BM3000 Series
Weighing cattle is essential for understanding performance, but the process of physically handling animals through a crush or crate can unintentionally slow liveweight gain – sometimes for up to a week. This temporary disruption may not be obvious, but it has a measurable financial impact on finishing margins.
In addition to the weight-related losses, manual weighing also takes labour, time and equipment. Many producers underestimate how much these small but repeated disruptions cost across a finishing cycle.
Our Handling Impact Calculator helps show these hidden costs clearly, so farmers can understand exactly how much handling and labour could be affecting finishing performance, and how much can be saved by switching to automatic, stress-free weighing systems like the Ritchie Beef Monitor.
Why Handling Cattle for Weighing Reduces Weight Gain
Moving cattle through a crush or crate causes temporary stress. Research and real-farm experience show that this disruption can stall daily liveweight gain for several days, in some cases up to a full week.
This means cattle do not grow as efficiently after being handled, even though the weighing session might only last a short time. That loss of growth, multiplied across a group, becomes a real financial loss.
The calculator below helps you estimate the financial effect of:
- Lost daily liveweight gain caused by handling stress
- The total value of those missed kilos
- Labour and operator costs involved in weighing
- Combined impact across your entire group
Example: How Much Does Handling Really Cost?
Let’s take a typical finishing group of 50 cattle that are manually weighed through a crate:
Handling impact example:
- Handling causes at least 3 days of slowed growth
- Extra feed: 3 days × £1.50/day × 50 animals = £225 (for one weighing session)
If weighing is done every few weeks, this adds up to hundreds (even thousands) of pounds lost per finishing cycle simply due to avoidable handling stress and staff costs.
Labour and operator costs involved in weighing
Labour & operator cost example:
- 50 cattle weighed, 2 operators (2 hours x £15)
- Weighed x6 times = £360
The BM3000 weighs animals as they go to drink, taking several readings a day and providing the farmer with an average weight at any point during the day and night without the need for handling.
See the Impact With the Handling Cost Calculator
Enter your own figures to see how quickly these costs can add up.
How the Ritchie Beef Monitor Removes Handling Stress Completely
The Ritchie Beef Monitor (BM3000) eliminates the need for manual weighing entirely by automatically recording liveweights every time an animal visits the water trough. This means:
- No crate weighing
- No animal stress
- No stalled growth
- No labour needed
- Multiple accurate weights every day
- Better visibility of performance trends
Because the system weighs animals where they naturally go (to drink), the growth journey continues uninterrupted – meaning no more lost kilos and no more wasted labour hours.
Calculator + Beef Monitor = Real Financial Advantage
The Handling Cost Calculator shows the hidden cost of disrupted weight gain and labour from traditional weighing. The Ritchie Beef Monitor removes these costs entirely by offering stress-free, automatic weighing, giving you clearer data and stronger finishing results..
Ready to see what accurate liveweights could do for your finishing system?
Use the calculator above with your own numbers, then see how quickly a Beef Monitor can pay for itself in reduced losses and improved efficiency.
Want to try our Finishing Calculator? See how early and late finishers impact costs.