Herdwatch app is helping Rathdowney's Brian to streamline work

Brian Campion manages a herd of predominately purebred Limousin cows under a spring and autumn-calving system in Rathdowney.

The family farm consists of 80 acres with 66 acres being allocated to grassland for the Limousin herd, while the remaining land is used for tillage. Approximately 35 Limousin cows make up the herd, with 80 per cent purebred, while the remainder are run as commercials. 

Five years ago, the farm was transferred to Brian and since then, it has undergone many changes.

The Laois-based farmer also works full-time off farm, so time is of the essence.

Conscious of this Brian saw a need to make a series of farm improvements.

“I have invested a lot in terms of facilities to set the farm up, so it can be run by one person,” he says.

In attempts to make the management of his herd easier, Brian decided to construct a new slatted house, which is home to the autumn-calving herd and their calves during the winter season.

The entire shed can hold around 25 cows and is equipped with a straw lie-back area for the calves.

In addition to the changing infrastructure, Brian also turned to technology to simplify the running of the farm.

After piloting the Herdwatch app on a trial basis, three years down the line it is now a vital tool on the farm.

Brian is in the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) and, initially, used Herdwatch to help record animal remedies and farm to farm movements.

Through Herdwatch, Brian can scan in animal remedy purchases using his phone camera and record treatments on the spot. He can also use it for movement purposes for selling bulls and for registering calves.

Brian also relies on Herdwatch for efficient weight recording.

“You can see immediately whether an animal has done 0.5/kg/day or 1kg/day, so it can alert you to under performance or a worm burden or a poor milker in terms of the cow,” he says.

Brian also values the app from a breeding perspective. The Limousin breeder uses the breeding feature within Herdwatch to track what cows were served and when, as well as to track repeats.

“I get a notification on Watchboard during the breeding season of what cows are due their first serve or due a repeat.

“Similarly, with AI, I can record - on the spot - when an animal is inseminated, and I can also log details when it comes to scanning it in terms of weeks in pregnancy,” says Brian.

Herdwatch can generate a calving report in the springtime or in the autumn, so Brian can see the list of cows that are calving and when.

He describes Herdwatch as a major time-saving tool when it comes to managing his herd and would recommend it for anyone that is part-time farming.

“Since we started using the app, it has definitely made the whole operation much more streamlined,” he says.

Brian is part of a growing community of over 8,000 farmers using Herdwatch every day to manage their farms and eliminate farm compliance paperwork.

You can join Herdwatch for free. To find out more, visit www.herdwatch.com or call 0505-34400.