Think you might be Overstocked? Here's how Herdwatch can help you farm smarter, not harder!

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Think you might be Overstocked? Here’s how Herdwatch can help you farm smarter, not harder!

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| General

| Nov 18, 2022

Cattle behind feed barriers shed

It’s that time of year again – Winter weather can put strain on any livestock system and as housing begins here are some ways Herdwatch can help make things a little easier. 

 

What issues can overstocking cause?

 

Overstocking can cause numerous issues for both livestock and farmers, and is important to address before housing if possible. Some the issues experienced with overstocking are as follows:

  • Reduced lying time and increased lameness– Overstocking reduces lying and cubicle space and livestock are likely to lay for less time. This in turn has a direct effect on the incidents of lameness. With lameness comes ill thrive or loss of production.
  • Increase in potential infection and disease breakdown– More animals means higher disease pressure and a more difficult environment to keep clean. Liming cubicles, running scrappers or bedding with straw or other materials is required more often, adding an extra workload to the already busy winter period. 
  • Less space means more injury risk-for both the stock and the stock person. It is not uncommon to see teat damage caused by hooves when space is tight. The risk of crush injuries also increases as you move in confined space with livestock. 
  • More stock equals more waste- which may cause issues with slurry storage capacity especially as the slurry application period is closed for the winter season. Additionally, carrying too high stock numbers towards the end of the farming year can cause issues with nitrate regulation compliance. Check out our slurry calculator to check you have enough capacity for your stock:{{cta(‘212ee027-67f9-443c-96e1-2ec3c43f4f41′,’justifycenter’)}} {{cta(‘add1f483-623a-41bd-a0d4-4ed10087292a’,’justifycenter’)}}

 

I think I’m overstocked. How can Herdwatch help me?

 

Fodder and Feed Check

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Let Herdwatch help you calculate your fodder and feed levels on farm, to ensure you have enough available for your herd for the months ahead. 

The Herdwatch Winter Fodder Calculator uses Tonnes of Silage as the unit of measure. You can enter all your winter feeds such as Pit Silage, Silage bales, Hay bales, Straw bales, Maize Silage, Whole crop cereal and Fodder crops and this will be converted to its equivalent value in tonnes of silage.

To use the Herdwatch Feed & Forage Calculator see the links below:

 

 I don’t have enough feed, what are options?

 

Buy more feed OR Carry less stock

 

I’d like to sell a few bulls, what do I do?

 

Sell Surplus Stock with Herdwatch

Advertise and sell with Verified by Herdwatch’

 

 

 

mockup-featuring-two-iphones-x-floating-against-a-solid-color-background-28764Once you have identified animals for sale  in the Herdwatch app you can simply select the animals key details will be provided by the app, all you have to do is simply name your price or indeed open yourself to offers. Remember you can now add VIDEO  to your listing to highlight the quality of your stock.

There is no time wasted transferring you animal details to another platform, and paying for each advert, as a Herdwatch member you  can now instantly flag animals for sale and advertise them to 18,000 potential customers, right on the Herdwatch app! 

 

 

Ok, my bulls sold! How do I move them out of my herd?

 

Create a Movement in HerdwatchUntitled design (7)-2

>Tap Compliance
>Tap The Orange Plus (+) Button in the bottom right hand corner
> Tap Movement Out

> Input Buyers Details (Name,  Number, Herd Number)                     

Note: If you add the buyers herd number, they can notify the             movement electronically.                 >Enter the Sale Price

>Tap Next
> Select the animals been moved (Max ten animals per movement cert)
> Tap Save

> Tap Apply for cert now (You will need your Herdwatch 6 digit pin at this stage)
> Tap send cert to Buyer. ( This will create a message in your phone which you can then text to the Buyer)

The buyer can then accept the movement from their own Herdwatch app!

 

Where can I get the app?

 

Herdwatch is fully compliant with all quality assurance standards in the UK and allows farmers to record all remedy usage, register calves, cattle movements, breeding records, map your farm and more on a simple to use app.

You too can over 18,000 other happy farmers saving time on farm paperwork and managing their farms more efficiently by downloading the Herdwatch app today.

 

 

 

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