Alastair and Nick Frizzell combined their experience in weighing and solar power to produce their latest invention, the Smart Paddock Weigher, and it has proved to be award-worthy.
The Frizzell’s Smart Paddock Weigher (SP Weigher) suitably impressed the judges at the South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD), scooping up the 2021 Agri-Innovation award.
The Kirwee-based business made a last-minute decision to attend the Field Days and show off their invention.
“We are pretty chuffed to win,” Alastair Frizzell said.
“The prototype we had wasn’t suitable for Field Days so production was tight to build one once we decided we would go.”
The three-person panel of industry experts were impressed by the new technology, which allows farmers to weigh young livestock in the paddock, offering the potential to better manage the individual needs of the animal.
“Whenever you’re taking animals away from the paddock, they’re not doing what you need them to do, which is grow,” judge Neil Baxter said.
“However, with the Frizzell’s SP Weigher right there in the paddock the animals continue to put on weight in a stress-free manner, while the farmer is able to gain all the information they need.
“Rather than treat all animals as the same, this allows you to offer individual solutions to a herd.”
Frizzell Ltd combined its experience in agricultural weighing and solar power to produce the standalone in-paddock animal weigher.
The idea stemmed from an enquiry from a Southland farmer who contract-raises 3000 dairy replacements.
“He had big costs in labour and logistics, and this weigher was designed in response to that, though it does have applications beyond that too,” Frizzell said.
Tow this to where the stock is and you work on other things, while the animal weights you require to make good stock and pasture management decisions come back to you automatically.
As simple as that.
“Individual animal weights come up online, saving farmer time and reducing stress on stock,” he said.
“Farmers find that significant labour is required to move stock to a weighing area to weigh stock manually.
“Because of the time and cost involved animals are never really weighed at optimal times, which results in a loss of production, delayed notifications of diseases or poor pasture management decision-making.
“We’re hoping to counter all of those with the SP Weigher,” he said.
The towable, unmanned scales entice livestock onto the platform with the promise of grain and nuts by way of an automated feeder.
It then reads the RFID tag and records the animal’s weight and monitors the herd weight performance.
Food portion is dispensed with the ear tag reader, encouraging the animal onto the scales.
Animals can visit anytime, but will only be permitted a predetermined rate of feed during any 24-hour period.
Solar-powered, the SP Weigher is mobile, tough and versatile, making informed decisions for increased profitability.
Frizzell says Field Days proved a valuable decision with a lot of good feedback.
“Overall people seemed happy,” he said.
“We will look at a few tweaks in the system as a result of the feedback from Field Days, just simple modifications that will improve it.”
Frizzell Ltd is a passionate innovative family-run business.
Leading in solar irrigation and agricultural electronics fields for 15 years, Alastair and Nick have designed and developed a huge range of products to meet industry needs, from the largest agricultural and horticultural, to the backyard.
The SP Weigher was two years in gestation followed by eight months of trialling.
Alastair grew up on, and still owns the family farm, add on his Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Lincoln University, allowing him the insight to understand customers’ requirements.
Nick, also raised on the farm, but with a passion for solar and creating the most efficient products, makes the pair the perfect team.
“We use our combined knowledge and experience and we come up with something for every customer to help simplify their day,” he said.
