Krush Those Margins With Precision

Time and labor resources tend to be some of the biggest challenges faced in production beef agriculture. It affects the rancher, the stocker, the feeder and more. No one is exempt. Technologies that can seamlessly address both of those key operational elements will draw substantial interest for their ability to close critical efficiency gaps. 

Traditionally, row crop agriculture has benefited from the lion’s share of new, game-changing technology. However, the crew at Performance Livestock Analytics has some unique, smart technologies that are part of a growing precision movement in the beef industry. Producers, young and old, should research what’s new and coming soon.   

Craig Moss, a fifth-generation cattle feeder from Sioux County, Iowa, shared some insights with me about how Performance Livestock’s technology has changed how he manages his family business. Like many of us, Moss struggles to balance an ever-evolving cost structure in a business with extremely tight margins. Having the ability to do more with less adequately addresses those two, hard-to-manage business elements: time and labor. 

The Performance Livestock mobile apps called Performance Beef and Cattle Krush have helped Craig streamline his resource management strategies. He uses these smart technologies to monitor and execute management functions from just about anywhere, at any time. Business continuity can be preserved from the cab of a feed truck, tractor or a thousand miles away. 

Moss can easily monitor employees and feedyard activities from afar. The Performance Beef app generates daily reports sent to a mobile device that detail the daily rations that are supposed to be delivered versus what actually is delivered. It outlines changes or corrections made during the mixing and feeding processes, as well as, tracks metrics related to his feed resources. 

Leaving your ranch or feeding operation for several days at a time has always been a challenge.

Smart productions like this help managers track the performance of cattle, feed resources and employees to the minute from anywhere.   


In addition to the feedyard management app, Moss relies heavily on another mobile app from the PLA Team called Cattle Krush.  He can buy and track cattle purchases from the cab of his combine during harvest. Craig can easily calculate his margin using real-time metrics based on the Chicago Board of Trade, evaluate scenarios free of bias attitude and buy with practiced risk. All can be executed on the go, free from production time losses and aided by daily alerts. 

New or smart technologies like these are beginning to change the way cattlemen and women of all ages manage their enterprises. Every bit of margin is crucial. Any tool that can add precision to your operation by improving tasks, such as tracking morbidity costs chute side, eliminating redundant entry and reporting, forming strategies based on actionable analytics and generating accurate closeouts in real time will help you capture and save.