Dr. Kee Jim has been a pioneer in the beef cattle sector in Alberta, Canada, for 40 years and is the founder of Feedlot Health Management Services (FHMS). When Kee founded the company in 1983, the cattle industry in Alberta was in its infancy and FHMS started providing veterinary and animal health services. FHMS grew from being an animal health provider to providing a full suite of consulting services covering procurement, production and marketing. Kee told WLJ that today, FHMS employs over 50 veterinarians and Ph.D. animal scientists providing services in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and across the globe.
Concurrently in 1983, Kee started his involvement in the feedlot business by purchasing 18 head of cattle at a client’s feedlot. Over the next four decades, Kee’s company, GK Jim Farms, grew into one of North America’s largest cattle feeding companies with production facilities in Canada and the U.S.
FHMS
FHMS offers service modules focused on animal health, feeds and feeding, performance-enhancement product protocols, individual animal management, cattle procurement and marketing strategies, and animal and facility certification.
“We have a broad collection of services, and also, we’re heavily involved in research to inform our recommendations,” Kee said.“We’re one of the leaders in feedlot research and we conduct about 40 or 50 projects a year of large pen studies to use as the basis for changing protocols and recommendations we make to the feedlots.”
Kee said the modules work in tandem to support all facets of a feedlot’s business, but a feedlot operator can subscribe to one of the modules. The FHMS team of consultants provides support to the feedlot to interpret and analyze the data and use research for recommendations.
Kee said while there is a mass of data collection, the consultants at FHMS can assist with turning the data collected into “actionable outcomes and deriving value from it.”
“Whether it is the value of the traceability component or the value of understanding your production variables and a way to systematically monetize the information you are collecting, that’s really the core element,” Kee said. “Anybody can collect data but standalone data sitting there means very little to anybody. You have to actually do something with that data that leads you to make decisions and make protocol changes to improve profitability. The core value of the Feedlot Health consulting model is that we have over 50 consultants that are domain experts on live production globally. So we have the horsepower to deliver actionable insights that are meaningful and improve productivity.”
Kee said the team could take all the collected data and provide recommendations and protocols for improving the financial outcome for the cow-calf operator or feedlot operator, and provide actionable insight into what needs to be changed. Kee continued that many of the recommendations are based on the research projects and large-scale trials conducted by FHMS and are constantly evolving and developing as they conduct the research.
In 2020, FHMS was acquired by TELUS Agriculture and Consumer Goods. According to Kee, TELUS Agriculture now provides the data infrastructure, consultation and science to enable FHMS to grow.
Cattle management programs
TELUS Agriculture offers two cattle management software programs: Herdtrax for the cow-calf and the calf grower sector, and iFHMS for feedlot operators.
Herdtrax replaces the use of a calving book and eliminates the labor of having to write information down and then enter data into the computer. Herdtrax offers complete traceability of every event throughout the animal’s life. Data is entered in real time by scanning the animal’s RFID tag or entering the tag identification number, even if the animal is sold or transferred to a feedlot. For users looking to incorporate Herdtrax, it also works with third parties such as breed associations or your local veterinarian. It can receive genomic information, carcass data and captured weights, and allows your vet to input animal health protocols.
Kee said with Herdtrax, a user could collect as many data points as they want, whether they are a seedstock producer or a commercial calf operation.
Once the animal enters the feedlot, iFHMS interfaces with Herdtrax to transfer all of the data that occurred to the individual animal, such as health management, movement and feeding.
“That’s an important element as we go forward; the traceability of animals from birth to harvest will become more meaningful as consumers seek more information and want to know the life history of the animal,” Kee said.
TELUS Agriculture’s chute-side record management program generates work orders and collects data on the animal during arrival. Based on that data, protocols are provided live on screen to ensure proper steps are taken during the arrival process. TELUS Agriculture continues to collect data on the animal throughout its time on feed and includes animal health, sorting, feed, and protocol data. Kee said once cattle go to the plant, they can pair carcass reports to animal records for full traceability of the production characteristics of each animal.
Kee said there were discussions about traceability and tracking animals for some time, but this is one of the first systems to track from birth to harvest or through the herd. Kee continued the programs allow the cow-calf operator to look at the data to manage their inventory and make better selections for bull breeding and improve cattle over time. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
