A set of livestock scales, whether you're looking for cattle scales for a beef or dairy operation or sheep scales for a sheep farm, is a significant investment. Finding the best solution to suit your needs and budget is key. We’ve compared the top 3 brands of scales - Tru-Test, Gallagher and Te Pari to help you decide which system best suits your farming operation.
Scale features to consider
Before comparing scale options, consider these essential features:
- Individual Animal Notes: The ability to add notes to individual animals, such as Breed, Sex, Animal Type, AI dates, pregnancy results, calving complications, etc, gives you more options to help with animal management, such as creating reports using this data and also drafting by it.
- Record and manage treatments and traits: Recording what treatments animals have been given gives you the ability to keep track of product usage and manage how often treatments are given. This feature is very useful for recording treatments given to specific animals, eg drenching poor performers, for example. Some scale systems allow you to record more treatments for an animal than others. This can be restrictive, especially when you are dealing with breeding animals that you keep for many years.
- Animal alerts: Alerts can be applied to individual animals with some scale systems. This is often used to remind staff of withholding periods. In Macrostock, an alert can be added automatically to animals in a session of treatments. It’s easy to set up at the start of the session. See the table below to find out what scale systems can do alerts. Alerts will show up on the Macrostock screen for animals that have alerts set up.
- Memory Storage: How long you want to store data for and how often you use the scale will affect how much storage you need on your scale system. It could be advantageous to be able to look back at data to compare previous years.
- Smartphone Compatibility: Some scales allow real-time weight viewing on smartphones via apps, enhancing remote management convenience. Other models allow for downloading of the data after the weigh session has completed. Some scale systems can connect to a mobile app for transferring data to Nait/NLIS systems.
- Cloud Storage: Access your data from anywhere with an internet connection. Cloud storage provides a good backup for your data, and many scale systems will automatically back up data when an internet connection is available. Tru-Test, Gallagher and Macrostock scale systems offer cloud storage with a subscription.
- Wifi Connectivity: Simplifies data transfer without the need for cables, improving efficiency during operations.
- EID Reader Compatibility: Simply connect your handheld EID Stick reader or panel reader to your scale system via Bluetooth connection or cable and scan the tags on your cattle or sheep as they are weighed. Modern cattle scales and sheep scales with EID integration can significantly reduce manual data entry and improve record accuracy.
- Auto Drafting and Multi-criteria Drafting: Check if the system supports auto-drafting and multi-criteria options, such as weight groups or specific traits. Many scale systems are only able to draft by 1 set of criteria, eg weight groups. So, if you need multi-criteria drafting options, then we recommend choosing the Macrostock or Tru-Test XR5000 Scale System. With these systems, you can draft by a wide range of multi-criteria options such as weight and mobs, groups, sex or draft by weigh gain per day.
Tru-Test XR5000 scale indicator in use with sheep scales on a Racewell Sheep Handler.
Choosing Between Cattle Scales and Sheep Scales
While many livestock weighing systems can be used across multiple species, the requirements for cattle scales and sheep scales can differ. Cattle scales need to handle heavier animals and larger crush systems, while sheep scales need to be fast, accurate, and suited to high-throughput sheep handling equipment. When choosing a scale system, consider the species you work with most often and whether the equipment will integrate with your existing handling facilities.
Scale System Features Comparison (Updated 2026)
How Livestock Scale Hardware and Software Work Together
Macrostock combines both hardware and software to turn livestock weighing into a complete management system. In the yards, the Macrostock Scale connects to your load bars, EID readers, drafting equipment, and compatible dosing guns to collect live animal data as you work. That information is then synchronised through the Te Pari cloud to Macrostock Studio, where farmers can view weight gain trends, analyse performance, manage livestock records, create drafting lists, and generate reports from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. By linking what happens in the yards with easy-to-use farm office reporting tools, Macrostock helps transform weight data into practical management decisions around feeding, treatments, breeding, drafting, and sale timing.
Technical Support
When something goes wrong with your scale system, it’s important to have a reliable tech support team to help get you going as soon as possible. Te Pari has a fully trained and knowledgeable tech support team that you can call during business hours. There are also online tutorials and instruction manuals that you can use. We have staff in NZ, AU, US and the UK that can help with installation, training and problem solving. The Te Pari Tech Support team can even access your Macrostock account and help sort out any problems remotely. This is something that none of the other major scale brands currently offer.
Contact Te Pari if you want help to choose a livestock scale system that meets your specific operational needs, ensuring it integrates smoothly with your farm management practices.
