Real-Time Livestock Monitoring with Bill Mitchell of Optiweigh

Show Notes

This week on the podcast we have Bill Mitchell, co-founder of Optiweigh, discussing the Optiweigh system and its unexpected impacts on the farm businesses that are already using the technology.

Optiweigh was founded 10 years ago by Bill and Jacqui Mitchell after they decided there must be a better way to closely monitor cattle weights, rather than running them into the yards every week. “There was a walk-over weighing system that I saw first in sheep. And it was just like, how on earth do I make this work on our farm without it taking more effort than it saves?” explains Bill.

However, getting cattle to put all four feet on the scales was trickier than they first imagined. “I don’t know why I even bothered,” says Bill. “But I thought, I'll collect some two feet weight and take them to the yards and weigh them there too, and see if it's any good.” It turned out that it worked, despite them both not daring to believe it. Then in 2019, the drought forced them to destock, and so they seized the opportunity to launch Optiweigh.

From then on, Optiweigh has gone from strength to strength. Every day there is a new revelation about the usefulness of their technology. The immediate nature of the data means producers can see changes in weight instantly and see the impacts of their management decisions in real time.

“People have done it to manage their grazing rotations. They've done it to look at the different pastures and different feed types, supplementary feed types or otherwise to look at a change of feeds or compare weight gains on different feeds,” explains Bill.

It’s also been used to help identify animal health issues - such as the impacts of too-high stocking rates or dirty dam water - that may have otherwise gone unnoticed until it was too late.

Optiweigh is being used around the world, from extensive grassland systems to feedlots.

Recently, the team at Optiweigh have been working with AgScent (our guests on the podcast next week - make sure to tune into that!) to measure methane whilst the cattle are being weighed. They are also looking to create a sheep weighing system.

Bill hopes that Optiweigh will become a staple in livestock farming, providing a variety of data that not only improves farm management but also contributes to environmental sustainability by continuously monitoring animal metrics such as weight, methane emissions, body condition scores and overall health status.
If you would like to know more about Optiweigh, you can visit their website here:

https://www.optiweigh.com.au/

We are launching OptiEwe, a one-on-one consulting service for commercial sheep farmers, and want your input. Please take this quick survey to share your preferences on focus groups:
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