Sheep CRC puts WOW into mob handling

As part of the Australian Sheep Industry Cooperative Research Centre’s e-sheep® program, a walk-over weigher (WOW) is currently being trialled. Offering the ability to weigh sheep daily without handling the mob, the system has the potential to revolutionise the industry.

A sheep’s body weight, and particularly changes to that weight, is often a good indicator of performance or disease. Regular monitoring can help pre-empt problems and raise the bottom line.

Within a flock there is a wide variation in the characteristics that determine an individual animal's production level and economic value. Rather than always managing the entire flock as if they are all the same, it can be better to treat a portion of the flock, or their products, differently. The weigher provides the data to enable graziers to do this.

The walk-over weighing system logs a sheep's electronic identification tag and weight as it walks through a race and across electronic scales to a watering point, between paddocks or to an incentive such as a feeder or lick block. Each animal's details are then sent via a mobile phone network to an office computer or details can be physically downloaded to a memory stick.

Drafting capabilities enable producers to automatically draft out animals on a range of criteria such as reaching sale weight or selecting and removing those that are underweight and need supplementary feeding or drenching, without the grazier having to leave the office.

The project is also looking at developing different sensors to aid drafting, such as odour detection (e-nose technologies) that could pick up flystrike; this would enable graziers to use the walk-over weigher for selective treatments. Another application now in final field validation is the Pedigree MatchMaker, which pedigrees stud lambs based on their association with their mother as they move repeatedly through a walk-over system.

Walk-over technology gives farmers the ability to measure what’s happening on a regular basis without repeated mustering, saving labour costs and time and without stressing the stock. It also provides instant feedback to enable faster management decisions.

The remote walk-over weighing system works in the following way:

• Using spear gates and trap yards, sheep walk through a remote weighing system on their way to either feed or water.


• As they go through their electronic identification (RFID) tag is read by a panel reader and sent to a data logger.


• The sheep then move over an electronic weighing platform and by using a weighing algorithm the sheep's weight in kilograms is estimated and then recorded on the data logger.


• At a predetermined time of day a modem on the remote weighing system is used to automatically dial up and transfer data to a computer located in the farmer's office. Alternatively, farmers can physically download the data to a memory stick. The farmer is then able to download the data from his computer into a database or spreadsheet for analysis.


• The system is designed to operate on 12-volt batteries powered by solar panels.


• The set-up can be used in a fixed system or as a portable unit mounted on a trailer.

The remote walk-over weighing system could be used for a range of farm applications including:

• In pastoral areas where minimising sheep stress and reducing labour costs are important


• In cell grazing operations where sheep are regularly changing paddocks and recording growth rates and monitoring sheep health is important


• In prime lamb enterprises where tracking growth rates is critical


• In feed lot enterprises where recording of weekly growth trends is important.

The project is led by Bill Murray and Steve Semple (NSW DPI), with support from Tru-Test, Allflex, Prattley and the Desert Knowledge CRC. A number of sheep producers are now involved in development and trialling.

About E-sheep

"E-sheep®" is a term that has been registered by the Sheep CRC to describe individual animal management in the Australian sheep industry. E-sheep® involves using knowledge about the individual sheep within a flock to make decisions about their management and marketing that results in improved across-flock performance and profit.

Monitoring, measuring and managing individuals is difficult when done manually, though it is not impossible. Electronic systems using tags, readers, recording software and measurement devices are more useful and less costly than in the past and improvements will continue to be made.

These tools truly allow individual animal management to be applied in a commercial or stud flock. They allow more things to be measured, more accurately and with far less effort than manual systems.