Could you weigh cattle with your phone—or monitor sheep liveweight as they walk past a camera? Camera-based livestock weighing could make growth monitoring easier, reduce handling and help farmers make better feeding and sale decisions. But how accurate does it need to be?

In this episode of In The Paddock — Field Notes, farmer and agronomist Martin Murray explores Scanabull’s cattle weight-estimation technology and FlockMate, the Australian sheep research project led by CSIRO with Meat & Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation.

We explain how 3D imaging and artificial intelligence estimate livestock weight, then examine the practical question: can those estimates provide information you can confidently act on?

IN THIS EPISODE

• Scanabull WeighApp: estimating cattle liveweight using an iPhone Pro.

• WeighPoint: Scanabull’s automated camera development.

• FlockMate: estimating sheep liveweight and fleece weight, with records linked to RFID tags.

• Why a correct mob average can hide errors in individual animals.

• Accuracy, repeatability and detecting meaningful changes in growth.

• Practical checks against conventional livestock scales.

• Indicative costs, scan allowances and development timelines.

Whether you run beef cattle, sheep or a mixed grazing enterprise, the opportunity is more useful information with less effort. The test is whether that information helps you identify poor performers, assess feed supply or select livestock for sale.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Where would camera weighing help most in your business: tracking mob growth, finding animals falling behind, or deciding which stock are ready to sell? Share your thoughts in your podcast app’s comments, where available, or join the discussion on the In The Paddock YouTube channel.

MORE FROM IN THE PADDOCK

Explore practical agronomy, livestock management and emerging agricultural technology:

https://inthepaddock.au/

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Scanabull — cattle weighing technology:

https://scanabull.com/

Scanabull — technical explanation and company-reported accuracy:

https://scanabull.com/index.php/2026/08/31/scanabull-tech/

Scanabull — indicative pricing:

https://scanabull.com/index.php/pricing/

CSIRO — measuring sheep liveweight:

https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/News/2026/July/Measuring-sheep-live-weight

MLA — FlockMate liveweight and fleece-weight project:

https://www.mla.com.au/news-and-events/industry-news/new-tool-for-estimating-sheep-liveweight-and-fleece-weight/

AWI — FlockMate development update:

https://www.wool.com/news-events/beyond-the-bale/issue-106-winter-2026/flockmateputs-sheep-measurement-in-a-new-frame-106/

Follow In The Paddock for practical Australian farming insights, agricultural research and emerging agtech. Share this episode with a livestock producer interested in weighing without scales.

Information checked 19 October 2026. This episode reviews published information, not a hands-on product test. FlockMate remains in research and development. Scanabull’s website retains early-access and future-release messaging; broad Australian availability is unverified. Accuracy figures are company-reported, not guaranteed limits for every animal. Pricing is provisional, with currency unspecified on the pricing page.

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🥩 3D-Printed Fake Meat Is Here — But Is the Industry Going Broke?

3D-printed fake meat has officially reached American supermarket shelves. But behind the futuristic technology is an industry struggling with falling sales, mounting financial losses and consumers who still overwhelmingly prefer real meat.

Is fake meat genuinely the future of food, or one of agriculture's most overhyped technological revolutions?

In this episode of In The Paddock, Australian farmer and agronomist Martin Murray investigates the economics of fake meat, the arrival of Steakholder Foods' Perfecta 3D-printed steaks, and what artificial meat could mean for Australian cattle producers.

Using a process called Fused Paste Layering, Perfecta manufactures fake steaks from plant proteins, oils, binders and flavourings, attempting to replicate the texture, marbling and appearance of conventional beef.

But making something look like steak is one thing. Convincing consumers to buy it — and making a profit — is another.

THE BILLION-DOLLAR FAKE MEAT PROBLEM

Beyond Meat's annual revenue peaked at US$464.7 million in 2021 before declining to US$275.5 million in 2025. Despite reporting an accounting profit in 2025, the company recorded a US$332.7 million operating loss.

Meanwhile, US plant-based meat and seafood retail sales fell 10% in 2025, while conventional meat and seafood sales grew 5%.

Fake meat still accounts for less than 1% of the total US retail meat market.

IN THIS EPISODE:

🥩 How does 3D-printed fake meat actually work?

🧪 What's inside a Perfecta fake steak, and how does it compare with real beef?

💰 Fake meat versus real meat: which costs consumers more?

📉 Why are Beyond Meat and other alternative protein companies struggling financially?

🏭 What happened to the billions invested in fake meat technology?

💸 Which fake meat businesses have collapsed or been forced to restructure?

🛒 Why aren't consumers buying fake meat in the numbers once predicted?

🏷️ Why accurate food labelling matters for consumer choice and agricultural producers.

🐂 Is artificial meat genuinely a threat to Australia's beef industry?

THE BIG QUESTION

If meat eaters want real meat, many vegetarians prefer whole foods, and consumers are increasingly sceptical of highly processed alternatives, who exactly is the target market for fake meat?

Could 3D printing finally make artificial meat competitive, or is the industry spending billions trying to solve a problem consumers never asked it to solve?

We separate the technological hype from the commercial reality and examine what this means for farmers, investors and the future of global food production.

ABOUT IN THE PADDOCK

Hosted by Australian farmer and agronomist Martin Murray, In The Paddock explores agricultural technology, farm economics, food security, livestock markets and the global forces shaping agriculture.

🌐 Website: https://inthepaddock.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InThePaddock

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Steakholder Foods:

https://www.steakholderfoods.com/

Beyond Meat financial reports:

https://investors.beyondmeat.com/

Good Food Institute — Alternative meat sales:

https://gfi.org/resource/analyzing-plant-based-meat-and-seafood-sales/

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Would you eat a 3D-printed steak? Would you pay more for it than real beef?

Is fake meat the future of food, or an expensive technological experiment?

Follow In The Paddock for independent analysis of agriculture, emerging technology and the global food system.

#FakeMeat #3DPrintedMeat #FutureOfFood #AustralianAgriculture #BeyondMeat

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could crops protect their own nitrogen—and help lower your fertiliser bill? Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) is an emerging area of crop research that could offer new ways to improve nitrogen use efficiency in Australian agriculture.

In this episode of In The Paddock — Field Notes, farmer and agronomist Martin Murray explores how plant roots could release natural nitrification inhibitors, helping retain nitrogen for crop uptake.

First, we follow nitrogen from fertiliser application to the plant: how urea becomes ammonium and nitrate, where losses occur, and why different inhibitors protect different stages.

You’ll hear:

• How ammonia volatilisation, nitrate leaching and denitrification affect nitrogen availability.

• How roots absorb ammonium and nitrate.

• The difference between urease inhibitors such as NBPT and nitrification inhibitors such as DMPP.

• What biological nitrification inhibition could offer wheat, sorghum and canola.

• What Australia’s $10 million, four-year GRDC investment led by CSIRO is investigating.

• Why promising overseas wheat results are not yet an Australian fertiliser-rate recommendation.

BNI conserves existing nitrogen—it does not fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. The practical test is whether the trait delivers reliable benefits in yield, grain quality or fertiliser savings across Australian soils and seasons.

💬 What would convince you to choose a nitrogen-protecting variety: lower fertiliser costs, more reliable yield, or better performance in wet seasons? Leave a comment on the companion article or join the discussion wherever your podcast player supports it.

READ THE COMPANION ARTICLE

Explore the nitrogen-loss graphics, inhibitor comparison and deeper research discussion. Scheduled for 6 am AEDT, Wednesday 14 October 2026:

https://inthepaddock.au/?p=3805

MORE FROM IN THE PADDOCK

https://inthepaddock.au/

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

GRDC GroundCover — Australian biological nitrification inhibition research:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/grdc/announcements/new-grdc-nitrogen-research-could-deliver-future-crop-options

CSIRO — Research into future nitrogen-efficient crop options:

https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/news/2026/july/new-grdc-nitrogen-research-could-deliver-future-crop-options

GRDC — Nitrogen loss pathways and levers to mitigate losses:

https://grdc.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/614906/Paper-Bell-Schwenke-Grace_N-losses-Wagga-2025.pdf

JIRCAS — Experimental BNI-enabled wheat results:

https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/publication/research_results/2021_a04

Bozal-Leorri and colleagues — BNI traits and nitrogen uptake in wheat:

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1034219

Follow In The Paddock for practical agronomy, emerging agricultural technology and research explained with Australian farmers in mind. Share this episode with someone weighing up their nitrogen-management options.

General information only—not paddock-specific agronomic advice. Overseas experimental results do not establish that Australian growers can safely reduce nitrogen rates by 60%.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.