Farmer’s review: Compliance without the paperwork

David Lowry is farming with his Father John in Holycross, County Tipperary, where they are milking 66 cows along with running a Suckler Herd and finishing all the male animals born on farm. David signed up to the Herdwatch farming app last September. A year on, we get a farmers review on this time-saving technology.

Who likes paperwork?

David will admit that record keeping is not his strong suit. Before getting Herdwatch, keeping track of Remedies for the Bord Bia Quality Assurance scheme was another headache. David found the remedies snowballed, and then “there was a big rush to get everything right” in the lead up to the Audit.

David also registered calves on the Department of Agriculture website, but he could not do it from his phone and found himself “sitting down at the end of a long day and having to register groups of calves” which was very time consuming.

The solution: A farmers review

David now records all his remedies through Herdwatch. He finds it much easier to keep up to date with the Bord Bia Remedies requirements: “I record as I am dosing which means I don’t need to remember to do it later”. David added: “When you do get the call to say that your Audit is due, it’s simply a matter of printing off the reports, there is no more scrambling to get records into the book”.

David also registers all his calves through Herdwatch, he says “it saves me hours and allows me to register the calves as I tag them. I don’t have to spend an hour or two in front of the computer anymore when I get off the farm.”

No more Double-Recording

David also uses Herdwatch to record his breeding data such as A.I serves and Pregnancy scanning. This has the added benefit of reducing double recording because Herdwatch sends breeding information to the ICBF automatically.

According to David, “It’s very easy to get going on a phone, tablet or computer, anyone could use it, and your herd is brought in directly from Agfood which is brilliant.”

Proven Technology at the right price

David is one of thousands of Farmers using Herdwatch, and at only €2.50 a week, the system represents great value according to him: “Herdwatch paid for itself within a few weeks in time savings alone, and the lads on support are always there to help”.