The Cal Poly Bull Test and Sale is incorporating innovative feed bunks as they look to change future feeding efficiency.
Bull Test Adviser and Cal Poly Professor Dr. Zachary McFarlane shared how conversations around the equipment started. “The discussion first began with Jeff Clark at C-Lock, Inc. after meeting up with him at the American Society of Animal Science. As a former Bull Test manager, Jeff agreed with me that the test needed an upgrade.”
McFarlane had a specific goal in mind when it came to improving the Cal Poly Bull Test. “I wanted feed efficiency equipment that provided highly accessible data from a company on the cutting edge,” he said.
Because the program received a USDA Capacity Building Grant for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program (NLGCA), opportunities for investing in better technology presented themselves.
Jeff Clark is in business development with C-Lock Inc. and worked as a former Bull Test General Manager in 2010. Watching the industry change over time, Clark understands the relevance and importance of updating the Cal Poly Bull Test and Sale for modern day consignor expectations.
“All bulls in the program have an electronic identification (EID) tag in their ear. The feed bunks have a radio frequency identification (RFID) unit that reads each of the EID tags every time a bull’s head passes the plane of the headgate,” McFarlane said. “Load cells underneath the feed bunk collect a weight every second so that an individual feed intake can be collected.”
Each plastic bin attached to the feed bunks can hold up to 800 pounds as the load cells provide data to a hundredth of a pound change in feed. Feed efficiency helps organize management strategies and breeding decisions.
McFarlane added, “The data provided allows us to determine the number of visits a bull takes to the feed bunks, the duration of the feeding bout and the amount of feed consumed.”
New, smart feed bunks in the Cal Poly Bull Test and Sale are striving to meet industry expectations. Embracing Cal Poly’s motto, “Learn by Doing,” the student management team is excited to see how this modern feeding technology and data collection will improve their consigners’ operations.
Clark concluded, “These students are being trained in this precision livestock management equipment. This equipment adds to the long-term sustainability and reliability of the Cal Poly Bull Test and Sale.”
For more information about the sale, visit bulltest.calpoly.edu or @cpbulltest on Instagram. — Cal Poly Bull Test and Sale
