The world leader in heat detection and health monitoring for dairy cows will be on display at the upcoming National Dairy Show in Millstreet, Saturday next, October 19.
This year, to be in a chance of winning the Censortec heat detection and health monitoring system, come along and talk to the team.
Censortec will supply a system of 50 Nedap SmartTags and collars to a lucky farmer. The prize involves the complete installation and backup of a Nedap CowControl system; the world’s leading cow monitoring technology.
The prize will be given away just in time for Christmas and will be installed early in the New Year.
The competition is now open to enter online at: www.censortec.com; you can also enter by visiting Censortec at the National Dairy Show in Millstreet.
Individual cow attention more challenging
Censortec Ireland is a southern-based company supplying Nedap technology to Irish dairy farmers.
With farm scale increases on the rise, being able to monitor each animal is becoming increasingly difficult. When herd managers and farm employees are stretched too thin, individual cow attention becomes more challenging, said Donagh Crowley of Censortec.
If you are not able to monitor your cows 24/7, you may be missing key critical cow health problems on your farm.
Activity monitors are well known to detect heats 24 hours a day and pinpoint the optimal insemination moment of cows to be bred.
The result is a more comprehensive heat detection and the ability to use labour elsewhere. Its return on investment is evident because of improved conception rates, reduced breeding costs and shorter open periods.
However, the most advanced systems nowadays have much more to offer than just that.
Based on these data, the system brings actionable insights to your fingertips to accurately determine their health, well-being and nutritional status and identify bottlenecks.
This helps you improve cow health and longevity, save on resources and increase the herd’s productivity.
Heat detection and timely insemination
Nedap CowControl automatically tracks signs of heat – such as increased activity, sniffing, chin resting and mounting behavior – of all cows 24 hours a day.
The system shows a clear list of all cows in heat with their optimal insemination moment for timely insemination. It also provides additional reproduction insights, helping farmers to find cows with irregular heats, non-cycling cows and non-pregnant cows.
Brian Mooney, a dairy farmer in Kill, Co. Waterford, has used Nedap CowControl since 2017 and is more than satisfied: “Nedap CowControl I felt was the best heat detection and health monitoring system.
“For heat detection I just check the phone before I milk in the morning and the same in the evening to know which cows are in heat. It is very accurate; it does what it says on the tin.
“For health monitoring, well that contacts me itself. I don’t really have to be checking animals. It just notifies me itself if there is anything wrong.”
Health monitoring to keep cows healthy, fertile and productive
However, the most advanced systems nowadays have much more to offer than just that. Censortec Nedap CowControl continuously monitors eating activity, rumination patterns and inactive behavior of individual cows and groups.
Based on these data, the system brings actionable insights to your fingertips to accurately determine their health, well-being and nutritional status and identify bottlenecks.
This helps you improve cow health and longevity, save on recourses and increase the herd’s productivity.
“And I am able to put it up on my phone and see what the cow was ruminating or eating the last 24 hours and everything. This information is sometimes even helping the vet to make a decision on an animal as well.”
Total chewing time counts
Activity monitors don’t pinpoint specific diseases, but they do let you know which cows need attention and they give you the extra information to diagnose their situation.
To be able to provide the most accurate and complete information, Nedap CowControl monitors eating activity, rumination patterns and inactive behavior during which the cow is neither eating nor ruminating.
Cows need to spend sufficient time eating and ruminating. It’s the total chewing time that counts. A reduced rumination time in itself doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem. It might simply be the result of a change in diet.
And that’s why urgent alerts within Nedap CowControl are based on the cow’s inactive behavior.
Since it’s not only the very urgent cases that matter, the system also provides a list of cows that need to be checked because one or more behavioral aspects deviate from a cow’s previous patterns or those of the group she is in.
Easy-to-understand reports provide deeper insight into her current and historic behavior to help dairymen decide which action to take. Even after action is taken, these reports can contribute to measure post-treatment recovery.
Cows that don’t bounce back to their normal levels during recovery might need additional clinical examination to be a step ahead of more serious problems.
Brian Mooney, a dairy farmer in Co. Waterford, said:
“It’s just like having another person to watch the cows. You watch them yourself but herds are so big now. You’re going to miss things; you’re just not going to see everything so you need an extra hand.”
What makes Censortec a market leader?
Nedap is the global leader in animal livestock sensor technology for over 30 years.
The system includes:
- Very accurate heat detection 24/7;
- Measured neck movements of the cow that indicates cow’s in heat;
- At least 90% detection rate;
- Eating monitoring function detects possible health problems;
- Optional rumination monitoring;
- Thanks to its optimised shape and weight, the SmartTag stays neatly in position at the base of the neck;
- Ideal for grazing animals, heifers and suckler cows;
- Unmatched life span of eight to 10 years;
- No ongoing charges.
Donagh says this technology helps address a huge challenge faced by dairy farmers – knowing exactly when a cow is in heat.
He says there are significant economic factors at stake when it comes to heat detection because it’s the single controllable factor that makes the biggest impact on farm profitability.
Interested in Censortec Nedap CowControl?
Would you like to get to know more about Censortec Nedap CowControl? Learn more at: www.censortec.com.
