The future of the feedlot could include autonomous feed trucks, enabling operations to focus more on product and less on equipment and operations.
That is the hope of a Nebraska startup company called ALA Engineering.
The company is developing autonomous feed trucks, which would mark a significant leap forward in feedlot operations.
“The ag industry lags behind a lot of the other industries as far as new tech advancements,” said Jacob Hansen, co-founder of ALA Engineering. “But that’s all speeding up right now with more driver assistance systems and autonomy systems being brought out, especially in the field.”
Currently, in the testing phase, ALA Engineering’s prototype vehicle has undergone trials in Nebraska feedlots. Hansen said the testing prototype is a standard feed truck with some tweaks, and sensor systems on board.
HUMAN STILL ON SITE
One of the key aspects of ALA Engineering’s vision is the integration of human oversight alongside autonomous technology.
“You have the mill operator and the driver supervisor,” Hansen said, “So those are the two people on site required to run our system. And so those two people can run the entire fleet.”
Addressing concerns about hazards in feedlot settings, Hansen highlighted the sophisticated sensor systems utilized by their autonomous trucks. They use multiple other sensor systems like radar, LIDAR, and cameras to sense the environment and detect objects that may obstruct their path. If an object is detected, the feed truck stops until a human reviews the situation.
FEEDLOT OF THE FUTURE
Looking ahead, said he Hansen envisions a future where smart feedlot technologies and autonomy seamlessly integrate into everyday operations.
“Seeing the feedlot industry catch up to that is going to be exciting,” he remarked. “There’s a big industry push lately on smart feedlot technologies, and we are hoping long term that more of those features that we can bring as additional value adds to the customer are integrating into those systems.”
In response to feedback from feedlot owners and operators, Hansen expressed enthusiasm.
“There’s a lot of problems to solve out there. Labor probably being the largest. And so seeing a system that’s not necessarily replacing jobs, but just reallocating that talent to what they’re really good at, and that’s animal health.”
Listen to an interview with Jacob Hansen, Co-founder of ALA Engineering below:
