Collaborations deliver market-driving, leading-edge technology to help dairy farmers learn what they don’t know.
Nedap herd management technology is the world’s most trusted all-in-one dairy monitoring solution to track the behavior, rumination and location of every cow and the entire herd – all at once.
“We’ve partnered with respected, innovative dairy industry leaders to deliver this technology to progressive-minded North American dairy farms,” explains Tera Baker, Nedap Livestock Management marketing manager.
“In North America, we work closely with Alta Genetics, GEA, GENEX, Lely, Uniform Agri and VAS through their branded products and platforms powered by Nedap,” she adds. “Together, we provide dairy farmers with the most accurate, actionable data possible to help them learn the intricate details of cow health and performance that cannot be seen with human eyes.”
Trustworthy technology and decades of experience are why these top companies chose to join forces with Nedap. “Powered by Nedap” means these tools deliver the data needed to drive decisions that maximize herd performance and farm efficiency, ultimately boosting reproductive performance, cow health, labor efficiency and overall farm management.
“The dependable information we help provide enables dairies to better manage herds, people and daily activities – while reducing cow stress and encouraging their natural behavior,” Baker adds. “This targeted approach allows cows to spend time doing cow things, reducing human interruptions to their preferred routines.”
This timely information empowers managers to efficiently evaluate the impact of changes in feeding strategy, housing conditions and management protocols. And the alerts prompt quick care for animals needing attention.
The actionable insights are easy to understand and provided in a format each farm wants. Plus, the technology integrates with individual farm systems and management software programs.
The result? Dairy teams can focus on the right cows, at the right time, with the right treatment.
“Better quality data improves each dairy’s quality of decisions – which leads to high-quality outcomes,” concludes Baker. “We truly help farms learn what they didn’t know previously about their cows.”
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John Phelan doesn’t mince his words when asked what he thinks is the biggest benefit of Nedap CowControl. “It doesn’t miss a cow that’s bulling. Every cow that is in heat is picked up.” Phelan is running a 166-dairy cows farm in Thurles, county Tipperary, Ireland but planning to go to maybe 190 or 200. He is aware of the effects of good fertility on the farm’s profitability. “The more cows you calf, the sooner, the better.” While improved fertility was the main driver of choosing Nedap CowControl, health monitoring has proven its value on the farm. Phelan estimates the investment in the system paid for itself within two to three years. “Mainly because you’re getting more cows in calf earlier.” Improved fertility results are significant on John’s farm. “Conception rates are up, last year we came close to 70% first service. This year is looking better already. More compact calving equals more milk in the tank. Higher submission rates, higher conception rates, more cows calving earlier, more compact calving, higher milk solids per hectare. Whatever way you look at it, it’s more profit. And less work, you don’t have to go watch the cows. It takes care of it, watching them all day, every day. ” More profit is also what dairy farmer Enda Doran from County Roscommon, in the west of Ireland experiences when using Nedap CowControl. “I check the system on my phone before I leave the house in the morning. And it will alert me to what cows are cycling and in heat, and the optimum time they should be inseminated. We find with missed cycles that there is a loss in production of an average of €250 (or $277) per cow. If you take this in account, the investment in the system is paid back within a short time”.
Also in Australia it is a continuous challenge to keep a close eye on cows in grazing systems. Evan Williams runs a 300-cow family-based dairy farm in Yannathan, Victoria with 200 hectares of land with his wife Sheriden, their daughter Georgie and her husband Graeme Lowndes. They use Nedap technology in the form of GEA’s CowScout monitoring system. It is part of the GEA robotic milking system and powered by Nedap.
For farms that synchronize the cows, it is extremely important to be able to rely on accurate heat detection. For Australian dairy farmer Scott McKillop from Dederang, Victoria, the use of his Alta COW WATCH system, which is also powered by Nedap, is the key to better reproduction results and higher work efficiency. “When you are using a synchronization program, you have so many cows on heat at the same time”, says McKillop. He has a dairy farm with three hundred and seventy dairy cows.
From the beginning of March to the end of May, about three hundred cows calve at the same time, from mid-August to the end of September, another seventy will follow. This means that just as many cows are in heat and inseminated at the same time. With the aim of improving efficiency on the dairy farm and obtaining more data to make better decisions, the dairy farmer chose Alta COW WATCH.
“This system gives us a lot more insight into the heat of cows and their health., saving a lot of time. “With this system you clearly get the optimal time to inseminate.
So that just simplified the whole system significantly and really made a big difference to our time management and use of our labor on our farm.
McKillop also uses the insights into the eating, rumination and activity pattern. “If you see a decrease in feed intake or an increase in inactivity, this could indicate an infection or illness in the cow or an incentive to change the ration. Discovering the reasons why you should or should not do something is a really strong part of this system.”
Investing in technology helps companies move forward. But that investment must ultimately pay off. Scott estimates the payback time of the Alta COW WATCH system, powered by Nedap CowControl, at approximately three years. Thanks to COW WATCH, he has managed to organize the labor at this single person operation in a smarter way and getting more cows in calf. “It’s difficult to put a value on the health of the animals, but I would say the payback time is comfortably within three years”, says Scott. “We can’t imagine not having the system right now. It’s part of our everyday management on the farm. It helps take a lot of guesswork out of what you’re doing. It’s really the cream on the cake. Or rather: the cream on top of the milk”, he concludes.
The Nedap technology can be fitted to each type of farm and the farmer’s demands, and can be integrated in other equipment or sold as a stand alone system. Nedap has strong business partners in countries whith many pasture-based dairy farms like <a href=»https://www.nedap-livestockmanagement.com/cowcontrol-ireland/»>Ireland</a>, <a href=»https://www.nedap-livestockmanagement.com/cowcontrol-nz/»>New Zealand</a> and <a href=»https://www.nedap-livestockmanagement.com/nedap-cowcontrol-aus/»>Australia</a>. Get in touch with them to learn more.
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Work smarter, not harder in 2023. Leading international genetics and milking equipment suppliers partner with Nedap to include its activity monitoring system in their solutions. Learn more about Nedap CowControl and find your supplier here.
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