Weighing the Benefits of Rice Lake Weighing Systems.

 By Maura Keller.

 Reliable equipment within the farm and ranching environment is paramount to producers’ success. When machinery and equipment fail, it can wreak havoc on a producer’s ability to be profitable. And when it comes to weighing systems, properly working equipment is truly a measurement of a rancher’s success. That’s where Rice Lake Weighing Systems comes in.

Originally founded in 1946 in Rice Lake, WI as Thomas & Johnson Scale Service, the company supplied pivots and bearings for mechanical scales used on dairy farms in the area. After ground-breaking expansions into metrology and electronic scale systems in the 1970s and 1980s, the company changed its name to Rice Lake Weighing Systems. Since that time, Rice Lake has become a global leader in the weighing and measurement industry – thanks in part to the company’s goal of consistently developing innovative systems and the latest manufacturing technology to meet evolving customer needs.

Because of the unique needs within the farming and ranching industries, Rice Lake tailored some of its most durable products for the specific needs of farmers and ranchers. According to Matt Davis, livestock product manager at Rice Lake Weighing Systems, the company’s product line has evolved to meet these needs.

“Our livestock scales are designed to keep up with the demands of an industry that doesn’t stop working,” Davis says. “We manufacture several different livestock scale models, but the one that has revolutionized weighing on ranches is the MAS-M mobile animal scale.”

As Davis explains, the MAS-M scale’s mobile design has a low-profile weighing deck for faster and easier livestock weighing at multiple sites, which is essential to the efficiency required on farms and ranches. Ease and accessibility are also key attributes of the MAS-M scale. For example, to move the MAS-M, operators simply need to put it into transport mode by engaging the lift system and attaching it to a hitch. When it is in weigh mode, the deck is only six inches off the ground, making it easier and safer for livestock to enter and exit the scale.

“Even when the scale is off-level by up to 3° (6%), the MAS-M provides accurate livestock weights, meaning ranchers can take it to different pastures to weigh different herds,” Davis says. “It’s not uncommon that multiple ranches in an area will share one MAS-M scale because it can be so easily transported from one location to the next.”

Partners in Progress
For more than 75 years, Rice Lake Weighing Systems has been working alongside farmers and ranchers to enhance their weighing operations – honing in on the necessary components and technological advancement needed to make this process easier and more accurate.

As Davis explains, Rice Lake’s scales are designed to make weighing operations faster, easier and safer.

“Because our scales are used on ranches, livestock can be weighed where they live, greatly reducing their stress and the shrink associated with transportation to an off-site scale,” Davis says. “Ranchers can monitor the growth of their herds without leaving their property, helping them choose the best time to sell each animal. Rice Lake scales are also certified with the accuracy necessary to sell based on weight, ensuring there are no missed profits.”

Additionally, Rice Lake livestock scales are built with 48-inch kick panels on all sides and gates, ensuring operator safety. To promote animal safety, in addition to the kick panels, each livestock scale has specialized, easy-to-clean rubber flooring to prevent animals from slipping or falling while recording their weights.

Setting Itself Apart
For the team at Rice Lake, working in conjunction with customers has been the key to the company’s longstanding success. They do this by embracing the founding principles of the company, namely to provide excellent customer service. After decades of operating this way, the Rice Lake team remains dedicated to providing legendary service.

Through the years, Rice Lake has also welcomed product feedback from customers, listening to their suggestions for product improvement and developing products to meet the unique needs of animal producers. “Our product development is based off input from current users,” Davis says. “We highly value the feedback we receive on our products and we use it to improve our scale designs and safety.”

Rice Lake’s operations and accessibility is far-reaching. Because the company puts a great amount of emphasis on customer service, they work with a global network of experienced, certified scale dealers to ensure on-site support is available everywhere Rice Lake scales are used. These scale dealers install and provide regular maintenance for Rice Lake’s livestock scales so ranchers always know their scales are accurately capturing animal weights.

In addition to working with the farm and ranching industries as a whole, the Rice Lake staff also recognizes that each customer has unique needs of their own. The Rice Lake network of dealers pride themselves on taking the time to get to know each customer, what their operation entails, and how to best use Rice Lake scale products in their operations.

“Our dealer network is available to talk through weighing needs with customers to help them determine what solution will be best for their needs. One of the first questions we ask is, ‘What is being weighed?’ because that impacts the size and capacity of scale needed,” Davis said. “Weighing sheep is different than weighing cattle, and the number you want to weigh at a single time will impact the size of the weighing deck you need. Once our dealers understand what is being weighed, they can review the options available so customers can make an informed decision before they invest in an on-site livestock scale.”

“We use North American steel and manufacture our scales in the United States,” Davis says. “This helps us ensure we are creating high-quality products that provide years of reliable use. We also work to improve our manufacturing processes as new technology emerges, which in turn improves the products we provide.”