How Drones Can Benefit Cattle Feedlots: Pen and Trough Checks

How can drones for cattle feedlots help today?

Drones for cattle feedlots help the crew see pens, water troughs and the lines that feed them without walking or driving every row first. A feedlot is a large, open operation, and the routine job of finding a dry trough, a leaking line or a blocked drain often depends on a truck and a walking route. A drone covers that ground from the air and sends imagery the crew can review before the next task.

The main benefit is faster, more frequent coverage of water and pen conditions. Instead of one pass on foot each shift, a drone can survey the lot on a set route, and staff spend their time on the spots the imagery points to. Thermal sensors can also show wet spots and water leaks that are easy to miss from ground level.

A drone does not replace pen riders, feed crew or the veterinary staff who handle animals. It makes the check on water and pens faster and more consistent. The sections below cover what the evidence supports, where drones fit on a lot, and where they stop being useful.

What problem do pens and water troughs create today?

Pens and water troughs are spread across a large area, and they need checks every day. On a lot with many pens, a crew member on foot or in a truck can take a long time to see every trough and fence line before the shift ends. A small fault, like a stuck float valve or a drain silting up, can run unnoticed until someone reaches that pen.

The sector is also getting more concentrated. According to a Texas A&M analysis of the USDA Cattle on Feed report, the total number of US feedlots fell from 26,093 in 2022 to 25,103 in 2023, linked to tighter feeder cattle supplies. The Cattle on Feed report itself covers operations of at least 1,000 head in 17 major feeding states, according to UNL Extension, so it does not count every small lot.

According to Drovers, citing the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture released in February 2024, larger feedlots increased while smaller lots declined. Beef Magazine reported the same census trend. For an operator, that often means more pens to cover per crew and a longer walking route for the same number of checks.

What are the main benefits of drones at a feedlot?

The first benefit is coverage. A drone can pass over every trough line and pen on a fixed route, and the same route can be flown again the next day to compare what changed. That repeatable view is hard to get from a crew that takes a looser path on each shift.

The second is earlier detection of leaks and drainage trouble. Kansas State research on thermal drone work found water leaks that human pen riders had missed, according to Beef Magazine. According to BeefCentral, drone mapping of pen surfaces can pinpoint drainage problems. The published summaries do not quantify the leak findings, so treat them as a direction to test rather than a rate to plan around.

The third is a written record. Dated imagery of troughs, drains and fence lines gives the operation a history to check against, and it helps the crew show what was found and fixed. That record is often more useful than a verbal log kept at the end of a shift.

How does a drone work on a feedlot day to day?

A typical day starts with a flight plan set for the lot. The drone follows the same route over the pens, trough lines, fence runs and drainage paths so the imagery can be compared from one flight to the next. The route changes when the lot changes, such as after heavy rain or when a pen is cleared.

Staff who know the lot review the imagery. Standard cameras show troughs, pen surfaces and drains, and thermal sensors help spot leaks and wet spots. A flagged trough or drain goes to a named person on the crew, who checks it on foot and makes the repair.

The drone does not handle animals and does not decide what a trough needs. The people on the lot make those calls, and the drone gives them a faster and more consistent view of where to look first.

Which areas of the feedlot does a drone cover?

A drone earns its place where a walking or driving route is slow. The areas below are the ones where a single flight can cover the most ground, and each has a clear check the crew can act on.

The research base is strongest for water troughs and pen surfaces. The 2024 study noted that few studies have examined drones for confinement systems, including fences, pen surfaces, water troughs and shading. Treat the other areas as tests, and measure what the drone finds before relying on it.

How does a drone work alongside existing staff?

A drone works as an extra set of eyes on a crew that already exists. Pen riders, feed crew and the people who handle animals keep their jobs. The drone cuts the blind walks they make to find water and pen problems, so their time goes to the spots that need hands.

Plan for a small team, not an empty lot. Someone plans the flights, someone reviews the imagery, and crew members act on flagged items the same shift. We train the staff who will fly, review and respond, so the routine keeps running after go live.

What does the evidence say about accuracy?

The 2024 study is the most detailed public check we found. A Brazilian team flew drones over 110 pens of up to 150 animals each on 21 days that were not consecutive, then compared the results with on-site checks. Trough readings agreed well, with a kappa of 0.901. Animal counts and water quality scores showed only fair agreement.

In practice, trust the drone for water and use it to flag where a crew should look. Keep ground counts for animals and water quality sampling, since the fair agreement does not support using the drone as the only count.

The trade press is also careful. A 2015 industry article warned that some drone uses, including bunk monitoring and water point work, are easy to oversell. Our search found no large-scale commercial results or verified feedlot turnaround times, so a pilot on one area is the sensible first step.

What drives the savings in labor hours?

The savings come from fewer blind walks, faster identification of faults, and less time searching for where a problem sits. Route checks are the place to measure first, because they set how much crew time goes to finding problems rather than fixing them. Before any assessment, time a week of existing route checks and the callouts that follow.

Labor context matters too. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 32,590 people were employed in the farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals group in May 2023. That is a national count for a broad occupation group, not for feedlots alone, but it shows how many people work in the job a drone supports. Every hour a crew spends walking to confirm a problem is an hour it cannot spend on the animals or the repair itself.

We do not put an hours range on this page, because the search did not produce verified feedlot turnaround times. Your own route timing is the number that matters, and the free site assessment is where we measure it with you.

What can a drone not do at a feedlot?

A drone cannot count animals reliably on its own, based on the fair agreement in the 2024 study. It cannot handle animals, make treatment calls or fix a leak. Weather, wind and local flight rules also set when it can fly.

Imagery cannot confirm everything. A thermal image shows a temperature difference, and a crew member still has to confirm the cause. Water quality still needs sampling, and feed and bunk work need the crew on the ground.

How do you get started with a drone at a feedlot?

Getting started with drones for cattle feedlots begins with a free site assessment. We walk the lot layout, the pens and trough lines, and the route your crew walks now, then recommend a drone that fits the site. We are a US commercial robot integrator, so we lease the drone through lease financing programs, deploy and integrate it, train your staff and service it nationwide. The lease is quoted after the assessment, and the payment comes in that quote.

Begin with one leased unit covering one area, such as trough lines, and set a short pilot with clear checks, like checking if the drone flags the same dry troughs the crew finds. Keep the crew in the loop for every flagged item, then expand to pens and drainage once the team trusts the results.

Start small, measure against the route you walk now, then widen the flight plan. That order keeps the risk low and the learning quick.