AT A GLANCE

Hawera – West Plains, 20 years
111ha (effective)
350 milking cows, system: 4/5
Moved from split calving five years ago to full
autumn calving herd

CHALLENGES

• It took a bit of learning to get used to where everything was
• Having bulls on the property prior to instillation.
• Decreasing empty rate in the herd
• Accurate heat detection and drafting out cycling cows

BENEFITS

• More accurate heat detection
• Fully integrated with Protrack auto-drafting system
• Linked directly with Protrack system on desktop
• Sensehub app keeps in touch with the full herd
• Tail painting was dropped
• Saving time and labour drafting out cycling cows

“I was nervous about trusting the collars, believing that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but then I thought I have to trust this technology,”

Michael Smith

BACKGROUND

Farm owners Michael and De-Anne Smith already had a Protrack system operating in their dairy shed, but last November (2020) they put Allflex monitoring collars on their 350 cows.

The Allflex collars offered full integration with their Protrack auto-drafting system and linked directly with the Protrack system on their desktop computer at the dairy office and home. The Sensehub app helps them keep in constant touch with the herd.