Tipperary farmers can create efficiencies through Herdwatch
Derek and Jennifer Glenn, the husband and wife team from Dungiven, County Derry, run a beef finishing operation on approximately 200 acres of land.
They run approximately 280-300 head of cattle on average and the pair finished 260 head in 2018.
Derek and Jennifer farm together, with Jennifer working full-time on the farm and Derek working evenings and weekends, as he manages an agricultural co-op full-time.
Cattle are sold to the Foyle Food Group - their local factory - with some of the Aberdeen Angus beef sold on to a large supermarket chain.
Developing farm efficiencies and attention to detail is of the upmost importance for the Glenn family farm. Once cattle are sourced from the local marts, they are housed in well-ventilated units and allowed to settle into their new surroundings.
They buy weanlings at six-to-12 months weighing 300-350kg and based on factory specifications, both Derek and Jennifer aim for a carcass weight of 340-350kg.
The farming duo wanted to improve the efficiency level on the farm and have implemented a number of changes over the past two years.
They introduced “tip-over” drinkers to ensure the animals always have access to fresh, clean water and introduced an updated weighing system, which can identify any issues with average daily gain (ADG) early on, and they can produce an animal as per factory specifications.
The Glenns also introduced technology to improve efficiency, which is making the day-to-day running of the farm a lot easier.
They became Herdwatch members and it has been a game changer for the farm.
Derek said: “We were interested in something to bring some technology to the farm to try and record what we are doing.
“We were fed up of writing in books and writing on bits of paper. We were looking for an app specifically for what we do - finishing cattle, weighing cattle and dosing especially.”
Jennifer said: “Herdwatch is great for farm inspections. Rather than the old paper-based system where we had to write everything down, we can now do a report from whatever date.”
Derek outlined: “For our last farm quality assurance inspection, we didn’t use any paper; we used our tablet.
“He was very impressed; it was the first time he had seen it working on-farm,” he said.
The medicine book on the farm is now always up-to-date, as when cattle are dosed or treated, the information is entered into Herdwatch through a smart phone or tablet as the job is being carried out.
Jennifer said: “On the way home from the vets, we will scan the medicine and it will be in our medicine cabinet on the Herdwatch app. If we are injecting an animal with 20ml out of a 100ml bottle, Herdwatch will then deduct the amount and show that we have 80ml left in the bottle.”
Derek explained that the withdrawal period was recorded through the app and the given timeframe will be assigned to the specific animal.
The Glenns also enter the weight and purchase price into Herdwatch when the animals are sourced. Therefore, the weight and the performance of each individual animal can be tracked from the day it arrives.
Also, feed that is delivered is recorded on the app.
Both Derek and Jennifer think that the notification function on the Watchboard is a great addition to the app.
Derek said: “We get a notification every morning on Watchboard of the cattle that are coming close to slaughter. It will start notifying us at 28 months, giving us time to pick out the cattle and get them away on time.
Derek said: “We have found the Herdwatch customer care team very helpful. When we were starting to use the app, we found little bits of the app that we thought should have been there that suited our system. We contacted the team and they did their very best to add the bits we thought would help us, which they did. “So, we are very impressed with that.”
Herdwatch is running a special Black Friday 50% off your 12 month subscription deal, so there is no better time to become a member. Call the Herdwatch team on 0505-34400 to sign up or email [email protected] and visit www.herdwatch.ie