News| Aug 19 2009 |  |
| Cottoning on to data benefits | |
Rural journalist Amy Lawson recently reported in The Land the new and inventive precision livestock management system which Adam and Leonie Coleman – Quambone, NSW – have installed to effectively manage their rotational grazing enterprise. "Adam and Leonie Coleman, "Wilgara", west of Quambone, NSW are understood to be the first outside of the Northern Territory to have adopted improved precision livestock management through a home-built in-field cattle weighing system. The couple have designed and built a portable walk-over weighing system that uses Tru-test load bars and XR3000 software, an Allflex panel reader, and solar energy. The system was installed in July, together with an Observant telemetry system – using Next G network – to monitor livestock water in-flows and out-flows from tanks, water levels, and even whether there's a break in electric fence power. The Colemans run 5000 to 10 000 dry sheep equivalents of trade cattle, consisting of mainly steer, heifers, and dry stock – for short trades of compensatory weight-gain only. They dryland crop 800ha in a mainly wheat/chickpea rotation and use no-kill cropping as a re-generational tool in pasture management."
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| Aug 18 2009 |  |
| Remotely Monitor Online | |
Observant – in conjunction with the MLA – has developed an interactive monitoring tool to highlight the advantages of remotely managing water and livestock infrastructure. Ten producers from across Australia have provided access to their Observant system – ranging from the large pastoral zones of northern Australia, to the more closely defined areas of southern Victoria. To view this interactive site go to Observant's live remote monitoring solution.
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| Jun 15 2009 |  |
| Observant Highly Commended for Endeavour Manufacturing Award | |
| Observant received a "highly commended" award at the 2009 Endeavour Manufacturing Awards, held in Melbourne. "With 10 years of R&D behind us, and five years on the market, gaining industry recognition for the Observant system verifies what we do. The Observant team is delighted to accept this award on behalf of all small companies – we hope this award provides faith and determination to hang-on during the tough times", said Jessica Purbrick-Herbst, Marketing and Communications, on accepting the Award in May. "Observant is a young company that stands up with some of Australia's oldest and most respected manufacturing entities. Winning recognition through the Endeavour Awards reinforces our ability to deliver quality and longevity in the marketplace."
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| Mar 3 2009 |  |
| MLA Producer Demonstration Site | |
| Managing livestock and water usage from the office computer has become a reality with the Observant Remote Management System™. Teaming with MLA, Observant Pty Ltd brings to producers a virtual producer demonstration site (PDS) enabling industry members real-time access to monitoring information from two of Australia's northern pastoral stations, Mt Riddock and Napperby. Both located near Alice Springs, Rebecca and Steve Cadzow's Mt Riddock Station and Roy Chisholm's Napperby Station installed the Observant system over 12 months ago and have calculated significant savings in time, money and fuel. Mt Riddock Station is located North East of Alice Springs. Comprising of 2 635 km², the grazing operation incorporates 7 000 head of cattle, spread across the pastoral zone in large mobs. Maintaining a vigilance on water availability is vital in managing the operations and this is were the Observant system really makes an impact. With water tanks up to 140 km away from the homestead, extensive amounts of time and diesel is spent making “just-in-case” checks on water. Containing these costs and increasing reliability was central to the Cadzow's decision to purchase the Observant system. Significantly Mt Riddock staff have reduced water monitoring travel by 27 768 km, and saved $28 000 on diesel associated with water management. Similarly Napperby Station owner Roy Chisholm has also found the convenience and reliability of the Observant system means managing water supply from the office or indeed from overseas. With a 500 km bore run twice a week, finding a management solution which would dramatically reduce fuel costs and add value to stock management was central to Roy's purchasing of the Observant system. As a key tool in achieving productivity, profitability and sustainability, Napperby staff are able to check water levels, visualise and weigh stock at watering points, and record the information from their ear tags. Further information about the MLA PDS can be found at mla.com.au or by contacting Observant on 1300 224 688. | |
| Nov 3 2008 |  |
| Observant Wins Awards | |
| Observant took the front position in October 2008 by winning the NAB Agribusiness Awards for Excellence in the Technology and Innovation arena. Selected because of Observant's outstanding ability to improve profitability for our customers, and provide a long term commitment to the development of innovation and technology in Australia, the Award judges were impressed with the significant savings and ease of operation of the Observant system. Observant is extremely proud to be the recipient of the NAB Agribusiness Award, now in its 13th year. Matthew Pryor said, "We are very happy to be publicly acknowledged for all the hard work we have put into the Observant Remote Management System™, and thank all our customers for their continued support".
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