Kintore Farm can be found in mid-Canterbury, just south of Ashburton. Priding themselves on their Powered by People slogan, Nick has been here since 2005 and has over 15 years of experience at the farm. He believes in having the right tools for the job and is not shy when it comes to embracing new concepts to increase the efficiency of his dairy operation.
Monitoring Health and Heat with CowManager
Nick Hoogeveen uses CowManager’s Fertility Module as well as the Health Module. The cow monitoring system helps them stay in control of the herd. Nick explains: “So, what CowManager does is it helps us take a bit of risk out of our mating performance. It also helps us reduce wastage on the health side of things as well.”
Monitoring Health and Heat
The system measures ear temperature combined with behaviour, rumination, eating and (in)activity, resulting in more accurate and earlier alerts. For instance, it recognises any possible symptoms of illness early on – one to two days before a cow even shows signs of being clinically ill. This has helped Nick and his them out on-farm on several occassions.
“We’ve had cows that had been sick and looked at by highly respected vets. And the vet hadn’t been able to find what the problem was, but said ‘there’s definitely a problem there, I just can’t find it’. And then, within a few days, the cow started showing symptoms.”
Getting Better Numbers
“The economics of it stacked up for us, just on mating alone. With the CowManager cows it was mainly after the first three weeks that we saw the biggest difference. They had a 4% better six week in-calf-rate, from 78% to 82%. And the empty rate dropped by 5%.”
To Nick, it isn’t debatable if farmers are going to rely on cow monitoring technology from now on. According to him, it’s just a matter of time. “I think within the next 5 to 10 years every farmer will have a system like this.”
Why CowManager?
Fully Automated
Based on heat or health alerts, cows will automatically be separated from the rest of the herd.
Improve Herd Performance
Your cow's ears are full of vital information. Monitor their rumination, eating, inactivity, activity, ear temperature, and high active behavior.
Always Know When to Inseminate
Inseminating 10 to 22 hours after receiving a heat alert is known to be a success. This makes mating and breeding a breeze!