The Feedlot’s Role in Food Security

By 2050, the world population is expected to reach over 9.5 billion people. Food security has become a growing concern. Protein production will need to almost double in order to keep the population adequately fed. Cattle must continue to play an important role in that growth, and more efficient methods for raising them are more important than ever in order to remain sustainable.

Cattle, and other livestock, already contribute to food security by consuming low-value, inedible, and unpalatable resources and turning them into high quality proteins for humans to eat. The livestock sector as a whole supplies 13% of energy in the world’s diet and must continue to supply energy as food security becomes more of a challenge. 

Protecting cattle from disease, injury, and death will be paramount as producers strive to feed a growing population. Outbreaks of disease can wipe out a portion of a herd or cause a dramatic reduction in an animal's efficiency, leading to shortages of nutrient rich food. Healthy animals produce safer food in a more efficient and sustainable manner.

Medications work to protect animal health and well-being, enabling feedlot operators to deliver food efficiently, safely, and affordably. Vaccination against disease, quick diagnosis, and rapid treatments allow feedlot operators to keep supplying the food. Good care is at the heart of sustainability for cattle, and will promote food security for generations to come. 

Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies are a recent trend that are promoting more efficient and sustainable livestock farming. PLF technologies are any smart system that enables livestock producers to manage their animals at the individual level. Rather than insights at the entire herd level, farmers can optimize their activities and operations to improve individual animals, and thus the overall sustainability of their herd. 

HerdWhistle is a type of PLF technology for cattle feedlots. It monitors individual feeding and drinking behaviours 24/7 to draw insights that can improve animal health and efficiency. It can detect signs of illness days before visible symptoms appear. Feedlot operators can then provide more rapid and effective treatment to bring the animal back to its normal health and reduce mortality across the feedlot. 

HerdWhistle can also detect efficient animals so that feedlot operators can take steps to improve the overall efficiency of the herd. It can show the operator exactly which animals are eating less food, but growing at the same rate as their peers. These animals use up less resources for the same quality of output. With a more efficient herd, feedlots can create a steadier supply of beef with less inputs. 

Food security is of utmost importance. When it comes to cattle, improving health and efficiency are the keys to a more sustainable supply of beef.

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