Enda Doran milks 140 cows, calving in both the autumn and the spring. Running the farm with his young family and farm hand Thomas, he felt he needed another tool to make life easier especially in terms of heat detection.
That tool was Censortec CowControl.
“Since I installed Censortec, I’m not rushing. I’m able to take the kids to their matches and everything else and be relaxed,” he said.
“Before CowControl, when I was with the kids, there would always be something in the back of my mind about the cows, needing to get back and check for heats in the evenings especially. That’s not a problem anymore.”
Enda Doran farms with his young family – Adam, Lauren, and Emily, in Co. Roscommon.
Milking 140 cows, the herd calves in autumn and spring, so Enda was used to dealing with a split breeding season at both ends of the year.
He needed to spend more time off the farm with his children and was working towards the goal of making the farm a one-man operation.
“I have help on the farm, but there are times when I’m busy with the kids and I’m just not available,” he explains.
“I couldn’t be on the farm in the evenings; I needed to prioritise time with the family. I knew I was missing cows in heat.
“I was realising that the place had to be able to be ran by one man, be that myself, or Thomas when I’m not there,” he added.
Heat detection solution
Enda started researching heat detection solutions to reduce labour in 2018.
“I had been told by a friend in the industry that the battery life and reliability was something to watch out for,” he said.
“I contacted a few people who had installed CowControl, and I made the decision to install it based on their good reviews.
“In the five years I’ve been using the collars, I’ve had next to no issues. I think the reliability is great. I’ve had no battery problems.
“You know the collars are going to always be able to do their job.”
Enda explained that he also liked the design: “The other thing I liked about the Nedap SmartTag was the shape of it.
“It fits snuggly against the cow’s neck and won’t get caught on any cubicles or feed barriers around the yard.”
Adam, Lauren, and Emily have all developed an interest in showing cattle this past summer.
Lauren placed third in the Novice Handling at the National YMA Calf Finals in Kilkenny back in July 2023.
Her calf, Dalevalley PJ Barolo Aiko, placed 5th in her class at the National Dairy Show in October, and she went on to be Reserve Champion in the January 23 Heifer Class at the IHFA All Ireland Awards held in Portlaoise last week.
CowControl – not just heat detection
Censortec CowControl powered by Nedap has a battery life of up to 10 years.
CowControl provides round-the-clock activity monitoring, giving farmers information on their herd’s fertility, health, activity and eating times.
“CowControl has really improved the herd’s fertility. Our calving season is more compact,” Enda continued.
“We rear all our calves and sell them as yearlings. Because our calving is tighter now, we end up with a more even bunch of calves and you get a better price for the group.
“We’re done calving by April 1 now, whereas before we’d have been calving well into May,” he explained.
Enda used to use tail paint, but he felt it wasn’t that effective for heat detection, and it was time consuming.
CowControl has eliminated the need for tail paint. Enda always felt that the number of cows dry at any one time was good indicator of the herd’s fertility in his system.
“It used to be normal for us to have 15-20 cows dry at any one time. Out of 130 cows now, we have that down to about 4% dry. That’s made us a lot more efficient. Every drop of milk counts!” Enda added.
“As well, it’s great for picking up silent heats. Every missed heat is missing milk from the tank.
“Even just this morning, we had a maiden heifer we’ve been watching for a while to try and get her in calf, but we keep missing her.
“We put a collar on her and CowControl has picked her up, and we saw no physical signs of heat on her. We do all our own AI [artificial insemination], and when I went to serve her, she was definitely on!
“It’ll tell us when the best time to serve for sexed semen is too, so that’s a big bonus. We used sexed semen on the heifer, all she needs to do now is hold.”
Health monitoring
Enda finds the health monitoring capabilities of CowControl invaluable.
“We spent the first year getting to grips with the heat detection part, and then the second and third years we really began to see the value in the health monitoring,” he explained.
“It brings your attention to the problem cows straight away. It’s definitely helped us save a few cows.
“There’s two cows with E.Coli mastitis that we were alerted to before we spotted anything wrong; it’ll alert you to milk fever before she goes down.
“CowControl has paid for itself without a doubt on the health side alone in the last five years, and that’s before you even factor in the benefits from the fertility side.
Enda added: “When I get up in the morning and I’m having a mug of tea before going out the yard, I check three apps – CowControl, my calf feeder, and the weather!’ Enda remarked.
“Depending on what I see, I know whether I can chance having a second mug or not! It is just such a great tool.
“We have all the information on each cow there on the phone, we use it for everything; all AI info, service info, scanning, calving, the whole lot is there.
“You’re not running in to check the computer or the notebook every time you need to find something out about a cow. It’s essential to our farm.”
Drafting
Enda also installed an Alfco drafting system in 2023. The gate fully integrates with Censortec, and the drafting accuracy of the system is unmatched in the market.
“The area where the drafting gate was installed was quite tight,” Enda explained.
“Alfco visited the farm, created the optimum layout, and since installation, it has not missed a beat.”
Enda also uses Cormac Tagging for identification on his herd.
Censortec CowControl powered by Nedap is available from Censortec, which is based in Co. Kerry.
Censortec is the agent for Nedap CowControl in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Censortec has been supplying Nedap SmartTag since 2016 and has a long-established relationship with Nedap which is based in Groenlo in the Netherlands.
It is the leading supplier of bovine activity monitors globally having over 40 years’ experience in developing, supporting, and marketing the SmartTag.
To find out more, click here. You can also contact the Censortec team at 066-9713000.
