Today, farming is not just a family operation; it is a high-tech business. While there are some old style farms out there, the vast majority of cow-calf, feedlot, and even purebred operations have embraced technology head on. This means turning from the old style of options in cattle scales to the new options of today.
In the past, and depending on the specifics of the scale, there was a constant need to calibrate the cattle scales as the movement and shifting of the animals on the platform quickly put the scales out of balance. Today, the scales are much more effective and responsive, ensuring they will be correctly calibrated even when they are used in different locations or across uneven surfaces.
Stationary or Mobile
Depending on your setup and operation, you may want to have stationary scales, which are typically set in concrete for a very secure system. The other option is to consider mobile scales. In big operations, it is not uncommon to have both.
The most important factor in choosing the right type of cattle scales is in the convenience factor you and your workers will need. The question you will need to answer is it easier to bring the cattle to the scale or the scale to the cattle?
Indicator Information
In the past, the cattle scales have provided an indicator with a display in a building just off the scale. This is typically the case in feedlots or in receiving areas of packing plants. However, for other types of operations the indicator may need to do more than just record the weight of the animal or group of animals.
For a cow-calf or purebred operation cattle scales that provide the option to sync data with your management software are a big plus. With automatic readers on the scales to identify the cattle and record the weight in the appropriate area of the database, you can save time. This also helps to avoid mistakes in transposing information and incorrect entries.
Some of the top cattle scales also have wireless Bluetooth interface capacity to help to streamline the weighing process. You can easily watch each animal go across the scales on your wireless device, making it easier to do more work with fewer people.
It is so much more than just weight the new generation of cattle scales can provide to producers. Finding out what is available starts with a simple call to you dealer to find out what you have been missing.
