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Cattle producers will have the opportunity to implement a new automated livestock management system on their own properties when CQUniversity’s DataMuster platform is launched at Beef Australia next week.
After seven years of research and development as well as extensive field testing, the new DataMuster system is ready to assist producers in conquering their mustering, monitoring and management challenges.
One of the researchers behind the new technology, CQUniversity Professor of Agriculture Dave Swain said DataMuster would give producers the opportunity to cut down on labour costs and enhance herd management decisions by monitoring cattle weight and suitability for market, detecting when a cow had calved and recording genetic data.
“The challenge facing the North Australian beef industry remains the same as it did a century ago: identifying superior genetics which can thrive in harsh and remote environmental conditions, with limited human intervention,” Prof. Swain explained.
“DataMuster seamlessly integrates multiple strands of technology into a single monitoring and reporting platform. The animal is scanned and the information on the animal’s weight and the time it accessed water is then sent from the paddock-based sensor system to DataMuster, enabling cattle producers to record performance and genetic information on their animals without the need for mustering and conventional weighing.”
Prof. Swain said DataMuster provided modern solutions to age-old problems.
“With a fully integrated DataMuster system, graziers can monitor their property, each of their animals and even the amount of water in remote troughs, all in real-time from the homestead.”
Producers will have the opportunity to see DataMuster in action at CQUniversity’s Belmont Property Tour on Wednesday (9 May) and in-turn express their interest in participating.
* The app and its capabilities will also be on show throughout Beef Week at the CQUni Stall, site P4 on Porterhouse Promenade.