EPISODE · Apr 20, 2026 · 31 MIN
The Value of Weighing Cattle
from Casual Cattle Conversations · host casualcattleconversations
Why is weighing your cattle important? In this episode of the Casual Cattle Conversations, Shaye interviews Dawn Anderson from the CattleScales team about why weighing cattle is valuable and how different scale options fit different ranch setups. Dawn shares her family’s ranch background and explains how their weighing systems evolved from beam and hanging scales to load bars and chute-side scale heads. They discuss how accurate weights improve confidence in breeding and culling decisions, reveal herd consistency, guide feed testing and ration changes, track average daily gain, help market seedstock and finished cattle, and ensure proper medication dosing. Dawn emphasizes that scales are an investment, there are portable and stationary options, and ranchers can call to match a system to their goals. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4dqqTtr. Links and Resources Learn more about Cargill here: https://bit.ly/4e1qygS Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/ 00:00 Why Weigh Cattle 02:01 Meet Dawn Anderson 05:16 Scale Evolution on the Ranch 08:56 Better Data Better Decisions 12:56 Backgrounding and ADG Tracking 14:22 Cow Performance and Culling 17:18 Accurate Treatment Dosage 20:39 Feeding and Pen Decisions 22:24 Marketing With Confidence 26:33 Choosing the Right Scale
What this episode covers
Why is weighing your cattle important? In this episode of the Casual Cattle Conversations, Shaye interviews Dawn Anderson from the CattleScales team about why weighing cattle is valuable and how different scale options fit different ranch setups. Dawn shares her family’s ranch background and explains how their weighing systems evolved from beam and hanging scales to load bars and chute-side scale heads. They discuss how accurate weights improve confidence in breeding and culling decisions, reveal herd consistency, guide feed testing and ration changes, track average daily gain, help market seedstock and finished cattle, and ensure proper medication dosing. Dawn emphasizes that scales are an investment, there are portable and stationary options, and ranchers can call to match a system to their goals. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4dqqTtr. Links and Resources Learn more about Cargill here: https://bit.ly/4e1qygS Catch more conversations like this one and learn more at https://www.casualcattleconversations.com/ 00:00 Why Weigh Cattle 02:01 Meet Dawn Anderson 05:16 Scale Evolution on the Ranch 08:56 Better Data Better Decisions 12:56 Backgrounding and ADG Tracking 14:22 Cow Performance and Culling 17:18 Accurate Treatment Dosage 20:39 Feeding and Pen Decisions 22:24 Marketing With Confidence 26:33 Choosing the Right Scale
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The Value of Weighing Cattle
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