Liam Allan started sharefarming in 2018 under Paul and Christine Moloney, in Terang in south-west Victoria.
They milk about 270 cows and started using a cow monitoring system in 2015 and CowManager’s Fertility Module is something they rely on daily.
Liam is enthusiastic about using the CowManager system.
"It's been fantastic,“ he said.
“We have that data there so we can have an early go at AI-ing, put a program in place for cows that are not cycling.
“And just the ease in general, to not have to worry about stickers or tail paint and all that stuff.”
Sharing data is key
They use CowManager’s Fertility Module as their main heat detection tool.
It also has a Fertility Insights feature that allows for a data deep dive into cows’ cycles.
The herd’s health is monitored around the clock with CowManager’s Health Module, which catches diseases one or two days before a cow shows clinical signs of being ill.
“It’s just made it heaps easier,” Liam said.
CowManager's MultiView functionality also makes shared farming that much easier.
Anyone can access the selected cow data anytime, anywhere.
A person’s email email addresses just needs to be added to the system and they can then view all cow history and cow data, all the way back to the install date.
This means the entire team is always up-to-speed, including vets, nutritionists, and AI-specialists.
“At the time we’re using sexed semen on all the heifers coming in and we started using sexed semen on the cows this year,” Liam said.
“We’re going off the data from the tags to see which cows have been cycling the most, which are the highest in fertility.
“It’s worked really well; we’ve had some really good conception rates.”
Lightening the workload
Liam’s happy to be able to take some time off every now and again because he knows the herd will be monitored by the system, even if he isn’t there himself to check on the cows.
“I enjoy playing footy and that sort of stuff. And if I ever have a function or something like that, the next day I can have a sleep-in.”
It’s made the day-to-day workload a bit lighter as well, he said.
“We can trust the system and know the cows are going to get caught, and everything’s right for the next day.
“All that the milker has to do, is to remember to shut the gates out the side. Everything else sorts itself out.
“I’ve been grateful for that a few times.”
Making life easier
Liam’s pretty matter of fact about the benefits of using the CowManager cow monitoring system and doesn’t hesitate when asked if he’d recommend it to neighbours or colleagues.
“I’d definitely recommend CowManager to other farmers.
“It’s a great asset to have on your farm. It makes life a lot easier.”