Gizmos & Gadgets

New and useful products for the farm and ranch.

Compiled by Jessica Wesson, editorial intern

This month’s column includes long-range ear tag technology, a newly designed state website, fence energizers, a foliar nutrition product, an app to connect farmers with farmers to solve problems, and a power washer.

Long-range ear tags
HerdDogg has released its industry-first long-range ear tags for livestock, part of the company’s comprehensive data collection and analysis platform that enables producers to monitor animal health and implement farm-to-fork traceability. The new HerdDogg DoggTags^® use Bluetooth^® 5 (BT5) technology to transmit sensor data stored within an active smart tag attached to the animal’s ear.

BT5 technology significantly extends the range at which animal biometrics can be read — up to 100 yards. By situating an array of DoggBone cellular bridges around the ranch, an enormous amount of animal data can be captured. These data include animal identification and location and, more importantly, the animal biometrics and health data that are becoming increasingly valuable for ranchers, producers, retailers and consumers.

Traditional radio frequency identification (RFID) and other tag technologies have fallen short of producer requirements because of their limited range/readability and minimal data collection abilities. In contrast, the HerdDogg platform enables automated data capture and analytics at an individual animal level, which reduces animal handling and improves accuracy.

With HerdDogg, a producer can implement fully automated capture of unique animal (not herd) data. More importantly, this positions the producer to build a comprehensive profile of an animal for quality and welfare programs.

For more information, visit www.herddogg.com.

Texas Beef Council launches redesigned website
The Texas Beef Council (TBC) has launched a newly redesigned and updated website at www.TexasBeefCheckoff.com that makes it faster and easier for Texas cattle producers to learn more about their state’s beef checkoff program.

“The Texas Beef Checkoff is funded by producers, and it’s important that we continuously communicate with those producers about how their investments are helping drive beef demand,” says Brad Hastings, chair of the Texas Beef Council. “Our redesigned website provides us with a quick, simple and attractive way to clearly share the details of our programs and initiatives with producers and other beef industry stakeholders.”

The website now features enhanced navigation for a better overall user experience. A new blog-like structure helps visitors discover content and information that is relevant to their unique needs and interests. The site’s homepage features large, easy-to-find links to key information, including how the checkoff works, current programs and the latest news from the Texas Beef Council.

Website visitors are also encouraged to subscribe to Cattle Talk, the Texas Beef Council’s complimentary e-newsletter for producers. Cattle Talk delivers straightforward news, detailed insights and transparent results that demonstrate how checkoff dollars are promoting beef throughout the state.

“Over the past few years, we’ve improved Cattle Talk by including more of the information that producers find most valuable,” Hastings says. “Through this newsletter and the new website, we’re getting the word out about how the Beef Checkoff in Texas is working hard to develop programs that support Texas producers, their land and their livelihoods.”

For more information about the Texas Beef Council and the Texas Beef Checkoff, or to sign up for the Cattle Talk e-newsletter, visit TexasBeefCheckoff.com.

S6 and S12 Fence Energizers
Gallagher is committed to providing a safe barrier to either keep pests out or animals contained. To help farmers and pet lovers with these objectives, Gallagher has released two new innovative fence energizers with lithium solar technology.

The Gallagher S6 Lithium Energizer is a compact design with an internal iron phosphate battery and a new patented mounting system that removes the need for a grounding leadset. This easy-to-install energizer is designed to protect your garden or contain your pets, while requiring minimal maintenance.

The Gallagher S12 Lithium Energizer, much like the S6, is a compact, portable and super reliable fence energizer that is beautifully designed with farmers in mind. A lithium battery, smart electronics and robust construction come together to provide consumers with unparalleled performance. These energizers are long-lasting, self-sufficient solutions, highly portable, and easy to install and maintain.

To learn more about this product, visit http://bit.ly/ABBxGal.

Foliar nutrition product
Homestretch Harvestshield^TM is the new, unique biological and foliar nutrition product announced by Meristem Crop Performance as the latest addition to their robust Homestretch family of foliar nutrition products.

Harvestshield has components vital to stress mitigation and cell division. Different components to the product help the plant in different ways:

• Polyphenols protect the plant from oxidation caused by environmental stresses or stresses on the plant during rapid growth stages.
• Auxins are known to stimulate cell division.
• Betaines keep water content stable in plant cells.
• Arginine is an amino acid building block for polyamines. Polyamine production increases during times of environmental stress including drought, heat and high salinity levels in soil.
• Tryptophan is an amino acid building block for Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and assists plants in cell expansion and cell division.

More information on the product is available at MeristemAg.com.

App that helps farmers solve problems
Farmmee solves dilemmas by quickly connecting farmers with farmers to solve immediate challenges. The app provides a robust collaboration network that lets farmers seek services by other farmers and lets farmers offer their services to other farmers.

Becky McCrea, Waukee, Iowa; Cindy Rockwell, Carlisle; and Molly Woodruff, Indianola; are tech industry veterans who work with top agricultural firms nationwide. They’re also a trio of Iowa female entrepreneurs who developed Farmmee.

The app, available in Android and iOS versions, is easy to use. There are two user categories: farmer and provider. Users can be both, if desired. Using a menu, farmers can list jobs they want help with, such as planting corn, harvesting wheat, hauling cattle, baling hay and others.

Service providers can list the services they offer, such as spreading manure, hauling hay, agronomy and other types of services.

Once a farmer selects a service desired, Farmmee finds providers using ZIP codes and counties as GIS locators so providers will know where a specific job is located. Farmers mark their fields so providers can validate the location for their ability to deliver services to them before offering a quote.

Farmmee does not take a cut, or percentage, of the fees providers charge farmers. They are free to negotiate their own terms, conditions and form of payment. This leaves farmers fully in charge of the job and schedule.

Farmers can rate providers and provide reviews when jobs are completed, so there is incentive for providers to perform well.

Farmers can also be providers. For example, they can offer their expertise and their equipment to plow fields, plant, harvest, haul grain, and get paid and extend their equipment investments.

Farmers listing jobs can use the app at no charge. Service providers can list all the services they want for as low as $19.99 a month.

To find more information on this product, please visit www.farmmee.com.

Pressure washers
Northern Tool + Equipment introduces its newest line of universal and professional-quality pressure washers — the NorthStar Electric Cold-Water Pressure Washer line. The new line of nine pressure washers adds to NorthStar products that feature premium components and are backed by the best warranties in the industry.

The new washers are designed to hold up to the daily rigors and demands of a wide range of industrial applications, including agriculture/lawncare, automotive, construction, commercial cleaning, plus maintenance and facilities management. The NorthStar line also features the latest technology and offers high-performance cleaning power coupled with increased durability to tackle any job.

Additionally, being powered by electricity rather than a gas engine means these new NorthStar Electric Pressure Washers are work-ready for indoor use to support restaurants, factories and other enclosed spaces.

Every new washer features Total Start/Stop technology, which automatically starts the motor and pump when the trigger is pulled and stops operation when released. This start/stop technology prevents dangerous heat buildup and damage to the pump and seals caused when motors are left running without users actively spraying. Each pressure washer uses high-efficiency motors with dynamically balanced rotors to ensure low vibration, quiet operation and long-life performance.

The new Northern Tool electric cold-water pressure washers provide work-ready solutions to professionals and commercial users, including both portable and stationary units with higher flow ratings (up to 4.0 gallons per minute).

Of the four stationary units available in the line, three come in durable, steel enclosures that mount to floors or walls for maximum versatility and feature a reinforced gusseted steel base to help reduce vibration when in use, plus storage solutions for the hose, nozzles and lance. New portable units use a low-profile cart design that improves both maneuverability and easy loading into trucks and other vehicles.

For more information on NorthStar pressure washers and Northern Tool + Equipment visit www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_northstar.

MLS tubs
MLS low-moisture tubs provide weatherproof supplement delivery. Supplement will not be damaged or lost due to rain, snow, mud, wind or other environmental conditions like loose mineral or when hand feeding.

Even if supplement gets wet, producers won’t risk damaging the integrity or quality of the supplement. Cattle will simply drink any accumulated liquid right off the top of the tub and get back to consistently consuming supplement as planned.

A high level of palatability allows cattle to consistently seek out and consume the supplement so they can access proper amounts of nutrition from the formulated supplement daily. Key additives and supplemental nutrition enhance cattle performance, but only if cattle will consume them in the right amounts.

Many targeted additives can be less than palatable. Combining key performance additives into MLS low-moisture tubs allows the highly palatable molasses base to give you the confidence of achieving their expected delivery and ensure your herd will reap critical performance benefits. The product eliminates the need to mix and then hand-feed specific additives that you are trying to incorporate into your nutrition program.

Low-moisture cooked tubs can only be consumed by licking and this physical form of delivery maintains a low, consistent intake that can be easily managed by the number and location of tubs provided in a pasture. The sugars in a dehydrated low-moisture tub on the surface will soften from gaining moisture in the air and environment.

This rate of rehydration can only proceed at a given rate. Once the cattle consume the softened product from the surface, the softening repeats itself over time. A guarantee of a low, steady intake you can count on provides a predictable low cost per day.

For more information about MLS tubs, visit mlstubs.com.