Automatic Hog Weigher Saves Money, Helps Market

Automatic Hog Weigher Saves Money, Helps Market HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Hog Equipment & Ideas (351) 19-2-11 Keeping closer tabs on what your hogs weigh could save you big bucks in feed costs and help you market more efficiently, say researchers at the University of Kentucky who've developed an automatic weighing system that provides continuous weight information. "Our idea was to have a simple weighing system that gives average weight, daily gain, minimum and maximum weights, and also lets you calculate daily gain," says Richard Gates, ag engineer. "It gives the producer a representative idea of overall performance so he can target feed rations to actual animal weight rather than guess at them. This system also provides timely weight information to better manage marketing decisions." The system consists of a commercial computerized weight crate. The sole water supply for the area being monitored is placed so that each animal has to walk to the front of the crate to get a drink. The unit's microprocessor sends the weight of each animal measured to a desktop cornputer. Weight data can then be analyzed for growth performance. After testing the system, Gates and others have concluded it's accurate to within 1% of weights detected in "spot checks" over an entire growing period. "We can estimate the average weight of all animals in a pen and we can also deter-mine the variation in weight between animals," Gates says. So far the university has only produced a prototype. "We'd like to see somebody manufacture it," Gates says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Gates, University of Kentucky, Agricultural Engineering, 128 Ag Engineering Building, Lexington, Ken. 40546-0276 (ph 606 257-3000: fax 257-5671).

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