For Hawke’s Bay farmer Mathew Barham, managing up to 2,000 cattle across his 1,020-hectare operation means he welcomes new ideas that can save time, help with accurate weight assessment, and support the health of his herd. Hearing that the StrongBo Auto Weigher could deliver accurate cattle weights without the need to bring animals to the yards, Mathew was keen to put it to the test.
Since using the Auto Weigher, a portable platform which allows cattle to weigh themselves directly in the paddock, Mathew's seen immediate benefits. He moves it easily between mobs, getting quick and accurate weight measurements without unnecessary stress on the animals.
"We've only got one set of yards on a large station," he explains, "so getting mobs there just to weigh them is time-consuming. The Auto Weigher was a practical and cheaper solution compared to building another yard."
Avoiding weight guesswork
One of the most significant advantages Mathew has seen is improved accuracy in weight assessments, crucial information necessary for upcoming sales.
"Previously, my stock agent would ask about weights, and I could only give an estimate unless I’d just taken them to be weighed," Mathew says. "Now, with the Auto Weigher, when he rings and asks ‘how are those bulls going’ I have real data. I can now provide accurate weights rather than just guesstimating.”
Mathew was originally sceptical about how good the measurements would be with the machine taking a partial weight. "The data is all picked up from the animal's EID tag, so you do have to be prepared to trust it."
His confidence in the technology grew after cross-checking Auto Weigher results with his traditional scales. "Apart from one outlier, all animals were within just a few kilos,” he confirms.
“It also gives me the ability to look at those cattle that are getting weighed and then use the results the Auto Weigher is giving to be able to do visual checks more effectively across the paddock, without having to weigh every animal.”
Benefits for animal wellbeing
Another key benefit Mathew highlights is animal welfare. "Not having to move cattle several kilometres to weigh them reduces stress and potential health issues," he says. "It's a big advantage for animal wellbeing."
“It also frees up my team’s day to be doing other things around the farm”, says Mathew, reinforcing the time-savings for his business.
Seeing the benefits he is getting from Gallagher's eShepherdTM virtual fencing neckbands and the Auto Weigher, Mathew is enthusiastic about the possibility of future integration of these technologies.
Sturdy construction
Mathew's practical experience demonstrates that the Auto Weigher is robust and resilient. Despite being exposed to rough conditions, the unit "still looks brand new," he adds. "It's incredibly robust – the cattle have rubbed and slobbered all over it, and nothing’s broken."
He quickly saw success by strategically placing molasses-based attractants and has had no problems getting the animals to step on to the unit. "It’s about making the technology part of your farm’s routine," he says. "Investing in an attractant is a small cost when I look at how much value I get from having such accurate information and the significant time savings."
Mathew recommends the StrongBo Auto Weigher to any farmer looking to improve efficiency, accuracy, and animal welfare on-farm.
| Kieran Willis |
Beef Farmer |
| Hawke's Bay | Not specified |
| Beef / Finishing | Large-scale; dairy beef and Friesian finishing |
| $90/head return, less yarding stress | StrongBó Auto Weigher |
For Hawke’s Bay beef farmer Kieran, the problem was clear. It wasn’t that he lacked information — it was that he wasn’t seeing issues early enough to do anything about them.
On a large-scale operation running dairy beef and Friesian stock, animal health, particularly internal parasites, had started to impact performance. The challenge was that traditional tools didn’t provide a clear signal once cattle got older, and periodic yard weighing only gave a delayed view of what had already happened.
“We knew we were missing something,” he says. “We just didn’t have a way to see it in time.”
Like many beef farmers, Kieran was relying on weighing stock at set intervals to understand how mobs were tracking. But by the time animals came through the yards, any drop in performance had already played out in lost weight gain.
“You don’t want to bring cattle in and find out they’re 50 kilos behind where they should be,” he says. “That’s the sort of surprise you’re trying to avoid.”
Looking for a way to close that gap, Kieran introduced the StrongBo Auto Weigh unit into his system, not to collect more data, but to get a clearer signal of what was happening in the paddock, day to day. The shift was immediate.
With animals weighing themselves in the paddock, performance trends began to build in real time. It wasn’t about a single weight reading, but the pattern that sat behind it. That’s where the change appeared.
A mob that had been growing at over to a kilo a day suddenly dropped back to around 300 grams. Under a traditional system, that shift may have gone unnoticed for weeks. Instead, it was visible almost as it happened through the Auto Weigh data.
“We had them tracking well, then the growth just fell away,” he says. “That’s not something you want to find out after the fact.”
Because the signal came through early, he was able to act. The mob was brought in, treated, and returned to pasture. Weight gains quickly recovered, tracking back towards expected levels.
What made the difference wasn’t just identifying the issue, it was timing. With only a short window before the animals were due to go to processing, that earlier intervention translated directly into additional production.
Over the following 30 days, the mob gained around 18kg more liveweight per animal than they otherwise would have. In commercial terms, that was worth approximately $90 per head, or around $3,300 across the mob once treatment costs were accounted for.
“In the past, we probably would have just let them go through,” Kieran says. “This time we could see it, make a call, and fix it.”
Beyond the production gain, the presence of that continuous data has changed how the farm operates. With the Auto Weigher providing regular feedback from the paddock, Kieran has greater confidence in how his animals are performing without needing to physically intervene.
That has meant fewer unnecessary yarding events, less disruption to stock, and more targeted use of labour. In one instance, a mob went seven months without needing to be brought into the yards, something that would have been difficult to justify without that level of visibility.
“It gives you confidence to leave them alone when they’re doing what they should be doing,” he says.
Want to hear the full discussion?
Watch the National Fieldays 2026 Tent Talk and hear directly from Kieran and the panel on how the StrongBo Auto Weigher is changing decision-making on farm.
| Marie Fitzpatrick |
Angus Breeder |
| Oxford, Canterbury | Timperlea Angus |
| Angus Stud | 120 breeding cows |
| Powerful insight into daily gain | StrongBó Auto Weigher, TW-3 Weigh Scale, HR4 EID Reader |
Heralding it as a potential game changer, Marie Fitzpatrick has been impressed by the StrongBó Auto Weigher from Gallagher Animal Management.
Marie, an Angus breeder at Timperlea Angus near Oxford, trialled the Auto Weigher for six weeks to capture and track the weight of yearling bull V43, the star in Gallagher’s Weight Worth Watching competition, run in partnership with AngusNZ.
Timperlea currently uses a Gallagher TW-3 weigh scale and HR4 EID reader to capture data. They weigh their mobs regularly to stay on top of growth rates - a vital but time-consuming process. That’s where the Auto Weigher comes in, offering a reliable, time-saving alternative, providing frequent and accurate data without constant manual intervention.
Monitoring daily gain is a major priority for Timperlea, and Marie can see how the Auto Weigher would help provide some powerful insight in this space. “It’s been pretty exciting to see how regularly they actually use it,” she says. Within the first 4 days, 80% of the mob had weights recorded against their EIDs, with one bull notably visiting the Auto Weigher 14 times. As this data builds over time, we start to see a clearer picture vital for assessing the performance of the herd and making informed management decisions.
The accuracy of weight data from the Auto Weigher stood out to Marie during the trial. Before it began, she manually weighed the mob to establish a baseline, and when comparing those figures to the Auto Weigher results, the difference was minimal - just a few kilograms on average. Regular weigh sessions continued throughout the trial, with V43 consistently recording weights within 3.7% to 0.2% of those manual results. For Marie, this gave her confidence that the system could deliver reliable data without disrupting her routine.
She has also been impressed by how easy the Auto Weigher is to set up. “I actually thought it would be bulkier than it is,” Marie explains. “It's just a wee trailer that you offload. It basically has some salt blocks in it and the animal’s front two feet step on it, then you get a weight straight into the app.” The timesaving on manual data entry and checking is an added bonus she appreciates too.
Marie can see real potential in the Auto Weigher. “It’s quite a cool piece of technology that would be a real game changer for some farmers, especially leading into that period of getting that rising plane into mating, and making sure that they maintain it for that four weeks post. It would be invaluable for the returns they could get back.”
New technology has made sheep drafting on Te Mangahuia Station a quicker and much more enjoyable job.
Located in the Tararua District, southern Hawke’s Bay, Te Mangahuia is a 1275ha hill country property that runs 5000 ewes. The station is also home to the long-established Kaitoa Hereford Stud. Sheep drafting on the station used to be a labour-intensive and exhausting job, so when owner Phil Barnett heard about the Gallagher Sheep Auto Drafter, he was immediately interested.
Phil Barnett bought his Gallagher Sheep Auto Drafter through his local Farmlands store. His local Gallagher Territory manager Ian Moorcock was quickly on hand to install it and show Phil the ropes. “It’s very user-friendly and it’s virtually bullet-proof,” he says. All his staff can operate the Sheep Auto Drafter, which is built to handle the knocks that come with drafting large numbers of sheep of varying age and size.
During the drafting process the weight of each animal appears on a Gallagher Panel Reader. This information can then be downloaded onto a computer. Phil says this accurate data is useful for monitoring lamb growth and deciding which lambs to send to the works next, or for measuring ewe and ewe hogget condition at crucial times such as pre-mating and pre-lambing. This information helps him to identify which animals require preferential treatment. “It’s a real boon for farm management.” He says the Auto Drafter makes drafting a smooth and efficient operation. “Our old system was noisy, but the Sheep Auto Drafter is very quiet, and sheep can’t jump out over the top.” It’s also easy to set up. “You just plug in the compressor and away you go.”
Crucially, the Auto Drafter is a major labour-saver. Phil says a job that used to take two or three labour units can now be managed by just one. “You just set it to automatic and it handles all the hard work for you.” He says this makes drafting a more enjoyable process, “and when you enjoy something, you tend to do it more often”.
He expects his investment in the Gallagher Sheep Auto Drafter to be quickly recouped through lower labour costs alone. “It’s cut labour costs for drafting by up to two-thirds.”
Phil has a lot of respect for both Gallagher and Farmlands, and this made the decision to buy the Gallagher Sheep Auto Drafter much easier. The backup service from both companies is excellent, he says.
Built for speed and safety
The Sheep Auto Drafter is a fully automated weighing and drafting system that is smoother, quieter, and easier to set up and operate than any other sheep drafting product on the market.
An equine specific weighing platform that prioritises horse comfort and safety with a smooth rubber lined floor that ensures quiet operation with increased traction under foot to stop steel horseshoes from slipping.
With a corrosion resistant aluminium base, the Horse Weighing Platform is a high strength, fit for purpose solution with the ability to weigh up to 1500kg loads. Designed to fit 1000mm long load bars (cabled or wireless) the platform has a wide, smooth surface area that doesn’t intimidate or scare a horse during the weighing process.
Compatible load bar length: 1000mm
Warranty: 2 years
The recommended solution for weighing cattle. Made of 100% aluminium construction, this platform is high strength and corrosion resistant with the ability to weigh up to 1500kg loads.
Designed to fit 600mm long load bars (cabled or wireless) with the platform floor consisting of punched holes, making it easier to clean and offering more traction underfoot for cattle. With fully enclosed end caps offering increased bracing as well as removing any sharp edges or voids that could cause injury to livestock in motion.
Compatible load bar length: 580-600mm
Warranty: 2 years
A handy tool that allows a section of permanent fence to be switched off for maintenance or fault finding.
Pack of 6