Cargill develops ‘industry-first’ robotic cattle driver

The robots will be implemented in Cargill Protein’s beef plants in the US and Canada and operated by employees from a catwalk located above the pens.

Developed in collaboration with Jersey-based equipment company Flock Free, the robots took two years to finalise and have multiple applications, including waving automated arms, blowers and audio recordings to move cattle in a desired direction.

Testing was conducted at Cargill’s Wyalusing, Pennsylvania and Schuyler, Nebraska beef processing facilities to determine a design and operational attributes of the robot.

Cargill described the robotic cattle drivers as a “major innovation​” in the handling and welfare of farm animals.

“The average bovine weighs almost three-quarters of a tonne, and our plant processes several thousand head of cattle daily​,” said Sammy Renteria, general manager of the Cargill beef plant in Schuyler, Nebraka.

“This innovation provides a much safer workplace for our employees and allows them to develop new technology expertise as they manage and operate the robot​.”

Cargill added that it believed the robot could be an asset across other livestock and poultry supply chains and was working towards making it available for use throughout the industry.