Vytelle — the recent combination of Vytelle IVF and GrowSafe — announced Aug. 7, through its GrowSafe business, the launch of the "Beef Marketing Program" to monitor individual animal performance, predict carcass weight and optimally market cattle in the feedlot.

Vytelle said the program is specifically designed for feedlots and offers producers unique insights into individual animal performance that translate into growth management, labor optimization and improved animal well-being by significantly reducing stress related to weighing animals versus using traditional chutes. The program comprises hardware, software, a comprehensive warranty program and a suite of analytics services.

“Unlike any other time in history, global beef industries are faced with producing more product with fewer resources and in a more sustainable manner. Our Beef Marketing Program will transform how feedlots manage their operations,” GrowSafe Operations vice president Gareth Llewelyn said. “The powerful combination of GrowSafe hardware and analytics enables feedlot managers to manage animals as individuals, reducing variation, optimizing this use of feed and predicting carcass weights and harvest dates. The net result is a significant boost to profitability.”

GrowSafe Beef continuous in-pen weighing system is at the core of data collection for the Beef Marketing Program. GrowSafe Beef measures partial bodyweights and watering behaviors of individual animals while they drink at the water trough. The technology weighs every second an animal is standing at the trough, which can equate to up to 450 weight measurements each day, Vytelle said.

Unlike traditional chute weights, which provide a single weight and can negatively affect labor and cattle performance, GrowSafe Beef continuously weighs cattle in the pen, providing individual animal growth curves, the company said. The Beef Marketing Program then allows feedlot operators to manage variation by individual animals and pens to market more uniform loads of cattle, Vytelle said.

“Data collection and analysis of individual animal performance and behavior are critical to the future of optimizing production in feedlots,” GrowSafe feedlot marketing and sales director Guy Ficeto explained. “Feedlot managers can improve the efficiency of their operations by viewing the daily performance of animals and optimizing labor around the data. Concurrently, managers can use insights of the program to monitor the well-being of animals by detecting changes in behavior.”

Vytelle said the Beef Marketing Program is available to feedlots globally.