Feed is one of the largest variable costs in a stocker or backgrounding operation. But for many producers, the information needed to manage that cost still lives on paper feed sheets, handwritten notes, spreadsheets or records entered after feeding is done.
That gap between feed delivery and usable data can make it harder to know whether cattle received the planned ration, ingredients were loaded accurately, costs are changing across pens, and feeding decisions are showing up in performance and break-even.
MWI Animal Health’s Stocker1 new feed truck integration is designed to close that information gap by bringing feed delivery activity into the same platform producers use to manage cattle performance, animal health, inventory, billing and costs.
Turning feeding records into management information
In many stocker and backgrounding operations, feeding records are captured during the day and entered later, creating opportunities for delays, missed details, and duplicate work. By the time information reaches the office, managers may already be making decisions based on yesterday’s records.
The feed truck integration allows producers to build feed plans and ration information in Stocker1, connect that plan to the feeding workflow, and send actual loading and delivery activity back into Stocker1.
Better visibility into feed costs and break-even
Feeding accuracy affects more than the feed bill. When loading or delivery varies from the planned ration, cattle may not receive the intended nutritional balance, which can influence feed efficiency, weight gain, and cost of gain.
That is why connecting feed delivery to a broader cattle management platform matters. Stocker1 gives producers a more complete view of feed costs, animal health costs, medicine costs, receiving costs, inventory and current break-even so they can better understand what a group is costing each day.
Reducing paperwork without losing detail
The feed truck integration also addresses a simple but costly challenge: time. When feeding information must be written down, transferred and entered later, employees spend time on recordkeeping that could be used checking cattle or completing other work.
By digitizing feed delivery workflows, Stocker1 helps reduce manual entry, limit duplicate work and keep records current.
Finding patterns across pens, loads and ingredients
Timely feeding data becomes more powerful when it helps managers understand patterns across the operation. Feed variance and load variance reporting give producers a way to evaluate feeding activity by driver, load, ingredient and other factors.
Those reports can help managers spot where planned and actual feeding activity differ, coach employees, improve ration execution, and understand where higher-cost ingredients are going.
One platform for the whole stocker workflow
Feed delivery is only one part of managing a successful stocker or backgrounding operation. Stocker1’s advantage is that feed management connects with animal health records, inventory tracking, billing, invoicing, reporting and performance monitoring in the same platform.The Stocker1 platform also connects to MWI Animal Health’s myAnimalRX platform enabling producers to order directly from their veterinarian. Ensuring producers can get the supplies and medications they need from a trusted source.
That matters for operations looking for a practical, streamlined approach. Producers can process cattle, record treatments, manage feed, track movements, create invoices, and evaluate performance without moving into an oversized system.
The result is a clearer connection between feed delivery and cattle performance. With the feed truck integration, Stocker1 helps producers move beyond delayed records and paper-based workflows toward more current, connected management information. In a margin-sensitive business, that can help producers save time, know their costs and make more confident cattle decisions.
Learn more about Stocker1 and how it can optimize your operation.
