Building a Sustainable Future with Alta Cow Watch

At Hidden Valley Dairy in Gustine, California, dairy farming is more than a business. It is a family tradition. “We’ve milked about 2,000 Holstein cows. We’re in Gustine, California. This is a fourth generation farm. My kids are going to be the fifth generation if they continue in it,” Trevor explains.

For Trevor, investing in technology is not only about today’s performance. It is about preparing the farm for the future. “Taking advantage of these technologies that we have here, like the Alta Cow Watch, it can really fine-tune how we dairy and how we focus our time,” he says. “Especially for future generations moving forward, making sure that the farm is sustainable.”

Early Health Alerts Make the Difference

Hidden Valley Dairy has worked with Alta for about 20 years. After looking at cow monitoring systems for several years, Trevor decided to choose Alta Cow Watch. The combination of features and competitive pricing made the decision easier.

The main focus at the start was cow health. “Alta Cow Watch has been very helpful for mainly sick cows. It’s been our main focus with it, so that health alert list has been very helpful,” Trevor says.

The system connects with DairyComp and the sort gates in the milk barn. When a cow shows health alerts, she is automatically sorted into the hospital pen. The team can then check and treat her quickly.

Instead of walking through pens and trying to see which cow looks different, the team now works with clear data. “We have a much higher success rate on those cows that come in off the system than we would have caught her two or three days later,” Trevor explains. Early detection means faster treatment, better recovery, and less milk loss.

For Trevor, this is where efficiency and sustainability come together. By treating cows sooner, the farm avoids wasting time, effort, and resources.

Higher Heat Detection, Less Labor

Reproduction was already performing well at Hidden Valley Dairy. Trevor did not expect big changes. Still, the results surprised him.

“Our preg rate was pretty good. We weren’t expecting to see a ton of gain on that and it’s improved our heat detection rate a lot,” he says.

The breeder now works directly from the heat list in the app. There is no more tail chalking, and no need to lock up all pens. “He doesn’t tail chalk anymore. Just goes, finds those cows and breeds them. We don’t have to go through all the pens. Only the pens that we need the cows in. So our lockup times dropped a good bit.”

The biggest improvement was in the heifers. Heat detection used to be a challenge, especially in open lots during winter. Before Alta Cow Watch, heifer heat detection rates were around 50 to 53 percent. Now they are in the low 70s.

“It’s been a big improvement on that, at least 20% on the heifers,” Trevor says. Conception rates have stayed stable, but more heifers are being bred at the right time.

Efficiency Is the Key

For Trevor, efficiency is central to profitability and long-term success. “Efficiency is kind of the name of the game as far as profitability and everything else,” he explains.

Alta Cow Watch helps the team focus only on cows that need attention. “Just being efficient with each individual cow and making sure we’re able to treat her as soon as she needs treatment, and being able to breed her as soon as we see her on the list. That’s been a huge help.”

With better data and clearer insights, decision-making has improved across the farm.

“I would recommend Alta Cow Watch to other producers for sure,” Trevor concludes. “It’s definitely helped streamline things here. Having that extra data and that extra knowledge only helps making decisions moving forward. It’s a great system.”