Technology is playing an increasingly important role in how dairy farms are managed, from reproduction and health monitoring to daily decision-making.
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For Brady Croft and his father in Allansford, Victoria, embracing technology with CowManager has helped simplify the complexity of managing a 300-cow herd while improving outcomes across the board.
Running a pasture-based operation across 200 hectares, Brady and his family were looking for a way to streamline herd monitoring; especially when it came to heat detection.
“We milk 300 cows — mostly Jerseys — and started working with CowManager in December 2021,” Brady said.
“We wanted a heat detection system and had a look at a few others, but CowManager is what we chose.”
Their decision to choose CowManager was based on both the functionality and ease of set-up, which made implementing it across the farm a smooth process.
Modern dairy tech needs to work with the farm’s existing environment. For Brady, the CowManager system did just that — powered entirely by solar.
“The whole farm is networked on a solar set-up. It’s been very simple. I think we’ve got seven solar routers,” he said.
“Installation of the system was very simple. They [representatives from WWS Australia] came out here and helped us put the sensors in and put the routers up.”
Once the system was in place, it didn’t take long for it to become part of the daily rhythm on the farm. CowManager’s ease of use is a recurring theme for Brady and his dad.
Brady Croft checks CowManager on his smartphone.
“Working with the system is extremely simple and it’s worked really well,” he said.
“Me and my father, we both use the data sharing function, so we’ve both got it and know what’s happening all the time.
“We find it very easy to read the system. The graphs are very easy to understand and they’re all colour-coded for their activity.
“It’s good when you’re away from the farm. It’s just made it a lot easier. When I’m not here or my father’s not here, it’s made things a lot simpler.”
CowManager’s heat detection module has helped the Crofts improve the accuracy and timing of joining, especially with all cows submitted to AI.
They’re using both the heat and health modules — ensuring year-round visibility into herd performance.
“We use the Fertility Module for heat detection, for our joining. And the Health Module we use all year round, just to keep an eye on the cows’ overall health.
“Probably the main advantage of the heat detection is getting your cows joined at the right time.
“And the fertility reports, that’s a good one. So, you can pick up cows that may be cycling odd or not cycling at all.
“We’ve seen a lot better conception and a lot better first round submission rate, too.
“Because you can pick up those cows that aren’t quite right and you can get them sorted early. You’re submitting every cow to AI, so it’s been a lot better.
“We started using sexed semen within the last two years with CowManager.
“And now they’ve got the little timing graph (Insemination Window) on there, which makes it a lot easier to use, too.”
Health monitoring plays just as important a role as fertility on a busy dairy, especially during calving. With CowManager, problems are identified before they become emergencies.
“During calving time, you might get an alert for a cow that’s a bit less active, and you keep an eye on her,” Brady said.
“She might have milk fever or even an issue. This year we’ve had a couple of LDA’s (displaced abomasum). CowManager picked them up before we did, so it’s done its job there.”
Those early alerts don’t just save cows — they save costs, too.
“If you’ve got a crook cow, you’re picking them up before they really go downhill,” Brady said.
“So, if you save yourselves a few cows, you’re probably earning back your subscription costs every year.
“Just on a few cows that you might pick up, might keep in the herd, or a few extra pregnancies; it all adds up.”
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