Agri Beef Replaced Ranch Paper Trails With Real-Time Cattle Traceability

With cattle moving through multiple ranches and four premium beef brands reaching customers worldwide, Agri Beef needed ranch-level data it could trust. The new traceability system reduced paper-based gaps, strengthened RFID tracking, and created a clearer operational record across cattle and locations.

Summary

Agri Beef's ranch operations ran on paper forms that were hand-carried to a central location and entered manually, leaving persistent gaps between field activity and the records that followed. A custom traceability platform with offline capture, automated cattle assignment, and role-based access gave every ranch location a structured, system-driven way to work.

About

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Agri Beef is a family-owned, vertically integrated beef producer involved across the ranch-to-table lifecycle. Its operations span ranching, cattle feeding, processing, and distribution, with a long-standing focus on premium beef, animal care, quality, stewardship, and responsible resource management across the Pacific Northwest

Solutions Built

Industry

Feedlot & Cattle Feeding

Geography Served

United States

Technology

.NET Framework • React JS • React Native

Measurable Outcomes

100%

Cattle movement tracked digitally, replacing paper-based movement records across ranch operations

1

Unified dashboard giving teams visibility from ranch activity through downstream processing

~60%

Reduction in data-entry and reporting time by replacing manual forms and batch updates

The Challenge

The Hardest Part Was Keeping Every Animal’s History Intact

Traceability depended on more than recording where cattle moved. Agri Beef needed identity, health, breeding, and ranch activity to stay connected even when animals changed locations, RFID tags were lost, or crews worked without connectivity. Any break in that chain made the record harder to trust and the operation harder to see clearly.

RFID Identity Could Break

When tags were lost or replaced, maintaining a continuous animal history became difficult without a connected record behind the identifier.

Offline Work Created Gaps

Remote ranch activity often happened without connectivity, delaying updates and creating gaps between field events and central records.

Data Arrived Too Late

Paper forms and batch entry meant important ranch activity was often recorded centrally well after it actually happened.

Records Were Hard to Trust

Manual transcription and disconnected spreadsheets increased the risk of missing, inconsistent, or incorrect cattle information across locations.

The Solution

Turning Every Ranch Event Into a Traceable Record

The new system treated each field activity as part of a continuous animal record. Ranch teams could capture events at the source, validate information as it entered the system, automatically place cattle into the right programs, and give each role access to the records needed to manage animals across locations.

Our Approach

Starting With Where the Data Broke Down

Before development began, our team traced how cattle information moved from field activity into Agri Beef’s central records, identifying where handoffs, delayed entry, and different user needs created gaps. Those findings shaped the wireframes and approvals, then guided development, QA, deployment, integration, and hands-on training across ranch operations.

Mapped Ranch Workflows

Documented how cattle data moved across ranch operations and where manual handoffs created gaps.

Designed Before Development

Created wireframes and validated the experience with Agri Beef before moving into final design and build.

Built and Tested

Developed the web application, then put the complete experience through QA before client-facing deployment.

Deployed and Trained

Integrated the system across ranch operations and trained employees for consistent adoption across locations.

The Platform

Platform That Keeps Every Record Intact Across the Cattle Operation

From the moment a calf is tagged to the point cattle leave for processing, the traceability platform maintains a connected, validated record. Automated assignment, offline capture, RFID continuity, health monitoring, and role-based access all work together to keep that record whole, regardless of location or connectivity.

Role-Based Ranch Access

Administrators, ranch owners, and field crews each see the records and actions relevant to their responsibilities.

Offline Field Capture

Crews can record cattle activity without connectivity, keeping field events from becoming delayed or reconstructed later.

Automated Program Assignment

Cattle are placed into designated programs automatically, reducing manual coordination and keeping program records consistently updated.

RFID Continuity Management

Tag purchases, assignments, replacements, and maintenance stay connected, helping preserve animal identity when RFID tags change.

Breeding & Calving Visibility

Teams can review breeding activity and calving outcomes across ranch locations and cattle programs from one system.

Animal Health Monitoring

Health, behavior, and performance records help teams spot abnormalities earlier and identify high-performing cattle and ranches.

Unified Ranch Dashboard

Ranch locations, cattle programs, and field data feed into one operational view instead of separate spreadsheets.

Data Validation at Entry

Defined ranges check incoming information as it is recorded, reducing errors before they affect downstream reporting and decisions.

From Data Gaps to a Complete View of the Cattle Operation

With cattle records captured closer to the source and carried consistently across locations, Agri Beef gained more than cleaner data. Teams could trust animal histories, respond sooner to health and identity issues, reduce manual reconciliation, and manage ranch activity from a more complete view of what was actually happening.

0

Animal identity and history stayed connected even when RFID tags were lost or replaced.

24

Ranch activity moved into the system sooner instead of waiting for later batch entry.

50%

Capturing information closer to the source reduced errors, missing details, and manual corrections later

40%

Managers gained a clearer view of cattle activity, health, breeding, and performance across locations.

30%

More consistent animal-level records made unusual behavior and emerging health concerns easier to spot.

70%

Ranch teams worked from a shared source of truth instead of reconciling separate spreadsheets and files.

Does Your Cattle Operation Have Full Visibility From Ranch to Record?

Bring RFID/EID tracking, animal history, health records, location movements, and offline field capture together with Cattlytics. See how your team can maintain a more complete cattle record across ranches and locations.