Why regular weighing matters

Weighing livestock is an important management tool on all beef farms. At a minimum, animals should be weighed at key points in the production cycle, such as housing, turnout, and mid-season.

Regular weighing allows farmers to monitor animal performance and make timely decisions that can improve efficiency and profitability. The more up-to-date your weight data is, the easier it becomes to plan feeding, identify problems early, and forecast finishing dates more accurately.

Housing at the right time

Housing decisions can have a big impact on performance. If grass growth slows or grazing quality declines, cattle may begin to lose weight while still at grass.

Weighing beef finishers every 4 to 8 weeks while at grass helps you check how they are performing. If growth rates drop, you may decide to offer supplementation or bring animals indoors earlier.

While housing increases costs, it can still be worthwhile if it helps animals finish faster and convert feed more efficiently.

Pre-condition cattle ahead of housing

Housing can be a stressful time, especially for youngstock that are also approaching weaning. Pre-conditioning animals before housing can help reduce stress and improve the transition.

• Introduce creep feed 3 to 6 weeks before weaning to support rumen development
• Vaccinate in advance where appropriate, such as for pneumonia risk
• Consider a worming plan that supports animals through the housing period
• Reduce the number of abrupt management changes at the same time

A smoother transition into housing can help maintain performance and reduce setbacks during a key stage of growth.

Identify poor performers early

Not every animal in the herd will perform equally. Regular weight recording helps identify which cattle are delivering a good return and which may be holding the system back.

With repeated weigh sessions, Herdwatch can calculate Average Daily Gain (ADG) for each animal and highlight the top and bottom performing 25% of the herd.

Identifying underperforming animals early can help protect valuable forage and bedding stocks and leave you in a stronger position going into the finishing period.

Monitor optimum growth

Regular weighing makes it easier to spot growth trends over time. By tracking each animal’s progress, farmers can see whether cattle are meeting target daily liveweight gain and take action if they fall behind.

The more weight records you have, the easier it becomes to identify when animals need immediate intervention to get growth back on track.

Filtering data by breed, age group, or other categories can also help refine analysis and make insights more relevant to your own farm system.

Plan finishing more accurately

Up-to-date weight data allows finishing plans to be put in place earlier and with greater confidence. Animals of a similar weight can be grouped together and fed according to their needs, rather than treating the whole herd the same.

This makes feeding more efficient and helps reduce the waste that comes from overfeeding lighter cattle or underfeeding those closer to finishing.

How Herdwatch can help

Herdwatch simplifies cattle weighing by integrating with compatible weigh heads and EID readers, while also allowing manual entry where needed.

Weigh Head and EID Reader

Select the orange plus button and choose Weight Recording. Choose Multi-task Weighing, enter the details, connect both devices, scan or select each animal on the scales, and save the weight.

Weigh Head only

Follow the same initial steps, connect the weigh head, search and select the animal, record the weight, and repeat for the full group.

EID Reader only

Connect the reader, scan animals, manually enter weights, and save. This gives you flexibility where scales are not directly connected.

Manual entry

Where Bluetooth is not available or preferred, Herdwatch still allows you to record weights efficiently by entering them manually.

In all cases, Herdwatch helps streamline weight recording and improve data accuracy, supporting better herd management decisions.

Make better performance decisions with Herdwatch

Regular weighing helps farmers understand how cattle are performing, which animals are on track, and where action is needed. Combined with tools like ADG and group-based analysis, Herdwatch makes it easier to turn weight records into better management decisions.