Farmers, increase conception rates with Censortec CowControl

Increasing fertility in Barryroe

‘Some cows were having silent heats, and we had a problem with cows having false heats. We were wasting AI straws, and cows were taking longer to go back in calf,’ says Jerome O’Brien, who milks 200 cows with his father Johnny in Lislevane, West Cork.

‘Some friends of mine had installed CowControl, and they spoke so highly of the system that we decided to install it in January 2022.’

In the first year after installing Censortec CowControl, they halved the herd’s empty rate from 14% to 7%, and increased conception to first service from 51% to 73%.

These improvements are all down to CowControl, according to Jerome.

Censortec CowControl, powered by Nedap, is a collar-based activity monitoring system that helps farmers with heat detection and health monitoring. Censortec, who operate out of Killorglin, Co. Kerry, are the leading suppliers of activity monitors to Irish dairy farmers.

‘Last year we trusted the system totally from the get-go. We used it for pre-breeding checks, and CowControl identified 36 cows that hadn’t cycled. Before breeding started, we got the vet to check the 36 cows. They confirmed none of them had cycled. They were all treated, and most of them were served in the first three weeks. It was the same story this year. It’s eliminated those problem cows because they’re dealt with quickly,’ explains Jerome.

‘We were spending a lot of time and labour on heat detection,’ adds Johnny. ‘During breeding, we were topping up the tail paint every few days, and then we were watching the cows at both milkings, again in the middle of the day, and last thing at night. We were doing all this, and we knew we still had problems. Now, by automating our heat detection, we’ve improved the herd’s fertility and saved ourselves time and labour in the process.’

CowControl has helped Johnny and Jerome to choose the cows most suited to sexed semen, by identifying those with strong heats before breeding starts.

‘Once we know they’ve had good heats, we pick cows that have calved early, with a good EBI and good solids. The data from CowControl makes choosing the cows suitable for sexed semen far easier,’ reports Jerome. ‘The system gives us an Optimal AI Time for each cow’s heat, so any cow that’s to get sexed is served 14-22 hours after the start of the heat. Our submission rate in the first three weeks of breeding this year was 98%. CowControl helped us achieve that figure.’

Johnny and Jerome find that CowControl health monitoring is as essential as it’s heat detection capabilities.

‘We underestimated the effect of the health monitoring. We didn’t do any routine health checks, and now that CowControl does it for us, we see how important it is. We’re picking up sick cows 12-24 hours earlier. We can treat them, and you have the data from CowControl to show you if what you’ve given them is working, or if they’re getting worse,’ says Jerome.

The O’Briens have made great savings and become more efficient since installing CowControl. Based on halving their empty rate, they saved €8000 a year.

'That’s not the only saving; we have more cows calving earlier so we’re selling more milk earlier in the season, we’ve cut down antibiotic use, we’re breeding from our more profitable cows, we don’t have the costs associated with a stock bull, and we’re saving labour,’ comments Jerome.

‘We’re not spending 3 hours a day during breeding and pre-breeding watching and tail painting cows. We always have an extra set of eyes on the cows. CowControl has had a big impact on the herd; we’ve improved cow health, we improved fertility, and we have a better life because of it!’ says Jerome.

To learn more about Censortec’s services, call 066 9713000 or visit Censortec.com