The challenge of maintaining herd records is a familiar struggle for many cow-calf producers who grapple with balancing detailed documentation and practical, cost-efficient management. However, there are multiple solutions available to help transition from traditional paper to platforms that make data input and analysis more productive. During Smart Farming week, we will learn more about five record-keeping options available on the market today.
Created to revolutionize the beef supply chain, Breedr’s easy-to-use app connects every beef production stage with real-time data, empowering producers to track and optimize each animal’s genetic potential from embryo to finished product.
“Having grown up around farmers and ranchers, I’m proud of the way Breedr has been able to capitalize on technological advances to empower beef producers,” says Ian Wheal, founder and CEO of Breedr. “Since our launch in 2020, Breedr has helped over 3,000 farms in the U.S., U.K. and Australia to digitize their herds, and we’re particularly excited by how quickly progressive American ranchers and supply chains are embracing the opportunities of our technology.”
Wheal says in the beef industry, data is power; producers who actively collect, analyze and use individual animal data will be more competitive, efficient and profitable.
Combining individual animal data with artificial intelligence (AI) insights generated from millions of cattle, the company provides tailored feedback to help each partner in the chain optimize their own production.
According to Wheal, Breedr was designed for ranchers first. Key features include:
- Individual animal tracking — tracks cattle from conception to processing.
- Supply chain collaboration — connects data between seedstock, cow-calf, backgrounders and feedlots.
- Data insights — provides actionable insights about individual animal performance.
- Technology solutions — offers chute-side data collection systems with mobile and cloud-based platforms supporting electronic ID integration.
- Supply chain development — helps producers build branded beef programs and supports collaboration between producers and packers.
Wheal predicts beef producers could experience 20% efficiency gains in the next four or five years by moving to individual animal tracking and data collection. He encourages producers to transition from lot-based systems to individual animal tracking.
Breedr recently announced new features to make managing breeding stock and tracking calves easier. These features include:
- Improved features for seedstock operations including import and export from breed associations.
- Scan tissue sample barcodes to match to EIDs and view genetic and EPD information at the chute.
- Three new chute-side quick actions — quick induction on new animals, faster preg testing and condition scoring, all available offline.
Producer Perspective: The Answer to Integration
Simmental breeder Logan Butcher from Lewistown, Mont., says he’s been frustrated trying to find a cattle management program that will work for his 900 registered cows and 700 bred heifer commercial operation.
He tried other programs but found them not intuitive and too time-consuming to set up. After seeing Wheal give a presentation on Breedr, he says the user-friendly interface and clear workflow convinced him to try it.
He says Breedr is a fully integrated, usable system — hardware, software and people all tied together — to capture data from calving through chute work to carcass, and that integration is where the real value lies on his ranch.
“We have been using EIDs in our cattle for years in preparation for something like this,” Butcher explains. “Nobody could give me an integrated system; this is the EID reader and scale you need to buy and the program you need to use and they are all going to work together. It was crazy. Somebody needed to put it all together in a usable format, and that is what Breedr did.”
His favorite features are:
1. Shared calving book — During calving, entering data is fast and easy, and everything stays in one place. Multiple family members can enter data from their own phones simultaneously, eliminating the need for multiple paper copies.
“There’s lots of power in that when you’ve got more than one guy doing something,” he summarizes.
2. Chute-side functionality — He says the chute mode is “really good.” He appreciates when working cattle, if his brother sees a lame animal in the back, he can mark it on his phone and that animal will flag “lame treat” when it comes through the chute, reducing missed treatments.
3. Hardware synergy — Breedr’s integration with Butcher’s scale and EID reader was simple, solving a long‑standing problem of poor or clunky software around EIDs and capturing and recording weights.
4. Birth-to-harvest value — As a Superior representative, he sees big potential in Breedr’s ability to link carcass data back to every life-stage data point.
5. Customer service — He says support has been responsive and effective, helping him through minor bugs and how-to issues without any data loss.
With the upcoming breeding season, Butcher says he’s looking forward to using Breedr with RightMate, integrating the precision mating tools to help make decisions.
To learn more about Breedr, visit breedr.co
Your Next Reads:
- Digitizing the Ranch: Proving Worth, Reclaiming Margin, Building a Smarter Supply Chain
- Herd Management System Allows For Supply Chain Consistency
- Simplicity In Record-Keeping With an All-in-One Hub
- Voice-to-Record App Reinvents Cattle Management
- Bridging Genetics, Management and Technology in Beef Production
