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Brian Campion and his father, Ger, run a herd of predominately purebred Limousin cows under a spring and autumncalving system in Rathdowney, Co. Laois.

The family farm consists of 80 acres of land, of this 66 acres are allocated to grassland for the Limousin herd, while the remaining land is used for tillage. Approximately 35 Limousin cows make up the herd, with 80% purebred, while the remainder are run as commercials.

Brian turned to technology to simplify the running of this Laois farm. After piloting the Herdwatch app on a trial basis, three years down the line it is now a vital tool on the farm.

“Since we started using the app, it has definitely made the whole operation much more streamlined.’

Brian is involved in Bord Bia’s Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) and, initially, used Herdwatch to record remedies and movements.

Through Herdwatch Brian can record remedies on the spot. He can also use it for movement purposes for selling bulls and for registering calves. Brian also relies on Herdwatch for efficient weight recording.

“You can see immediately whether an animal has done 0.5/kg/day or 1kg/day, so it can alert you to under performance or a worm burden or a poor milker in terms of the cow.”
Brian also values the app from a breeding perspective. The Limousin breeder uses the breeding feature within Herdwatch to track what cows were served and when, as well as to track repeats.

“I get a notification on ‘watch board’ during the breeding season of what cows are due their first serve or due a repeat. Similarly, with AI, I can record – on the spot – when an animal is inseminated, and I can also log details when it comes to scanning it in terms of weeks in pregnancy.”

Herdwatch has the ability to generate a calving report in the springtime or in the autumn, so Brian can see the list of cows that are calving and when.

Brian describes Herdwatch as a major timesaving tool when it comes to managing his herd and would recommend it for anyone that is parttime farming.

To Read the Full Story: https://blog.herdwatch.com/managinga...