Rancher Mike Turner manages multiple ranches in the Texas Panhandle, about 45 miles north of Amarillo. The water sources on his ranches are spread out, with the farthest a 32-mile round trip from the headquarters.
Last fall, Turner installed Ranchbot’s Trough Direct monitors at the far-off ranch to beta test. The system has allowed him to reduce trips to the property from every day to a couple times per week.
Turner says the system was easy to install with a side or top mount to accommodate a variety of trough types.
“Despite the cattle having direct access to the Ranchbot units, I have been pleased with how well the system has held up,” Turner says.
In south Texas, Suzanne Schuchart manages a 5,200-acre cow-calf operation where rainfall is irregular and unreliable. To ensure adequate water, the ranch has 30 pastures, each with a water source, such as a pond or tank, and most are connected by water pipes to supplement with well water as needed.
Like Turner, Schuchart was asked to beta test the Trough Direct system and host a grazing management tour during this year’s CattleCon. The system includes a water level monitor, rain gauge and camera on the main water system, as well as trough monitors and pasture direct monitors in other areas.
“It’s very convenient,” she says about the system. “The app is easy to use, and I like that it’s real-time reporting. When my husband used to ask, ‘Did you check the cistern level when you went down there?’ I used to have to go back and check and climb up on this ladder to make sure the float was not messed up. Now I can just look at the app and tell what level it is.”
Schuchart says she appreciates the monitors are easy to install and can be moved between pastures as cattle are rotated.
“The [Ranchbot system] alleviates a lot of worry about water because the minute you walk away, something can go wrong,” she adds.
Read more: Reduce Water Worry
