Preparing for the equipment workshop
This past Spring, we began offering an online class on incorporating cattle scales and electronic id tags with CattleMax. The first class was very well attended and there were over 50 questions asked by attendees. Clearly there are a lot of producers who either have livestock equipment or plan to buy livestock equipment and are seeking guidance on bring it all together.
The image to the right shows you a “behind-the-scenes” view of all the pieces involved in putting on the workshop: two computers, a scale indicator, two electronic id readers, a handful of RFID tags, and of course a little pen & paper.
The 1-hour class consists of two sections:
Section 1 – Electronic ID / RFID
- Choosing the right electronic id tags, including half duplex vs full duplex as well as utilizing matched pair tags
- Selecting an EID reader based on your needs
- Linking EID tags to cattle records without having to type a single 15-digit number
- What you can do with the EIDs after you have them in your records
Section 2 – Cattle Weigh Scales
- Deciding on the best way to weigh cattle – alleys vs chutes and portable versus permanent weighing
- Recording additional information such as hip height or body condition score
- Selecting the right indicator based on your needs (hint: it’s not always the most expensive indicator)
- Incorporating EID with your scale for fast and error-free weighing
Buying weigh scales and electronic id tags are big purchases, so it’s important to do your homework before making a decision. You need to ask the right questions… sometimes questions you may not have even come up with yet.
Why not join one of our online classes – there is no charge and it lasts around an hour (come and go as you please)?
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