is pretty high,” Depenbusch says.
