Dairy farmer, Jim White installed SenseHub monitoring technology in 2021. Jim explains how accessing the fertility data through SenseHub Dairy has helped him to work more closely with his vet, John Hennessy, to improve his herd’s fertility performance.
Jim White farms around 200 dairy cows in the foothills of Slievenamone in Mullinahone, South East Tipperary. He runs a grass-based spring-calving system with all cows calved by end of March and supplies milk to the local Mullinahone Co-Op. Jim had a number of reasons to install SenseHub in 2021. These included, removing the stock bull and moving to 100% AI; to increase the quantity of sexed semen used on the farm; and to reduce the intensive labour required during breeding season.
“I was always interested in moving to 100% AI on the farm and not having a stock bull, so I had been looking into monitoring technology for a few years.
“We already had a very high EBI and didn’t have any difficulty in selling dairy replacement stock, but there were huge benefits to be had in introducing more sexed semen and using beef sires to add more value to the farm. When I was looking at the different options, SenseHub was an easy choice because of the range of functions it had to offer. Overall, the system was going to help me manage my farming system more efficiently,” Jim said.
Using data to make earlier and more informed decisions on fertility
After two full seasons using SenseHub, Jim has noticed huge benefits in terms of reducing labour on the dairy farm. He can now allow others to milk the cows during the breeding season, has eliminated tail painting and is maximising the use of his drafting gate which works with the SenseHub system.
“The breeding season is a busier and more intense period than the calving season for me. The fact is, a cow will calve on her own but on a farm using 100% AI, she cannot go into calf on her own.
“Before I installed SenseHub, I always had to do the milking right throughout the breeding season to make sure that no heats were missed. Now someone else can milk during the breeding season – I just have to keep an eye on my phone for notifications as it will tell me when a cow is on heat. This is a real dream and has reduced the intensive nature of breeding on my farm.”
SenseHub has also allowed Jim to work more effectively with his local vet John Hennessy. Among many things, the system is helping the pair identify any fertility issues earlier. Originally from Cashel, and now based in Fethard in Tipperary, John has been a practising vet for more than 20 years.
SenseHub offers both an Anoestrus Report and an Irregular Heat Report which allow Jim to identify any cows not coming into heat or those with irregular heats. He can quickly draft these animals, call John and give him access to the data. This allows John to decide on the best course of treatment. Last year he managed to get all cows in calf by identifying those with irregular or missed heats early and putting a treatment programme in place.
John Hennessy said, “SenseHub is really valuable for us, as farmers often get an early warning about a cow 8-10 hours before they spot there’s anything wrong. If we can diagnose something early, it usually helps the overall outcome so it’s a great benefit. The anoestrus report is very accurate – before farmers might have thought a cow had missed a heat. With the anoestrus report, we have more certainty that the cow hasn’t been cycling. It’s a fantastic tool in helping diagnose issues and allows the vet to provide the best course of treatment.
“The most common issues that the reports are helping us to treat are cystic cows or genuinely anoestrus cows. We usually intervene at this stage to help synchronise them and bring them cycling. SenseHub is improving overall fertility outcomes on farms by allowing us to intervene earlier and by helping draft out cows, so they are ready for inspection.”
Monitoring technology enhances animal welfare
For Jim, another huge benefit of using SenseHub on his farm is that he has eliminated scanning of cows altogether for the last two years and instead uses the SenseHub Pregnancy Probability Report which has accurately identified pregnancies for him every time. This not only significantly saves cost and labour for Jim, but he also believes it is a lot less invasive for the cows.
While he did not install SenseHub for its health monitoring capabilities, he has also experienced first-hand how the health alerts allow him to identify when animals are unwell before any signs are visible. This has allowed for early intervention and treatment if needed, ensuring that his animals are as healthy as possible.
Tech Support
Jim is complimentary of the tech support provided as part of the service. For him, knowing that one of the MSD Animal Health representatives is on the end of the phone, or can call to the farm to assist should he encounter any difficulties provides a huge level of comfort when managing a busy farm.
