Running a farm requires a lot of manual labor and hard work which can be exhausting for farmers and their teams.
Wesley Semple and his family own and operate Derryduff Farm in Northern Ireland with over 550 cows producing 11,200L. Semple had no idea how much time was being wasted on manual tasks that could be automated with technology.
That all changed 16 years ago on a trip to South Africa where he was surprised to find that nine out of 10 farms he visited were using the Afimilk suite of products.
Around that time, the Semples were creating their dairy enterprise and they decided to enlist the help of Afimilk tools and have not looked back since. The family continues to add new Afimilk products to its repertoire.
“As we keep improving our efficiencies and technical abilities, Afi always brings something new to the table,” Wesley said.
“Either a new piece of technology or a new update to the software that allows us to better understand individual animal needs.”
Here’s a rundown of Derryduff Farm’s favorite Afi tools:
AfiCollars for More Accurate Insemination
One of Wesley’s favorite things about the Afimilk system is that “whether you’ve got one cow or 3,000 cows, you can monitor each cow as an individual” he said.
With breeding planned for a particular December, Derryduff Farm fitted their cows with Afimilk’s neck collars in October.
The collar monitors provide them with the detailed and accurate information necessary to inseminate each cow at the optimal time.
Rather than the team spending hours observing the cows for signs of heat (also leaving room for human error), the entire process is now automated and artificial insemination-based.
AfiFarm Software for Better Business Decisions
Since implementing Afifarm farm-monitoring software 14 years ago, all staff make sure to update the system with any and all relevant information.
“If an animal gets a hoof trimmed, it’s in Afifarm; if one gets treated for mastitis, it’s in Afifarm; if a cow gets pneumonia, it’s in Afifarm,” Wesley said.
From health information provided by the vet to details on what each cow was fed, the data for each individual cow and the herd as a whole is easily available using the software.
When the team makes management decisions, it relies on the information in the system for help. For example, the team can see how many times a particular cow was treated for a medical issue and can use the available data to determine whether the problem is specific to the animal or a larger farm-wide issue.
AFI MPC Milk Meter for Increased Control
With Afimilk, Wesley has complete control over the milking parlor: He can monitor and track the conductivity and yield of the milk, as well as what each cow was fed.
That information can be used to detect health issues like mastitis and make adjustments in order to improve the yield.
With milk parlor monitoring, Wesley and other farm managers can see in real-time what is happening in the milking parlor even if they are not physically there. They can make sure that clusters are being attached properly and can be made aware of any potential problems before they turn into disasters.
Sorting Gate for Efficiency
Afimilk’s sorting gate is 99.8% accurate.
“The vet is on the farm every Monday morning at 7:00a.m,” Wesley said.
“If I have 60 animals that need to be sorted to see the vet, I know that those 60 animals will be there Monday morning. That is a huge labor savings.”
Rather than wasting valuable time wrangling the cows that need to be sorted and brought to the vet, or let out to pasture, or taken to be inseminated etc., the sorting gate can do it automatically. The farm hands are then free for other critical tasks.
Benefits of technology on Derryduff farm
Wesley knows that the benefits he and his farm have gained from using the Afimilk products goes well beyond any increased profits they have earned.
“How I look at it is – if we are saving labor, and the jobs that my staff didn’t like doing are now getting done quicker, and we are seeing better performance, yields increasing, fewer sick animals,” he said.
“I don’t know how to put a number on it. If the team is happier and the cows are happier, how do you put a number on that?”
To find out more about any of the Afimilk products used on the Derryduff Farm, click here.