Beef’s big bottleneck: Chute safety and efficiency

Abstract

The bottleneck of a production system is the area of work that receives too many requests for work than can be processed at its maximum throughput capacity. An example of a bottleneck on a dairy is the milking parlor. The farm can only milk as many cows as the parlor can throughput. Within the milking parlor, there may be smaller bottlenecks that exist and can be addressed through cattle handling, personnel training or facility remodel to remedy the bottlenecks and maximize the efficiency of the milking parlor. On a beef operation, whether it be a beef feedlot, growyard or cow-calf operation, the bottleneck for many is the processing chute. Identifying and exploring the main challenges surrounding this bottleneck can help veterinarians to better advise and consult clients. The main challenges this paper will explore include safety for the animal and human safety as well as biosecurity, and efficiency.