Tralee Cattle Co
Efficiency and data security at Tralee Cattle Co
Matt and Kerri Kenny operate Tralee Cattle Co, a commercial beef breeding and fattening business out of Middlemount, Queensland. They manage a Brangus herd of roughly 1,300 cows plus replacements, with operations spread across two properties located 250km apart. For years, the biggest hurdle for the Kennys was more than just the three-hour commute between blocks. It was the constant juggle of capturing vital livestock records while trying to make sharp management calls from a distance.
The turning point came in 2018 when a lost computer meant the loss of an entire year of cattle records. Realising they needed a better system, the Kennys moved to AgriWebb for cloud-based record-keeping. They eventually added Cibo Labs to the mix, to gain a satellite-eye view of their pasture performance.
Avoiding disaster through data
For Matt, linking Cibo Labs’ PastureKey with AgriWebb has been a “bloody game-changer.” This tech proved its value during a heavy winter frost at their Baralaba fattening block. A paddock holding a mob of 600kg steers that were lined up for the meatworks 6 weeks later, might have looked decent enough in person, but the satellite biomass imagery caught an immediate, steep drop in feed quality.
“The satellite must have gone across that afternoon… you could see the change in the country overnight,” Matt said. Since he could track that nutritional dip from 250km away, The Kennys were able to act right away. They were quick to put out a urea-phosphorus lick to supplement the frosted grass. Matt believes that by trusting the data they kept the steers gaining weight. He estimates an average net gain of over 2kg per head when compared to the condition the cattle would have lost.
“As soon as they saw the detail in our digital records, they pretty much didn’t want to know anything else. They just went “yep, all good, see you later.”
Stress-free audits
Before the switch, Kerri says she lost at least one full day every week to record-keeping in the office. These days, she handles everything crush-side on her phone. This move to real-time recording turned audits, usually the most stressful part of the job, into a total non-event.
Not long after signing up with Cibolabs, Tralee Cattle Co faced an MLA audit and a Reef Catchment regulation audit held within weeks of each other. The combination of AgriWebb’s management logs and Cibo’s satellite imagery provided a level of transparency that immediately satisfied the auditors. “As soon as they saw the level of detail in our digital records, they pretty much didn’t want to know anything else. They just went, ‘Yep, all good, see you later.’”
Life beyond the notebook
Moving to AgriWebb’s Individual Animal Management in 2023 was the next big step. The team can now track exactly which animals are pulling their weight. They even use the “drafting by weight” feature to automate sorting in the yards.
As a two-person team with no full-time staff, tech like AgriWebb and Cibo Labs serves as an extra pair of eyes. Kerri notes that it frees them up to do what they actually enjoy: “being out in the paddock with the cattle rather than stuck behind a desk.”
By spending a fraction of what a full-time salary would cost on their investment in AgriWebb and Cibo Labs, the Kennys have protected their data and built a more profitable, sustainable and productive operation.
Ditch the office work and focus on what you enjoy most. Try AgriWebb for free today and see how digital recordkeeping can transform your operation.