Livestock Data
One record per animal, from the first meal to the last mile.
Livestock data has lived on paper, in texts and in spreadsheets. Mule moves it into systems that follow the animal, so what happened to each head is known, and can be proved, at every handoff.
01Said plainly
The same animals, read a different way.
Nothing about the work changes first. What changes is where each fact lands: on the animal, once, with its source.
Before
- Birth list in a binder, treatments on a whiteboard, weights on a scale ticket
- Calf sold at two weeks; its colostrum and sire stay behind
- Head count argued over text after the truck leaves
- Closeout shows the feedyard's share, never the whole animal
- Data quality noticed at year end, if at all
With a record per animal
- One record per head, keyed by EID, filled where the work happens
- The record travels with the calf to the buyer
- Head loaded against head delivered, signed at the gate
- Cost and outcome stacked from purchase to rail
- Gaps visible every day, as a work queue
02One record, many views
Every animal, read three ways.
Switching the view re-sorts the same animals rather than drawing a new chart. That is the core idea: one record per head, and as many ways to read the herd as the decision needs. By status for the morning check, by pen for the feed truck, by growth for the nutritionist.
Simulated herd · 480 head · illustration only
Every animal, by status
- Normal · 411
- Watch · 55
- Check today · 14
03What a complete record holds
Six parts, and how each fact is known.
Identity, origin, growth, health, movement and outcome. Every field carries a provenance tag, so anyone reading the record knows what was scanned at the animal, what came from a document, and what was worked out.
- ScannedRead at the animal: EID wand, scale, refractometer, chute app.
- ImportedRead from a document: birth list, settlement, closeout, CVI.
- InferredWorked out from other facts, with the rule shown.
- GapNot known. Shown as missing, never filled with an estimate.
Fig. 1.1 · A lifetime record, by part
Example dataSteer · beef-on-dairy
EID 840 000 000 000 214
- Identity
- 840 000 000 000 214 · visual 214 Scanned
- Origin
- Dairy D-03 · sire Angus BX-204 Imported
- Growth
- 43 kg (95 lb) → 310 kg (683 lb) Scanned
- Health
- 2 treatments · withdrawals cleared Scanned
- Movement
- 4 moves · 2 loads · signed BOL Imported
- Cost to date
- Purchase + freight + days on feed Inferred
- Carcass
- Awaiting packer settlement Gap
04Four areas
Where the record does its work.
A · Calves
The first weeks decide the rest.
Colostrum, treatments, growth and the sale at two weeks, kept with the calf.
BRIX · IGG · ADG
B · Cattle and herd
Fewer animals, worth more each.
Lifetime records, herd views and outcomes tied back to the decisions that made them.
CLOSEOUT · COG · GRID
C · Health
Every treatment, on the right animal.
Drug, dose, route and withdrawal date, recorded chute-side, with or without signal.
DOSE · ROUTE · WITHDRAWAL
D · Traceability
The rules already require the data.
EID, movements and registrations in the US, Belgium and the Netherlands, made useful.
840 · SANITEL · I&R
05Where data is lost
The handoffs are where the record breaks.
A calf can change hands four or five times before it reaches the rail, most of them by truck. Each owner keeps their own paper. What follows the animal is usually a tag number and a weight.
01
Dairy
Lost at handoffColostrum, sire and birth date stay on the dairy's sheet.
02
Truck
Lost at handoffHead loaded is texted; head delivered is argued later.
03
Calf raiser
Lost at handoffTreatments and arrival grade live on a whiteboard.
04
Grower
Lost at handoffWeights and death loss arrive as a monthly total.
05
Feedyard
Lost at handoffCloseout covers the feedyard's share only.
06
Packer
Carcass results return by lot, rarely matched back to the calf.
30 of 40FARMS
Wisconsin dairies in one survey that sold most beef-on-dairy calves at two weeks or younger.
Source · 40-farm Wisconsin survey · 2025
0.8%
Cow-calf operations using EID in the last national beef study, while 90% of US milk comes from farms with individual cow records.
Source · USDA NAHMS Beef · latest
06Data and trust
Your data, under your rules.
Yours to keep
You own the records and, on completion and full payment, the code. Exports are free, any time, in open formats.
Off by default
Nothing is shared with a buyer, vet, program or Mule partner unless you switch it on for that party.
Hosted where the animals are
EU hosting for Belgian and Dutch operations, US hosting for American ones.
Lineage on every figure
Every number on a report traces back to the reads and documents it came from.
FAQ
Questions
What is a complete animal record?
Identity, origin, growth, health, movement and outcome for one animal, kept together from the first tag read onward. Each fact carries how it is known: scanned at the animal, imported from a document, or inferred from other records. Missing facts show as gaps.
Do we have to replace the software we already use?
No. Most operations keep their herd or accounting software. Mule reads from it, writes the record around it, and exports in the layout you already work in. Direct integrations with common herd systems are planned, and we build each one against your real data.
What if our records today are paper and spreadsheets?
That is the usual starting point. Birth lists, scale tickets, treatment sheets and settlements can be read onto animals by EID, with a line back to the source document, so the history you already have is not lost.
Who owns the data?
You do. Sharing is off by default, exports are free at any time in open formats, and the code we build for you becomes yours on completion and full payment.
Does it work in a barn with no signal?
Yes. Field apps record offline and sync when the device is back in range. Nothing waits on a connection at the chute.
Start a project
Tell us what happens to your animals today.
Tell us about your operation and what you want to fix. We reply within 1 business day.
Or write directly
juastins@icloud.comReplies within 1 business day. No phone line; every conversation is in writing and in your portal.