Engineering Students Revolutionize Cattle Farming With Award-Winning Drone Technology

Jul 08, 2025

A drone-powered system built by five University of Tulsa seniors may help revolutionize how America’s small cattle farmers track and care for their herds. The solution won second place in a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2025 AgAir Aviation Solutions competition in Palmdale, California. The team’s solution, the CattleLog Cattle Management System, was one of the finalists selected to present at the NASA 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition.

Other finalists selected were: Auburn University, Boston University, Columbia University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Houston Community College, South Dakota State University, and University of California Davis.

Sponsored by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, the competition asked for a solution that would create a new or improved aviation project to support agriculture by 2035. The end goal was to create different solutions from each university that would enhance sustainability, resources, and production in the agriculture industry.

The CattleLog team started by determining what specific problem they wanted to solve. It was by chance that a team member’s family are local cattle farmers in Oklahoma.

Source : utulsa.edu

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.