Arrow Cattlequip Saving You Time: Working Your Cattle

Arrow Cattlequip Saving You Time: Working Your Cattle

Arrow provides innovative solutions to increase

the productivity, safety and efficiency of livestock handling

In the 1980s, while working cattle on their family ranch in Australia, the Firth family became frustrated with the lack of quality livestock handling systems available to ranchers. Being a forward-thinking family, they realized that they were probably not alone in their disappointment with the products available. They saw a hole in the market, and they set out to fill that gap, with the goal of helping themselves and other ranchers like them to increase productivity and efficiency.
In 1988, Arrow Cattlequip was founded by the Firth family in Australia, with the mission “To provide safe and efficient livestock handling systems for the livestock producer, with quality products that are innovative and easy to use.”
Arrow Cattlequip remains a family-owned company to this day, and though their company has seen immense growth and success, their core values and vision remain the same. Helping livestock producers to run successful and safe ranches is what keeps Arrow moving forward. In 2003, Arrow began manufacturing in North America, with the belief that their unique livestock systems would fit perfectly into the American cattle producer market. This belief proved very true.

“You guys have a customer for life after the way your chute works”
– Shawnita C., Colorado

Now, nearly 30 years after its inception, Arrow has expanded their reach around the globe, with a strong presence in both North America and Australia, as well as Europe, and setting up a factory in Argentina to service South America. Ranchers all over the world are becoming increasingly familiar with the Arrow brand and they are enjoying their experiences with Arrow Cattlequip.
The United States has become the largest market for Arrow Cattlequip. An aging rancher community in the U.S. and increasing difficulty in finding experienced ranch help has led to many ranchers working cattle alone. Safety and efficiency have become a top priority to U.S. ranchers in recent years. This is exactly the market that Arrow Cattlequip caters to with their unique cattle handling equipment. They strive to make the more difficult and time-consuming tasks on the ranch more enjoyable with their easy-to-use systems that appeal to the majority of cattlemen in North America.

Your chute looked really nice and we’re really happy with it. My dad is 76 — it works really well for one
person, and he might not be around for another 20 years”
– Stan, Texas

Remaining true to their core values of creating innovative solutions to increase the safety and efficiency of livestock farming, Arrow has engineered a state-of-the-art headgate known as the Q-Catch. The Q-Catch system is truly the first of its kind on the market. The Q-Catch headgate is operated from the rear of the squeeze chute. It is completely different from any other chutes available today in its operation, mechanics and locking design. The rear headgate control feature makes it perfect for one-man operations. By operating the headgate from the rear of the chute, it allows the rancher to stay out of the cattle’s flight zone. Cattle respond to this by entering the chute calmly, which in turn increases flow and productivity. The Q-Catch headgate has a simple push/pull infinite locking system. This means that the headgate will easily catch animals of varying sizes, including bulls, cows and calves. No adjustments are needed to catch different size animals, as is the case with other headgates.

“I have told many people that if they are considering a new manual chute, there is no product out there that I have found that comes close to Arrow” – Jack, Vulcan, Alberta

The rancher also has just one handle to deal with, push it to close the headgate, and pull to open it. This further simplifies the process of cattle handling, decreasing the chances of costly mistakes. As an added safety and convenience feature, the Q-Catch Headgate has a head holder option.
The QC900 Head Holder stabilizes the animal’s head to simplify difficult tasks, like ear tagging or dehorning. The head holder cradles the animal’s head for increased control without added stress or pain for the animal. This also drastically reduces risk of injury both to the rancher and the animal. (For a video of how the Q-Catch system works, check out Arrow Cattlequip’s Q-Catch video on the website at www.arrowcattlequip.com.)
The palpation cage is another area where the QC8500V Squeeze chute varies from other squeeze chutes on the market. The QC8500V palpation cage squeezes, denying calves the ability to turn around in the cage. This speeds up throughput, as the rancher can let one animal out of the chute and have the next already in position to enter. It also keeps the safety of both the rancher and the cattle in mind, by avoiding the potentially dangerous situation of having cattle turning in the palpation cage, and having to correct their position. This unique setup proves to be quicker than other systems available, and ranchers around the world have indicated that they have cut several hours from their tasks by utilizing the QC8500V Squeeze Chute.
The QC8500V Squeeze Chute, like all Arrow Cattlequip equipment, is made with the highest quality, most durable materials, sourced from the United States. It is also backed by a 5-year warranty on the chute, and a lifetime warranty on the locking devices. The QC8500V is available in a portable option as well, for the added convenience and versatility that some ranchers may require. Although the system is top-of-the-line, and built with superior quality materials, it is also very cost-competitive.
Arrow has been very pleased with the feedback that they are receiving on this system from all over the world. The Q-Catch debuted in Australia in the 1990s, and has been available in the United States since 2004 but in the past five years the popularity of this chute has really taken off as more American ranchers become aware of the system.
Andrew Firth explains, “Our best advertising comes from word-of-mouth between ranchers. One rancher helps out his neighbor who has a Q-Catch, and he sees how great it works, and suddenly he has to have one too.” The growth of new customers who purchase Q-Catch Systems after referral from a fellow rancher, speaks to the quality and value of the system. Customer satisfaction is not only expected with the Q-Catch system, it is actually guaranteed, which is another thing that sets Arrow apart from their competitors.

“Arrow chutes are the only way to go and the features are very handy from the width to BOTH sides squeezing down, overall it’s just a very user-friendly chute and hands down the best!!” – Justin L, Bell Buckle, TN

In the United States, Arrow Cattlequip is distributed by a network of trusted dealers. Arrow chooses to use local dealers to distribute their products because they believe in supporting local communities, and contributing to rural economies. It is very important to Arrow that their dealers are well-educated on their products — for both sales and service. They have worked hard to develop relationships with these dealers, so that the dealers can answer questions about the products as well as provide top-quality services when needed. All of the dealers that they work with are stocking dealers, meaning that Arrow Cattlequip products are on their lot available for sale at all times. This eliminates the customer having to wait for product delivery, which increases customer satisfaction. Arrow also depends on these dealers for feedback on their products, and ideas for improvements.
Firth explains, “These dealers are part of the Arrow family. We depend on them and use them to help us improve our products.” Arrow Cattlequip has a full line of cattle handling equipment beyond just the highly popular Q-Catch system. They make and market all types of equipment that cattlemen depend on, from alleys and crowding tubs, to calving stations, loading chutes and hydraulic chutes. All of their products are high quality and available to ranchers and cattlemen across the United States at their local trusted dealers.