Why GrowTRAC?

The need for data collection is not new.

The comments below taken from recent agricultural publications point to the need for a solution. The problem has always been one of how to get the proper information in a timely fashion such that decisions can be made to improve the performance of the livestock before the group is shipped to the slaughter plant or put into production.

GrowTRAC is the answer, with 24/7 data collection and intelligent notification of alarm situations you can stay ahead of the curve. Traditional data collection systems relied on a “pull” technology whereby you dialed out to each barn, one by one, and pulled the current data to you. It was time-consuming and required phone lines to every barn. With GrowTRAC, all of your data is “pushed” automatically and wirelessly to the web where it can then be accessed through a secure portal from any computer with internet access.

“With the advent of all-in/all-out pig flows, the swine industry has made great progress at determining overall performance and cost of this performance for nursery, finisher, and wean-to-finish facilities. However, closeout summaries provide a look at what was (daily gain, feed conversion, cost of gain, etc) following sale of the last pig from a group. What’s missing is a monitor on the biological process of growth during the growth period.” Dr. Mike Brumm, Water as a Predictor of Tomorrow’s Pig Performance

“…out-of-feed events…caused declines in daily gain and daily feed intake. Average daily gain decreased from 1.85 pounds per day to 1.66 pounds per day, and daily feed intake dropped from 4.1 pounds per day to 3.7 pounds per day. Because of the overall reduction in daily gain, out-of-feed pigs were lighter at slaughter, had lower hot carcass weights, carcass fat depth and carcass loin depth compared to the never pigs. There was no effect of out-of-feed events on carcass lean percent. Weekly, random 20-hour out-of-feed events reduced overall gain at the end of a 109-day grow-finish trial 11.3 pounds. Fact is; pigs simply don’t make up for out-of-feed events.” Jane Messenger, Paying the Price of Hungry Pigs

“Studies have also shown for every 5°F below the optimum effective temperature pigs may have a 10-15% reduction in feed intake and a 10-15% reduction in average daily gain.” Mark Storlie, Ventilation Basics for Swine

“There is a strong relationship between feed and water consumption, so water can be used to monitor flock performance…A potential problem may exist if there is a sudden change in water intake. Bird uniformity between the front and back of the house can be monitored using water consumption” -- Poultry Drinking Water Primer. Brian D. Fairchild and Casey W. Ritz, Extension Poultry Scientists

“Changes in modern broiler production have increased the importance of in-house environmental factors. In response to market requirements, geneticists have not only increased growth rate, but also the yield of carcass components. The extra meat yield in these birds, most of which is concentrated in the breast, makes the broiler more sensitive to high temperatures; therefore, much of the difference in performance of these birds can be attributed to how well the grower manages in-house conditions, especially temperature.” -- Auburn University Poultry Newsletter, 2007

“’Out of Feed’ is one of the first factors to evaluate when there is a skin scratch issue. Birds out of feed due to delivery / logistic problems can induce birds to fight, pile and scratch each other when they regain access to feed. Management failure … will instigate aggressive behavior. Hot weather feed management must be managed to prevent heat stress but allow for normal behavior when the feed is permitted.” -- Scott Gillingham, Aviagen