Stock control made easy with Farmdeck management system

Story sponsored by Farmdeck.

Many Australian farm businesses are using the farm management system Farmdeck in different ways to better run their livestock operations.

Leveraging the 'Internet of Things' (IoT) through the system has helped them improve productivity and reduce operational costs.

Llanelli Farm uses new generation Farmdeck radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags for stock identification and management.

Llanelli Farm co-owner Ben Morgan runs 1500 head of sheep and said one of his main challenges was accurately counting stock when changing paddocks.

Previously using traditional RFID tags meant sheep would still need to be scanned manually for identification using a hand-held reader. This was a lengthy and tedious process, and prone to human error.

Since 2018, Mr Morgan has been using improved high frequency sheep ear tags manufactured by Farmdeck.

These RFID tags can be scanned from a distance of up to eight metres and allow livestock identification and counting to occur automatically when a mob transits past a RFID scanner - which is typically positioned on gates between paddocks.

The scanner is intelligent enough to only count animals once, even if they go through the gate twice.

Introducing the IoT by Llanelli Farm reduced operational costs, increased productivity and improved livestock management accuracy.

The cost per new generation RFID tag - which work on 3G, 4G or satellite networks - is $2.20 and each RFID reader is $1500.

In Bathurst, New South Wales, the 200-hectare Stoney Creek Farm uses Farmdeck collars to track the location of its cattle.

Owner, Mick Willott is a part-time farmer and finds it challenging to find the time to run the property.

Always looking for new ways to improve livestock productivity, in 2020 he decided to give technology a chance.

Using the Farmdeck livestock identification feature, Mr Willott fitted one animal in each cattle mob with an IoT collar.

As mobs tend to move as one, this practice helped him keep his costs down.

Using GPS technology, he can now track - in near real-time - where his stock are on the farm.

This saves time in trying to find cattle when he needs to reach them and gives him peace of mind that they have not crossed the street to his neighbour's property. Each collar costs $270 and these work on 3G, 4G, satellite, or LoRa networks.

Another NSW farming enterprise, Mulconda Park, manages its livestock information from the Farmdeck App.

The business focuses on the app's livestock management feature to track mobs and keep detailed records of individual animals.

Owner Shervin Fathinia said he could trace their movements around the farm and analyse information such as origin, cost, and paddock location.

Story sponsored by Farmdeck.