Upcoming Events
Beef Improvement Federation
April 18-21, 2012 Houston, Texas
We are proud to be a silver sponsor of the 2012 Beef Improvement Annual Research Symposium and Convention.
To register CLICK HERE
BEEF AUSTRALIA 2012
May 7 - 12, 2012
Visit us in Rockhampton at one of the world's great beef cattle events
We will be in Outdoor site number 141 hanging out with some great Australian Angus Cattle.
Find out about GrowSafe Feed Efficiency Measurement
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
2012
Thanks for visiting with us Nashville. See you next year in Tampa.
Our thanks to West Virginia University and Wardensville Bull Test for letting us showcase some amazing bulls
News
January 24, 2012
Press Release
In October 2011, the world’s population topped 7 billion for the first time in recorded history, and estimates have total population numbers breaching the 9.5 billion mark by 2050. To meet this population explosion, it is forecast that the world’s agricultural producers will need to produce 70 percent more food in the next five decades, including more protein from beef and other livestock. Of that new production, 70 percent is projected to come from efficiency-improving technologies.
As a linchpin to more efficient cattle production, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and GrowSafe Systems Ltd. have formed a collaboration to test and leverage GrowSafe’s latest technology to better understand feed efficiency in pasture-fed beef cattle and develop tools for sustainably improving production of grazing livestock.
January 21, 2012
Drovers Network
Olsen Ranches Inc., Harrisburg, Neb., was honored with a Hereford Innovator Award by the American Hereford Association (AHA) for its commitment to the Hereford industry and the National Reference Sire Program.
AHA Director of Breed Improvement and Chief Operating Officer Jack Ward says, “The Olsens operate one of the most progressive commercial herds in the country and they have been instrumental in identifying sires that have moved the Hereford breed in the right direction. Their data collection is impeccable and with the addition of the GrowSafe system, they will help the AHA maintain its leadership role in the beef cattle industry by identifying differences among sires for economically relevant traits.”
January 13, 2012
Farming UK News
The East Yorkshire-based Beef Improvement Group (BIG) has been awarded a ’1.2 million grant from the Technology Strategy Board, for a project designed to help beef producers drive down production costs. BIG and JSR have established a commercial, ground-breaking central performance test facility at Wold Farm in Givendale, East Yorkshire, where the Project is based. It is equipped with world-leading GrowSafe technology, to measure individual animal feed intakes.
As well as improving production efficiency, the NFE Project will also look at options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its consortium partners include BIG, JSR, SAC and Keenan. Supermarket, Morrisons and abattoir, Woodheads are also contributing, by providing retail value and meat quality data on the progeny of sires and steers tested for NFE.
November 01, 2011
AsTech Foundation
GrowSafe was honored at the 2011 AsTech award ceremonies for Innovation in Agricultural Science. This award recognizes an company that has demonstrated exceptional innovation or has developed a technology of significance to Alberta's agriculture, agrifood, or agrivalue industries.
September 30, 2011
Drovers Cattle Network
GrowSafe Systems was recently highlighted as part of a daylong ranch visit to the Olsen Ranch near Scottsbluff, Nebraska, as part of a media tour organized by the American Hereford Association.
CLICK to read the article.
August 31, 2011
Rural Brazil
GrowSafe's first Brazilian system located at Rancho da Matinha is now collecting data. For more information about Matinha breeding program visit http://www.ranchodamatinha.com.br/
August 29, 2011
Hay and Forage
Breeding Beef for Efficiency
Bull and heifer replacement strategy has just become a whole lot more interesting for fifth-generation rancher Tod Wallace, Oak Lake, Manitoba, Canada. No longer does he judge a candidate just by his or her good looks and lineage. Now he also can choose for feed efficiency.
CLICK to read the article
August 29, 2011
Hereford World
Hereford breeders are invited to an open house at the Olsen Ranch on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Located near Harrisburg, Nebraska., the Olsens have been a test herd for the National Reference Sire Program (NRSP) for more than 10 years. A ranch that has provided much to the development of young sires within the Hereford breed, Olsen Ranches uses GrowSafe Feed Intake Technology.
June 24, 2011
Airdrie City View
The Morison family was named the 2011 Master Farm Family, June 23.
The Morison farm, located west of Goldenrod Hall, is a fourth generation family business that focuses on cattle and grain, and for several years has assisted GrowSafe in validating our technology for use in the cattle industry.
Pete Morison, now 93, started the family farm in 1946 and passed it on to his son Bill. It is now a 3,400-acre farm, run by Rod and Cheryl and their children, Harley and Carter, that includes a 4,000-head cattle feedlot.
CLICK to read the announcement.
June 11, 2011
Drovers Network
Alison Sunstrum, of Grow-Safe Systems Ltd., and Dr. Jay Cross, Associate Dean of the University of Calgary's veterinary school, discuss how Grow-Safe's monitoring systems extend beyond measuring feed efficiency by offering advancements in detection and treatment of sick cattle.
CLICK to access Drover's Network on You Tube
June 07, 2011
BioResearch & Development Growth Park Newsletter
With more than 270 attendees from Brazil, Australia, the Netherlands, India, Malaysia, and across North America, the third annual Ag Innovation showcase sponsored by BRDG Park May 2011 at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis Missouri, GrowSafe Systems, Ltd., was honored with the Ag Innovation Showcase's Green Lab Coat award for excellence among emerging entrepreneurs.
CLICK to read more
April 29, 2011
AGWEEK
USDA research grant targets feed efficiency
URBANA, Ill.— The sustainability of the beef industry continues to be an issue in agriculture today. Will the industry be able to survive high feed and land prices? CLICK to read more
April 15, 2011
Canadian Cattlemen
Cattle ease up on the gas in winter, study finds - Cattle emit less methane in the winter than in summer, a recent study has discovered. READ more
January 19, 2011
Progressive Cattlemen online
The quest for efficiency: South Dakota breeder sees big potential with RFI system. With nearly 800 mother cows, Gelbvieh and Angus breeder Vaughn Thorstenson recognizes that reducing feed inputs would be a huge savings on the ranch he and his family operate in north-central South Dakota. And because they also sell Gelbvieh, Angus and Balancer seedstock, Thorstenson would like to be able to pass feed efficiency on to his bull-buying customers.
Click to read more.
January 15, 2011
The Fence Post
As consumers become more interested in lean and more consistent beef, producers are looking for ways to make that happen, and still bring in a profit. New research at the University of Wyoming Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC) in Lingle, Wyoming is looking into selecting bulls for feed efficiency.
Click to read more.
January 10, 2011
The Monett Times
Crops conference looks at Research Center innovations
Studies on how well beef cattle convert feed into weight have expanded into groundbreaking areas, Crawford said. Researchers used to guess how much a cow ate in the pasture. GrowSafe, a Canadian company, has developed a system to measure what cows eat. At a feeding station, the amount of food eaten by each cow measured exactly, and each cow is identified by an inserted computer chip.
Click to read more.
January 01, 2011
Hereford World Online
Measuring residual feed intake allows producers to select for more efficient animals. It’s a simple concept. If an animal eats less and gains more in a production setting, it’s a superior animal. That, in essence, is what the RFI (residual feed intake) value measures. And, what more and more beef cattle producers are discovering is that an animal that is more efficient, or has a “good” RFI value, benefits everyone in the production chain.
Click to read more (pdf).
October 18, 2010
Canadian Cattlemen – The Beef Magazine
New Watering Units Could Revolutionize Feedlot Management
GrowSafe Systems of Airdrie, Alta. has made its name known to beef researchers worldwide since its introduction of its GrowSafe feed intake and behaviour monitoring units in 2000. The company took that experience and knowledge to the next level in 2003 when it began developing GrowSafe Beef (GSB) — an automated watering system that monitors the growth and health status of as many as 300 animals in pens at commercial feedlots.
Read more.
September 21, 2010
The Brahman Journal
Post-Weaning Feed Efficiency and Growth in Brahman, Angus, and Brahman x Angus Crossbred Cattle
Feed costs represent the largest fraction of all costs in a beef cattle feeding operation. Any increase in feed efficiency will have a major economic impact on the beef cattle industry. On the other hand, Brahman cattle with its genetic ability to withstand hot and humid conditions is an essential component of multibreed or crossbred commercial beef herds in the Southern region of the US. Thus, evaluation of efficiency of feed utilization and post-weaning growth in Brahman and Brahman x Bos taurus crossbred cattle are areas of primary importance in beef cattle research.
Read more.
September 02, 2010
Winfield Daily Courier
After lunch at the Cattle Rustler’s Restaurant in Ardmore, Okla., a tour of the Noble Foundation led by Kent Shankles will begin the afternoon. Other topics for the afternoon included Overview of the GrowSafe System; Adding Value to Cull Cows; Movement of White Tailed Deer; Cross-Timber Burning Effects on Vegetation, Wildlife Habitat and Stocker Production; and Cost Analysis of Feral Hog Capture.
Read more.
August 25, 2010
The Prairie Star
UW looks at feed efficiency: How far will that pound of feed take you?
Read more.
August 23, 2010
High Plains Midwest Ag Journal
Bob Weaber, MU Extension beef geneticist, will offer advice on getting the biggest bang for your feed buck. "I'm going to talk about selection and management strategies for improving feed efficiency at the individual-animal level and in the production system as a whole," Weaber said. MU researchers have been able to collect precise data on feed efficiency using GrowSafe feeders, which automatically monitor individual animal feed intake.
Click to read more.
July 05, 2010
The Calgary Herald
Technology Takes the Spotlight at Beef Cattle Showcase - Calgary Stampede.
Click to read more.
May 15, 2010
Southern Cattle Company Cattleman's Field Day
For over three years Southern Cattle Company has been working closely with the University of Florida to identify sires and dams that consistently produce offspring that simply said, “Produce more red meat on less feed.” We have done this by enrolling over 1500 head of calves in the GrowSafe feed system at the University of Florida, where every ounce of feed consumed is weighed and recorded every time an animal feeds at the bunk.
Click here for more.
November 19, 2009
Western Producer
Feed Efficiency Inherited - For Rod Morison, finding a genetic pathway that leads to more feed efficient steers is just one way to make a profit feeding cattle.
Click to read more.
October 21, 2009
Bovine Vet Online Magazine
Feed efficiency data can be valuable - To help all cattle producers make better-informed selection decisions, Lauren Hyde, PhD, North American Limousin Foundation (NALF), encourages them to collect feed-efficiency data.
Click to read more.
March 28, 2009
Fort Scott Tribune
Abeles on cutting edge of bull testing technology - an update on bull testing at Green Springs Bull Test - Nevada Missouri.
Click here to read more.
February 12, 2009
Drovers Magazine
Tag Tech - Imagine the ranch of the future.
Click to read article.
January 25, 2009
Billings Gazette
New technology targets feeding efficiency - “If we can reduce feed costs by $60 to $100 a head, that's huge," said Leo McDonnell, one of the owners of Midland Bull Test. "In the state of Montana alone, you're looking at a trait that has the potential to mean $100 million to $150 million more in revenue.”
Click to read more.
Archives prior to 2009 can be accessed by contacting GrowSafe Systems Ltd.
