Meat and Livestock | Ag Week 2023 Digital Learning Kit

Learn about Bill’s beef cattle production system that produces beef for Coles supermarkets. Bill is also the founder of Optiweigh, an innovative technology that improves the efficiency of collecting in-paddock data about livestock growth to inform management strategies. 

Hear how cattle are enticed onto Optiweigh, have their electronic ID recorded, and have their front feet weighed. This information is sent to the cloud, and an algorithm is applied to calculate total body weight. Live weight information is updated daily and sent to any device type, including phone, laptop, or tablet. Users receive a daily email each morning summarising the information gathered by the Optiweigh in the last 24 hours. This information can be used as a decision-making tool to improve cattle management practices in the paddock and to meet market specifications by understanding the rate of weight gain. 

Bill is a strong advocate for agriculture, explaining how real it is producing food for people. Automation and technology changes will help agriculture become more efficient. “It’s a great place to work in.” 

Learn how Meat & Livestock Australia’s Digitial Agriculture Program provides new technology and tools to help farmers produce livestock sustainably, efficiently, and economically. 

Hear how the Australian Feedbase Monitor uses satellite technology to provide producers with an estimate of the available grass and pastures on farm to feed their livestock. This information is important to red meat producers as it indicates how many animals they can sustainably graze on their farm at any time. 

In the past, producers used labour-intensive, subjective methods to assess the amount of pasture on their farms. The Australian Feedbase Monitor captures reliable, accurate data to estimate the amount of available pasture across various seasons, keeping a record of these so farmers can observe trends over time. This tool can help producers better understand their production systems, carbon emissions, and the vegetation on their farms. 

A current challenge in the adoption of this technology is reliable access to the internet in rural and remote areas of Australia. Advancements are continuously improving to address these challenges and agriculture is in an exciting phase. 

Learn about the use of SkyKelpie in drone mustering and aerial stockmanship. Luke explains how trials with Meat & Livestock Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have proven successful and that he is now developing training tools for producers to fly and manage drones. Luke uses drone technology to locate and herd animals at low stress to a watering point and then to a yarding facility to be processed, all from the air. 

Hear about the practicality of using drones over traditional methods of mustering, such as the use of helicopters, motorbikes or horses. These methods are generally more labour-intensive and expensive and can present increased safety risks. 

Future innovative ideas in this space will see producers incorporating drones to manage herds, monitor fences, identify weeds, and monitor assets like water, improving efficiency and increasing productivity. 

Luke explains the importance of young people being involved with the future of Australian agriculture, encouraging travel and working in outback Australia. 

This resource was produced as part of PIEFA’s Ag Week 2023 Activities but can be used at any point and incorporated into your lesson plans throughout the year.