Livestock water supplementation – DIT AgTech, uDose

James Wright from Paroo Pastoral is based at White cliffs, NSW. He uses the uDose to supplement dorpers and terminal pastoral merino flock.

Over the last few years, his ewes suffered from deficiencies due to hardened feed, resulting in lambing problems. Mineral lick blocks were implemented, but not all sheep could access them due to shy feeders and dominant behaviours. James started using the uDose technology to:

• improve the ewes’ health and welfare
• avoid physical incidents occurring from lifting heavy lick blocks
• reduce the time spent putting out blocks.

The uDose was connected into the main water line which supplied 5,000 sheep through a reticulated water system. James said ‘Despite using the uDose system for only a short amount of time we’ve not experienced any issues with the system. The after sales support and monitoring from the regional manager has been excellent.’

According to James, the system identified a water leak that they were unaware of. On reticulated water, this could have become a major problem. Water leaks often go unnoticed in sandy country, costing the farm money and a valuable resource.

James can now track the property's water usage through the uDose flow meter, limiting the risk of another unidentified water leak. The technology is simple to use, and they can access the uHub dashboard online anytime.

The product gives you peace of mind that all animals are obtaining their mineral supplements. James is confident that his sheep are meeting their nutritional requirement now they have adequate access through uDose. ‘It’s one less thing we need to worry about, with added benefits to our livestock’, added James.

James is saving on labour and transport costs, accounting for 15-20km every day by not putting out lick blocks. He concluded that they are spending less on the uDose supplement than the previously bought lick blocks.

James’ advice to producers is to consider using the uDose technology if you find yourself spending a lot of time and energy into putting out lick blocks, or are struggling with deficiencies throughout the year.

The below table demonstrates costs of using the uDose technology for 6 months, compared to manually delivering mineral lick supplements.

Estimated ROI is based on supplying 1,000 ewes from December to May at our Kybybolite property. With reduced vehicle and labour costs to feed out mineral lick blocks, 131% of the investment in supplements will be returned by implementing the uDose.

1. Prices current as of February 2022.
2. Mineral lick block cost estimated at $25 each for 500 sheep, at 1 lick block per 100 sheep per week. Liquid mineral supplement cost of $6 per litre.
3. Estimated labour cost of $50 per hour to feed out mineral supplements once per week.
4. Motor vehicle costs estimated at $0.72 per km to feed out mineral supplements once per week at Kybybolite, with a 74km return trip.
5. Savings calculations based on the lower cost of uDose compared to feeding out lick blocks.
6. ROI = (profit - investment cost) / investment cost.

We estimated that up to 30% of the ewes will not consume any, or not enough, of the mineral lick supplement in the paddock. This may cause production losses due to untreated mineral deficiencies. The ROI estimate is based on all ewes accessing drinking water.