John Rowe farms in partnership with his father, Lar and brother, Mark in south Wexford, milking 200 cows on a spring calving grass-based system.
With his wife Máire and two young boys at home, John did not want to be tied to the farm 24/7.
For John it was the importance of family time that led him to installing CowManager in the spring on this year
The four-in-one monitoring system equips farmers with a full 360° view of their herd, recording accurate real-time data on each cow’s health, fertility, feeding and location by continuously monitoring temperature, rumination, eating and activity.
“We wanted a monitoring system that would work on a grass-based system and be both reliable and accurate and that’s what we got with CowManager,” said John.
The revolutionary ear tag technology provides valuable data and is considered the most reliable method of managing cow performance. In a study conducted by the world-renowned University of Kentucky Coldstream Dairy, CowManager produced accuracy levels of 98%.
CowManager is a straightforward plug and-play system, compatible with all smartphones and other devices.
“The installation was quick and effortless; 260 cows and heifers were tagged in under four hours. It was a smooth process, and we were up and running that evening,” John added.
Currently, CowManager is the only cow monitoring system on the market that provides real-time data and alerts. Cow measurements, movements, and temperature are checked every 15 minutes and data is relayed to the farmer’s phone or device by way of a cloud system.
The coloured graphs provide an easy-to understand analysis of each cow in terms of fertility, health and nutritional status.
“The app is very user-friendly, it’s not until you are using it that you realise how much information is there for you,” John added.
“Heat detection is genuinely not a job anymore; I’ll be going into next year’s breeding without that stress,” John continued.
Cutting out evening visits to the farm to watch for bulling heifers is something that John is happy to leave in the past. Using CowManager’s smart algorithm, accurate data flow identifies peak heats, silent heats, pregnant cows, and potential abortions.
Reliable fertility data provides farmers with the insight to know when is the best time to breed, leading to improved pregnancy rates, fewer reproductive hormones and reduced costs.
‘Heat detection is genuinely not a job anymore’
“At first I said I didn’t want the health module, but now I wouldn’t hand it back. It paid for itself within the first few weeks,” John said.
With 24/7 constant monitoring, the health module detects disease early, based on individual cow behaviour. Upon detection, the farmer receives a real-time alert and can act immediately, providing the necessary care to the sick cow.
Early insights result in immediate intervention which reduces labour, antibiotics and cow losses, while also increasing pregnancy rates and milk production.
“The system will pick up milk fever before the cow is showing any clinical signs. It picked up an LDA five days before the cow was showing any signs of it,” John added.
“It’s well and truly paying for itself when you can get attention to animals that quickly. Cows are back milking in a day and hitting the targets they should be – I don’t think you can put a price on that.”
CowManager is ‘well and truly paying for itself’
Stability in eating and rumination will ensure cows are producing milk at their optimum health and capacity. The nutrition module contributes to the success of a breeding season, and with precise data relating to feed intakes, farmers are well prepared for any extra measures required during the critical transition period.
As the drive for technological innovation in dairy management continues, CowManager is on a mission to integrate with as many software partners and drafting gates as possible.
“What we really wanted from the system was that when I wasn’t around, or someone was in relief milking, we didn’t have to be looking at our phones to see which animals needed to be pulled out to be served or checked by the vet,” John said.
“CowManager automatically sends that information to the DelPro system to auto-draft those cows, it really takes the guess work out of it.
“When it comes to such a big investment on the farm we sit down as a family, and we look at it as a whole. If it can save you time, save you money and make you money, you have to invest in it – CowManager does all three.”
With an average payback of fewer than 24 months, the system offers farmers a quick return on investment. It eradicates the challenges associated with farm labour and offers the farmer an extra pair of hands.
“That’s how good the system is, it is lifechanging,” John concluded.
For more information on CowManager or to try a free demo, click here.
Distributed through WWS Ireland: 021 234 9691.
