“Out with the old, in with the new.”
It’s something Paul Quinlan of World Wide Sires Australia likes to say.
He’s been in the dairy business for decades and would recommend CowManager’s Fertility Module to any dairy farmer.
And not just because of the accuracy of its heat detection. Paul says it increases a dairy farm’s overall in-calf percentages.
“One of the biggest benefits of the system is it increases your six-week-in-calf-rate. It also picks up non-cycling cows, cystic cows,” Paul said.
“The system goes really well with the World Wide Sires genetic side of things.
“In this current climate of people looking at their breeding program and introducing sexed semen, you can utilise the technology to maximise the value of what you’re spending on genetics.”
CowManager is an international cow monitoring system, unique in its approach.
The system is a simple, small ear sensor which collects a wealth of data, 24/7. The sensors measure ear temperature, activity, rumination, eating and resting behaviour.
The data is then made actionable and clear in specific alerts and graphs, all in real-time, allowing farmers and their staff to check on cows anytime and anywhere.
No more missed heats
Where farmers had to spend hours on heat detection before, with CowManager they’re spending 15 minutes a day, knowing exactly which cows are on heat, what heat state they’re in, and what’s the ideal insemination window.
“You use the technology to do all that work for you,” Paul said.
“You don’t have to use the traditional heat detection aids, whether it’s kamars or scratchies.”
This makes breeding a lot easier, saving valuable time and labour, too.
And Paul would know — he’s helped more than 120 Australian dairy businesses adopt the cow monitoring system in the past few years.
One of those farmers is Jason Burleigh.
The Victorian dairy farmer has used the system since 2015. Today, his herd consists of 300 cows, all tagged with CowManager ear sensors.
“We chose the system because of the simplicity of installing and replacing an ear tag, and for monitoring heat detection and health,” Jason said.
He said using the system for heat detection has improved their way of working.
“It’s enabled us to increase our in-calf rates by not missing any heats. Due to this, it has enabled us to tighten our seasonal calving pattern.
“The ability to detect a heat in cows that would not normally have had their scratchy scratched has been such a game changer for us. No more missed heats.”
Making AI more manageable
Trevor Shanahan from south-west Victoria claims the CowManager system has provided a more manageable workload on-farm. His 300-cow tagged herd now cycles naturally.
“CowManager gives us more accurate timing of heats and we can AI accordingly,” Trevor said.
“It gives us greater certainty when using sexed semen and makes it more effective and economical.
“Joining is less stressful. It sorts itself out. There are no big AI days like there were when we used hormones.”
Trevor and his wife Sarah chose tags specifically for heat detection, accuracy and ease of use.
“The ear tag is easy to get on and off and it’s less intrusive than a collar,” Trevor said.
CowManager also integrates easily with Easy Dairy, Jantec and other drafting software. When cows are on heat, they are drafted out automatically for insemination.
There is no need to observe cows hours on end, hoping to spot the ones on heat. No more scratchies or remembering to do tail paint touch-ups. Monitoring fertility with CowManager covers it all.
Curious? Paul Quinlan’s always excited to talk about tags. Go to: https://www.cowmanager.com/australia/#getintouch
– From CowManager