Ger Buckley is a third-generation dairy farmer based in Aghinagh, between Coachford and Macroom, in Co. Cork.

The MSD Animal Health Ireland team recently met up with Ger and his herd manager, Vicky Kelleher who has worked with him for more than 18 years.

The pair shared how sustainability is at the forefront of how they farm and that the clever use of technology means they can run a paperless, more efficient, safer, and less labour intensive dairy enterprise.

Ger and Vicky currently milk 180 dairy cows and rear approximately 80 heifers each year at Laharn Dairy Farm.

They installed SenseHub monitoring technology in spring 2021 and they opted not only to monitor the milking herd with the SenseHub collars, but also the heifers who are located five miles away from the family farm.

“The main reason we first installed SenseHub on the farm was for health and safety," Ger said.

"I was constantly worried that someone was going to get hurt by a bull and looked into monitoring technology for heat detection in order to transfer over to 100% artificial insemination (AI).

"Now I can check while sitting at the table having my breakfast to see what heifers are in heat and time our trip to the heifer farm without going anywhere."

The SenseHub system works by collecting information via a neck collar or ear-tag on the animal; sending it to a controller in the yard; and uploading to the onlinesystem where alerts are sent to the farmer on his/her phone or laptop.

The collar must come within range (500m) of the installed controller every 24 hours, which works very well for milking herds who come in and out of the yard twice aday.

As the heifers are not coming within range of the controller each day, Ger purchased the SenseHub solar panel option that can be moved around the farm as needed. Ger and Vicky find the most useful positioning is close to the water trough where the heifers come to drink every day.

Laharn Dairy Farm operates a paperless, technology-led system whereby they run and manage the entire farm from their phones.

“SenseHub gives great freedom on the farm. You can be anywhere," Ger added.

"The herd app, ICBF and SenseHub are all linked together so there is no office work to do – your phone becomes your office and it’s shared with everyone who has the app.

"If one of us is away, the other person can do the AI. We can be working separately on separate farms and we can tell exactly what the other person has done and what’s not done."

In terms of heat detection, for Ger and Vicky, SenseHub has been hugely beneficial in telling them the optimum time for sexed or conventional semen.

After using the SenseHub app, they quickly realised that they had been inseminating cows and heifers too early. The farm has stopped using tail painting and scratch cards altogether, and through the use of the SenseHub app alone the conception rate to sexed semen has greatly improved.

Ger Buckley is passionate that we all need to do what we can to protect and conserve the environment for future generations.

"We have trees here that are 300 years old. The guy who planted those trees wasn’t very selfish – he knew he was never going to enjoy them," Ger said.

"We have to think in the same way: What action can we take now to protect and enhance the land for future generations? We need to meet the needs of the current generation but not at the cost of our land and biodiversity.”

Ger has a keen interest in soil biology and farming in harmony with nature by reducing fertiliser usage. He believes that farmers are all well educated about how to manage livestock above the ground, but that the industry needs to learn to nourish and protect the ground.

He is playing his part by trialling planting mixed species grasses with high clover content and red clover swards and will continue to learn more about the biology of the soil.

He also believes that one of the best ways to make a farm more sustainable is to use high EBI bulls to improve fertility and produce higher milk solids.

Ger's herd is currently in the top 1% in the country in EBI, and he believes that using SenseHub for heat detection on the farm will help him to retain this position. SenseHub is brought to you by MSD Animal Health a global leader in animal health, identification and monitoring devices.

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