Texas ranchers develop robotic cattle feeder

Robots have taken over many industries in recent years, but one many thought would remain in the hands of humans forever was ranching. However, two Texas ranchers have changed that as they have developed a robotic cattle feeder that they claim can save ranchers 15 to 20 hours a week. The V1 Ranch Rover helps ranchers be efficient and labor-saving so they can spend time working on other tasks.

MEET THE RANCH ROVER: A 27-year-old rancher from West Texas invented this rover to help with feeding cattle -- saving ranchers and farmers time and money. #smartmooooove pic.twitter.com/mb0GhdGZ7j

River McTasney and Hunter Allemand, the founders of Smooth Ag Solutions, recently launched the V1 Ranch Rover, an autonomous feeder with rangeland capabilities. The idea originally came to McTasney while he was feeding his cows. Wanting to spend less time feeding cattle, the Haskell County Farm Bureau member developed a way to augment the task with a robot powered by an internal combustion engine and equipped with a trip hopper that can hold up to one ton of feed.

According to Texas Farm Bureau, the V1 Ranch Rover uses GPS communications to build geo-fence parameters and set feed times. "The Ranch Rover creates an opportunity for ranchers to focus on what really matters, and at the end of the day, it's the cheapest ranch hand you’ll find," said Allemand. For those still hoping the robots don't eventually take over, this may be the final straw.

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