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Red-and-white cattle with horns grazing a hillside pasture under a streaked evening sky, a farmhouse on the ridge behind them.

Drones and software for cattle ranches.

Thermal drones that count, check, and move your cattle, with your cow records on your phone. We're taking on development partners now.

Book a 30-minute call Call or text 720-498-7552

What we build for cattle

Run hunts too? Hunting ranches have their own page, with their own demos.

See the hunting page

Who we are

Arches Labs is Parker DeYoung and Parker Piombo. One of us built drone vision systems for the U.S. Air Force; the other grew up working a ranch in Northern California. We'd rather build this with ranchers than for them.

  • Parker DeYoung standing in a marsh at first light, holding a duck with decoys on the water around him.

    Parker DeYoung

    Built computer-vision systems for U.S. Air Force drones and secure, locally hosted AI. Published at EMNLP, a leading AI conference, on benchmarking AI agents and making them more reliable. Hunts waterfowl and hikes.

  • Parker Piombo in a blaze-orange jacket and cap, holding a shotgun on a wooden footbridge above tall dry grass.

    Parker Piombo

    Grew up hunting and working on a ranch in Northern California, so he knows how hard the work is. Competes in sporting clays, studies business, and brings experience from Deloitte. A lifelong hunter with a love of land management.

A mixed herd of black, brown, and white cattle walking uphill toward the camera through tall grass in evening light, farmland stretching to the horizon.

Head counts by pasture

A full count can eat a day horseback. A thermal drone flight could count cows, calves, and bulls by pasture before breakfast, and tell you who's missing.

Illustrated map of a cattle head count. A drone takes off from the barn at first light and flies evenly spaced lines over the North and Creek pastures, 640 acres. Its thermal camera finds and marks each animal: 23 cows, 22 calves, and 2 bulls, plus one off by herself in the timber that it flags for review. Beside the map, a live dashboard shows the ground covered and the count by pasture, then checks it against the 24 pairs turned out: one cow flagged and two calves to look for. NORTH PASTURE CREEK PASTURE TANK TANK 2 PASTURES · 640 ACRES BARN ? SCANNING THERMAL
Illustration only. The numbers are made up.

  1. 1 Mark the pastures

    Outline them once. Flight lines are spaced so nothing is missed or counted twice.

  2. 2 Up at first light

    It launches while the ground is cool, when warm cattle stand out best.

  3. 3 Fly the lines

    Back and forth at a steady height, over open grass, brush, and creek bottoms.

  4. 4 Count and sort

    Cows, calves, and bulls, by pasture. One off by herself is flagged, not guessed.

  5. 5 Checked against turnout

    The count is held up to what you turned out, so you know who's missing and where to look.

How long does a full count take you now?

Book a call about counts or send us a note
Illustration only.

Temperature checks

A sick calf often runs a fever before it looks sick, and a hot week can wear on the whole herd. The thermal flight that counts them could catch both early.

  1. 1 Read the whole group

    Each animal is read against the rest, in the same light and wind.

  2. 2 Flag the one running warm

    It's marked with a photo and where it's standing, so it's easy to pull.

  3. 3 Pull, treat, recheck

    The treatment goes on its record, and the next flight checks it's back to normal.

How do you catch a sick one now, and how early?

Talk herd health with us or send us a note

Night calving checks

Calving season means a check every couple of hours, all night. A drone could fly the round for you and wake you only when a cow needs you.

Illustrated night map of a calving pasture. On its 2 AM round a drone launches from the barn, finds 17 cows bedded quietly with its thermal camera, and flags a heifer off by herself along the east fence, up and down. The rancher gets an alert on their phone and drives out while the drone holds overhead. The calf comes, the drone logs it to her record, and flies back to the barn. CALVING PASTURE BARN 2:00 AM ROUND 17 BEDDED · QUIET HEIFER · OFF ALONE LIVE · THERMAL
Illustration only.

  1. 1 The round comes due

    Every two hours, or whatever you set. It flies the calving pasture all night.

  2. 2 The drone leaves the barn

    It launches from a dock. No headlights, no walking through the cows.

  3. 3 A thermal pass over the herd

    Bedded cows show up warm and still. It counts them as it goes.

  4. 4 One's off by herself

    A heifer alone by the fence, up and down, gets tagged.

  5. 5 You get the alert

    Where she is and a live view, on your phone. Head out, or keep watching.

  6. 6 It holds, then heads home

    It stays overhead till you get there, then docks. The calving goes on her record.

Watching more than calving

  • Theft at the pens

    A trailer at the loading chute at 1 AM gets flagged and recorded.

  • Predators near the calves

    Coyotes show up on thermal too, so you see where they're coming in.

  • A record you can use

    Time, place, and video for the sheriff or the brand inspector.

  • Your data stays yours

    Where your cattle are is your business. It's never sold.

What does a night in calving season look like on your place?

Tell us about calving or send us a note

Fence and water checks

Cattle on the road are a liability, and a dry tank in August can't wait. A morning flight could check the fence and every tank, so the day starts with a list, not a search.

Illustrated map of a fence and water check. After a windy night, a drone leaves the barn and follows 11.6 miles of perimeter fence, looking into each stock tank it passes. On the east line its camera finds about 40 feet of wire down under a fallen tree, with three head out past it. At the south tank it finds the water under a quarter full. Each spot is pinned on the map with a photo, and the rancher's phone gets an alert with directions. Once the fence is repaired, it's marked fixed. WIRE DOWN WATER LOW 11.6 MILES OF FENCE · 3 TANKS 3 HEAD OUT BARN WIRE DOWN WATER LOW CAMERA · EAST LINE · 7:13 AM CAMERA · SOUTH TANK · 7:21 AM
Illustration only.

  1. 1 Fly the fence and tanks

    After a storm or on a schedule, it follows your fence and looks in every tank on the way.

  2. 2 Spot the problem

    Wire down, a gate open, cattle out, a tank running low.

  3. 3 Know where to go

    A photo and a pin on your phone, so you know what to bring and where to drive.

  4. 4 Close it out

    Mark it fixed. The next check confirms it held.

How do you find out cattle are out, or a tank's gone dry?

Talk fence and water with us or send us a note
Illustration only.

Cow records

Every cow's calves, shots, weights, and preg checks in one place, ready when you sell.

  1. 1 A new calf is tagged

    He's paired with his mother. You confirm it.

  2. 2 Her record fills in

    Calving, shots, and weaning weights build up year over year.

  3. 3 Preg check closes the year

    Bred again, and ranked against the rest of your cows.

Where do your cow records live now, and what do you wish they told you?

Tell us what you track or send us a note
Illustration only.

Grazing plan

Which herd is in which pasture, how long each one has rested, and when to move, on one board.

  1. 1 A move comes due

    Days in each pasture are counted, so a move doesn't sneak up on you.

  2. 2 Rested grass lights up

    Only pastures that have rested long enough are offered.

  3. 3 The crew gets the plan

    The move goes on the board and to everyone's phone.

How do you decide when to move cattle?

Walk us through your grazing or send us a note

Herding by drone

Gathering a pasture takes riders and a morning. A drone could work the herd from behind, ease them through the gate, and count every head on the way.

Illustrated map of a drone moving cattle. Twelve cow-calf pairs are spread across the Creek pasture. A drone flies out from the barn, gets behind them, and works side to side until they bunch toward the open north gate. It counts every cow and calf through the gate into the East pasture, goes back for one pair hung up in the brush, and flies home once all 24 head are through. NORTH GATE CREEK PASTURE EAST · RESTED 52 DAYS BARN
Illustration only.

  1. 1 Open the gate, send the drone

    Pick the pasture and the gate. It flies out and gets behind the herd.

  2. 2 It works them from behind

    Side to side and slow, the way a good dog would. They drift together toward the gate.

  3. 3 Counted through the gate

    Every cow and calf is counted as they go through, so you know the number matches.

  4. 4 Nobody left behind

    A pair hung up in the brush? It goes back for them, then heads home.

How many riders does it take to move a pasture, and how long?

Talk herding with us or send us a note

Contact

We're taking on cattle operations as development partners. It starts with 30 minutes on how you run your place.

Call or text 720-498-7552

Email phdeyoung@gmail.com

Book a time directly Open the booking calendar

Or send a note

Seven questions. The last one matters most.