Continued advancement in facilities, equipment and technology is important for operations of all sizes to continue improving efficiency and functionality. Most ranchers have a wish list of things they would like, and others made the investment this year with increased revenue following record-high cattle prices.
Patrick Wall, Iowa State University Extension and outreach beef field specialist, says things like building better fence, updating corrals, new chutes, calving cameras and new calving pens are common investments he has seen across Midwest farms and ranches.
“There’s really not one thing they turn to, but updated infrastructure would catch a lot of it,” Wall explains. “They all make life a little easier for the producer, enhance labor efficiency, and hopefully, profitability.”
Precision Tech Meets Pasture Management
Beyond infrastructure improvements and updating equipment, ranchers are working to rebuild the cow herd, which is the smallest it’s been in decades. This causes producers to invest in reproductive-specific technology to increase reproductive efficiency and cow longevity, Wall adds. Other producers look to new technology that might offer advantages not commonly seen before.
“Technologies like grazing collars and geo-fencing can be used to maximize cow nutrition during rebreeding, maybe in areas that couldn’t typically be grazed,” Wall explains. “Other wearables like solar-powered, GPS-enabled tags can enhance heat detection in heifers or track bull behavior to ensure cows and heifers are getting bred. Information from this technology can help producers make better decisions on heifer retention, keeping genetics most suitable for their environment and their management.”
In the far southwest corner of Missouri is 5K Cattle Co., where Vance Keaton manages about 245 registered and commercial Simmental and Angus cows. He sees new wearable technology like the virtual fencing collars as an exciting option for producers.
“A year ago I would have told you it was crazy, but this virtual fence is exciting,” Keaton says. “I’ve got a friend of mine that started using it, and I’m pretty impressed at how well they’re working and how he’s utilizing them. I think technology is what we’re seeing some ranchers start to utilize and invest in, whether it’s from record keeping to collars for virtual fencing.”
New technology is often seen as a big advancement, straying from traditional ranching. Wall notes the aging producer can be more reluctant to transition to new technology, but that transition is easier and quicker due to smartphones, which nearly everyone has.
“As technologies transition to smartphone capable, the adoption can be quicker; they already own a smartphone and know how to use it,” Wall says. “Producers with other income streams (grain farming, off-the-farm jobs, etc.) often migrate to a technology that can free up their time to do other things.
“For example, if an ear tag in a set of cows can tell a producer they’re all on the right side of the fence, then they don’t have to crawl out of the combine, burn diesel in their pick-up or use hours of vacation time to go check them,” Wall adds.
High-Tech Ranching for the Next Generation
With a continued downward trend of young producers entering the industry, Keaton adds new technology on the ranch may help decrease labor and potentially draw more interest from younger generations to the cattle industry.
“I’m thinking about how the next generation stays equipped and able to manage more with less because we all have to do that,” Keaton says. “If you’re out in big sky country or way out in west Texas, you’re going to have to have the cowboys. But I still think that we’re seeing technology come into play there.”
Keaton knows of a ranch in Colorado that runs more than 10,000 head and uses drones to find cattle before sending cowboys to gather them horseback, combining new technology and traditional ranching practices in a way that supports both the rancher and animal.
“They’re using traditional methods, complemented with technology, to help make themselves more efficient,” he explains.
Reflecting on the last year, investments like this that save time are becoming more common across American farms and ranches, both in cow-calf and stocker operations.
When evaluating if a potential investment is worth the cost, Wall says there are a few questions to ask yourself to determine where your area of need or improvement is.
“The biggest factors to consider are simple: Where are you struggling? Is available labor the biggest restriction? Poor fences? Rebreeding rate? Nutrition? Cash flow? Sourcing genetics that fit your environment? There are technologies that address all of those things,” he summarizes.
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