The ability for smart tags to identify the stress points involved in mustering, trucking and processing cattle is opening doors to improved welfare and meat quality, according to a future traceability project being undertaken by Mark Trotter at CQUniversity.
Dr Trotter, a professor in precision livestock management in the university's School of Medical and Applied Sciences, shared some of his latest research findings with a Western Queensland Regional Beef Research committee meeting in Barcaldine, gleaned from a pilot program tracking eight heifers from paddock to processor.
They each had tags and a rumen bolus that allowed Dr Trotter to see where they went in the paddock, to monitor rumen temperature fluctuations, and to follow truck movements from Rockhampton to Biloela.
"I could see how fast or slow they travelled, and how many stops there were and where," he said.
"You can detect how much the animals are walking, standing, even ruminating - the peak grazing time is from 3pm to 9pm.
"There were interesting insights, that tell the story of stuff I otherwise had no idea of.
"It could mean you can fix things as they're happening."
While producers now get carcase data from processors, Dr Trotter said the smart tags could help in understanding the reasons for processor discounts and how to minimise them.
For example, rumen temperatures decline after drinks of water, which in the case of the cattle in the pilot, took place the afternoon before they were trucked when they were mustered.
"We potentially kept the heifers off water longer than you'd like, and there were discounts for meat colour and fat colour," he said.
Dr Trotter has been working on livestock tracking technology for a decade, commenting in 2020 that it had potential to provide insights producers could not possibly get with their current access to labour and time, and last year CQUniversity's smart tag research received a $200,000 grant from the federal government.
WQ Beef Research committee members commented that it was interesting to see how far research had come, with David Counsell querying whether smart tags would be used to look more into the effects of time off water.
"In our group, Chris Evans talked a lot about stresses in the last three days of an animal's life, to know what we should and shouldn't do," he said, adding that it could mean many dollars being lost through discounts.
He could also see a value for mustering efficiency and reducing the time people were in the air finding cattle.
Dr Trotter said some amazing insights were possible but thanks to the cost, it wasn't feasible to put on every animal at present.
"But can we spread them around the herd to give you enough data to help you muster," he said, indicating that funding was being sought to help prove that.
He added that people buying tags at present had to understand that they were buying them at research level.
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The future traceability progress was one of a number of research updates Dr Trotter touched on for the WQ Beef Research committee - others included methane inhibition through water systems in rangeland conditions, and a new one looking at the selection of stock through drought conditions.
The university is also connecting with academics from the US and Argentina on production systems, stock predation, and barcoding sheep and goats.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
