MATT HOLDEN
KELSO TUTO TOTARA
We’ve been seriously weighing
stock since 1992. That seems
like the dark ages now.
Ten years later we bought an XR3000 combined with
the Bluetooth RFID wand. It’s an incredibly simple and
effective piece of farm kit!
It’s revolutionised how we do things with both the
stud and the commercial flocks. We use it across
all our stock classes – sheep, cattle and deer for
weighing, pregnancy scanning, drafting, TB testing and
recording mate groups. It’s bloody magic.
It is an investment in future production because
when something is measured it can be managed. The
options are limitless; it’s a matter of thinking outside
the square to get the best out of it.
The benefits flow well beyond the farm gate, through
the supply chain to the market. But the animal and
data capture has to start on the farm and the key
is that it’s user friendly. Tru-Test is very user-friendly
and makes communicating accurately and quickly
with AbacusBio, Pfizer Animal Health and Sheep
Improvement Limited a breeze.
Ten years ago Kelso stud mating required 42 pages
of A4 containing all the mate groups, and the 2,500
ewes were marked and drafted 17 ways for mating,
all manually. This took four of us three days, with the
ever-present chance of human error in transcribing or
drafting. It now takes just minutes to upload an Excel
spreadsheet with all the tag numbers and draft criteria
into the XR3000 and we’re ready, and I can do much
of it from my office with a cup of coffee and Radio
Sport on.
Matt Holden
decision-making and improves overall performance.
Rapidly reducing the time sheep spend in the yards
is critical, too, because I’ve never seen a sheep gain
weight in the yards.
Mobility is another big feature. With internal batteries,
Bluetooth and being weather proof we are never
limited to the sheep yards – we can set up with the
Prattley yards anywhere and perform the same tasks
we can do in the sheep yards.
Being able to draft by any criteria – liveweight, weight
gain, particular mob, crop versus grass – speeds up
LET’S TALK. CALL YOUR LOCAL TRU-TEST GROUP AREA SALES
MANAGER OR VISIT WWW.TRU-TEST.COM/MADE2MEASURE