Ireland’s leading farming app, Herdwatch, has announced it is to extend its services for free to 39,000 suckler farmers around the country, in response to the difficult market conditions being experienced by the Irish suckler farming community.

Under the new plan, all suckler farmers with 10 cows or fewer can use the app without incurring any cost.

This new plan will apply to over 53% of Ireland’s 73,000 suckler farmers. They will be able to use the simple app to register calves, record remedy and feed purchases and send weights for the Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) scheme.

Herdwatch has implemented these changes to help Irish suckler farmers in response to the rising costs, volatile prices and increased compliance requirements they are facing in the market.

The threats posed to the suckler farming community by both Brexit and Mercosur were also factored into the decision.

‘Keeping everything together’

The ICSA warmly welcomes Herdwatch’s recent offer of the free use of its Herdwatch app for suckler and beef farmers with 10 cows or less.

At times such as these, when farmers are experiencing difficult market conditions, it is laudable that companies such as Herdwatch are supporting small farmers.

Speaking about Herdwatch, ICSA president, Edmond Phelan, said: “Herdwatch is a great tool for recording remedies, feed purchases and weights; it has some very useful features.

“Keeping everything together on the app helps farmers record as they go, taking at least some stress away from keeping organised on farm and preparing for Bord Bia audits.”

Herdwatch sees itself as part of the Irish farming community and wanted to do something to help; recognising that some farmers will struggle to justify investment in farm technology because of the current market conditions.

For that reason, it is making these changes to its service.

Suckler farmers with 10 cows or less will now benefit for free from the ability to record and view farm information on the spot.

The Herdwatch app enables farmers to spend less time on paperwork so they can spend more time on things that really matter to them, as well as staying on top of their farm business and make better decisions by seeing the information that matters – when it matters.

They will also get access to a highly rated member support team to help them get started.

Further information

It couldn’t be easier for a farmer to get started on Herdwatch. It’s simply a matter of downloading the app and putting in your herd number.

Join Herdwatch by downloading the app for free today from the App/Play Store. To find out more visit: www.herdwatch.ie; or call: 0505-34400.