Say goodbye to scraps of paper or the back of your hand as a notebook!

Nigel Flannery is a mixed Suckler and Sheep farmer from the shores of Lough Gara in Co. Sligo. Nigel works full time off-farm, so between work and farming, Nigel had little-to-no time to record his animal remedies and farm records.

‘Even just recording the basics was becoming a nightmare, with scraps of paper or the back of my hand being used as a notebook.

Nigel thought there must be a better way of recording this information but, coming from the west of Ireland poor internet connection was always a major problem.

On a bad day he would not be able to get any phone signal never mind an internet connection. A software package wouldn’t work for Nigel unless it worked offline, and stored data in the cloud.

In September 2014, Nigel found the solution he was looking for, he signed up to the Herdwatch app after its launch at the National Ploughing championships and hasn’t looked back since.

Nigel relies on Herdwatch to help in the everyday running of his farm from calf registration to animal movements. Nigel outlined that the scanning method for calf registration is a major time saver.

“I go out and tag the calf and then register all my calves as I go along. You have no messing up with breeds or male or female; everything comes back properly on the card.”

                                                       Calf registration in seconds

Recording Remedies on the Spot

Sligo suckler farmer Nigel finds Herdwatch extremely helpful when it comes to recording remedies for inspections.

‘When I buy animal remedies or meal, I record the purchase before I get out of the van and even if I don’t use the animal remedy for a few months, the withdrawal dates are already recorded, and I won’t have to go searching for them.’

Herdwatch allows farmers to simply scan their farm medicines into the app using the camera on their smartphone. This gives farmers the confidence that their records are 100% accurate and in the event of a farm inspection, all the farmer has to do is show the Inspector his reports from Herdwatch.

Scanning medicines using the Herdwatch app

A handy helper for the breeding season

Nigel also uses Herdwatch from a breeding perspective. Through Herdwatch he can track what cows were served and when; and he can also track repeats. He also highlighted that Herdwatch is very useful when it comes to scan dates and that it is linked very well with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

Notifications on the watch-board will allow him to generate a calving report in the springtime, so he can see the list of cows that are calving and when.

“It is very easy to use, and the app will prompt you along the whole time and – if you make a mistake – it’s easy to go back.”

Herdwatch is fully compliant with Bord Bia and EU quality assurance standards and allows farmers to register calves and manage cattle movements on their phone. It is fully integrated with ICBF so farmers can see their breeding, milk records and EBI/Eurostar information on Herdwatch.

You too can join Nigel and over 10,000 happy farmers saving time on farm paperwork and managing their farms more efficiently for FREE.

The Free-Plan allows farmers to:

• Download their Herd from APHIS (NI), BCMS (UK) or Agfood (IRL) 
• Record 5 calf registrations
• Record their medicine purchases
• Record Heat detection and general tasks

Why not talk to a member of our team today to find out more by requesting a call back here