Work for the 2025 growing season is getting underway at North Carolina’s 18 Research Stations. Some stations have taken inventory of new technology and equipment, including a new livestock feeding and watering system that will help researchers track the growth of cattle and small ruminants.
- Our 18 research stations are busy getting ready for the new growing season and that has included taking inventory of some new equipment and setting it up.
- The work of our research stations is important because it looks at improving efficiency and yields, testing new crops and plant varieties that may be more resistant to common pressures, and also developing new production practices that can help farmers reduce costs.
- One of the common research goals is looking at ways to produce more with less.
- We have added three new Vytelle Sense (pronounced Vie -tell -e) livestock feeding systems at three stations.
- When fully operational, North Carolina will have a total of four systems engaged in livestock research across different stations.
- They are at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, the Upper Mountain Research Station in Laurel Springs, the Upper Piedmont Research Station in Reidsville, and the Umstead Research Farm in Butner.
- This technology will passively collect feed, water and weight data on every cow or small ruminant to track the growth of the animals and see which ones are the most efficient at converting feed into muscle.
- The system uses an individual radio frequency tag that is read when a cow comes up to the feed trough and water trough.
- The system can track every ounce of food the animal eats and captures its weight when it drinks water.
- The technology saves labor by collecting the data automatically, and the biggest return is expected to be its ability to help producers identify livestock that can more efficiently and quickly be ready to market.
- And that is important if we are going to be able to produce more food with fewer resources to meet the growing global demand.
- I am grateful for the continued support of the N.C. General Assembly in funding improvements and additions to our research stations.
- Investing in research will pay off for producers in the long run and will help North Carolina remain competitive in the global marketplace.