John O Connor farms with his family and father in Kilcavan, near Mountmellick in Co. Laois. John and his father were originally suckler farmers and transferred to a dairy herd following the abolition of milk quotas.
“Managing a large herd at the best of times is quite a challenge but monitoring heats and any health issues effectively was becoming next to impossible,” said John.
“I began researching heat detection systems about two years ago and it was at ‘Ploughing 2018’ that I met the lads from Censortec. I contacted some farmers who had the system and all were happy, and I went from there.”
The three main reasons that John went with Censortec Nedap CowControl are for labour and to improve the genetics in the herd. Another important issue for John is farm safety and the removing of bulls from the farm made the farm a much safer place.
“I previously used bulls which were expensive, sometimes unreliable and not that safe around the farm,” said John.
“I rely completely on the Censortec system, so I don’t tail paint and I don’t even have to be there. If someone else is milking for me, I can still manage the fertility part of the herd.”
Censortec is an Irish-based company supplying Nedap CowControl to the Irish market. Censortec installs, commissions and supports the systems throughout the island of Ireland.
“What I liked about Censortec is that it only specialises in herd health and heat detection analysis,” commented John.
“It is very important to me that when you have any query or aspect to discuss about the system that there is someone on the end of the phone and I am really happy with my decision.”
Nedap CowControl catches the heats of millions of cows everyday and helps dairy farmers worldwide to improve reproduction results and labor efficiency. It automatically monitors the activity and tracks the signs of heat – such as sniffing, chin resting, mounting and standing heat – of all cows 24/7.
Censortec Nedap CowControl gives you a clear view of all cows in heat – anytime and anywhere – and supports effective insemination with the highest chance of conception.
Optimal insemination moment
Smarttag Neck detects cows in natural heat with outstanding accuracy. The system alerts on a cow in heat, presents a real-time overview of all cows in heat and shows the optimal insemination moment.
It can be viewed in a user-friendly way on your PC, tablet and smartphone.
Boost reproduction results
Censortec Nedap CowControl Heat Detection helps to improve reproduction results drastically.
Timely detection and effective insemination lead to higher conception rates and shorter calving intervals. Missing cows in heat and breeding cows that are not in heat result in economic loss because of extended calving intervals and additional expenses.
Censortec Nedap CowControl Heat Detection helps you improve reproduction efficiency and effectiveness, and thus production and profitability.
Increase labour efficiency
Automated heat detection reduces labour associated with observation and procedures and increases detection rates at the same time. Less time needs to be spent on detecting heats by you or your team.
Two or three times of visual observation per day can now be replaced by automatically monitoring your cow’s reproductive status on PC, tablet or smartphone in 10 minutes. This saves time for other management activities.
The benefits at a glance:
- Increased heat detection rates;
- Increased submission rates (reduced missed heats);
- Increased conception rates (better timing of AI);
- Increased pregnancy rates;
- Shorter calving intervals;
- More days in milk;
- More milk per cow;
- Reduction of fertility/insemination costs;
- Peace of mind with more control over your herd’s reproduction.
Conception
“Inseminating cows at the right time matters to your dairy’s bottom line, so it’s important to catch cows in heat when it’s most productive to breed them,” said Sean Crowley of Censortec.
“Activity monitors are a tool to track heats 24/7 so you don’t have to spend time watching for heats or worry about missing a heat.
“However, to catch cows in heat, cows need to physically show their heats. Having appropriate environmental and management protocols in place will help ensure you never miss a single heat.”
To learn more about heat detection with activity monitoring systems and how they can help your farm reach its productivity goals, visit: www.censortec.com.
