Jared King installed CowManager on his 360-cow herd in March 2021, to make heat detection easier and more accurate.
When you are joining up to 10 cows every day of the year, heat detection is a major job, according to Jared King from Wattle Flat on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.
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Inaccurate heat detection can also become a major cost as more expensive sexed semen is used more widely.
Jared was brought up on a dairy farm at nearby Strathalbyn, that his father later converted over to beef. Jared and his wife Megan decided to get back into dairy farming on their own, starting out sharefarming and now leasing the farm.
They milk their own herd and supply the domestic market in South Australia. At home they have their hands full, with their four children aged 10 years to a few months.
Improved heat detection
In March 2021, Jared installed CowManager on his 360-cow herd to make heat detection easier and more accurate.
One of the big attractions of the CowManager system is the ear tag, which is easy to attach and can easily be removed if the cow leaves the herd.
"We looked at the collar system, but I didn’t like it and the bolus can't be retrieved so it leaves the farm with the cow,“ Jared said.
“And the CowManager subscription system means the upfront cost is low and helps with cash flow."
Timing is everything
Joinings are done daily throughout the year and can vary between one and 10 cows a day and calving 30 to 50 animals a month.
As a result of CowManager, the accuracy and timing of AI has improved, and conception rates are improving. Jared is using more sexed semen and plans to move entirely to sexed semen and beef in the longer term.
"When you waste a $25 straw on a mistimed insemination, you can live with it. But when the sexed straw costs three times that, you don’t want to get the timing wrong."
Supplying the domestic market, they need to maintain a flat milk curve year-round.
"We’re not completely flat yet because we bought some seasonal calving cows so we will batch calve for a while yet," Jared said.
There are fewer vet visits and by using the CowManager Health module, Jared can get in early treatments for illnesses such as mastitis.
"It's very good for transition cows. I can track them as they enter the herd and make sure they are still eating, and their rumen function is working properly."
The future is in the ear
The Kings plan to increase the herd up to around 500 on their current lease, although the increase is dependent on infrastructure. They installed a new feedpad last year.
"As we grow, heat detection was becoming a bigger job. Constant checking. But with CowManager we can simplify the process," Jared said.
Although they employ up to five staff, only one is full-time and Jared manages the reproduction program on his own, using the Fertility module in the CowManager app.
"There's obviously cost savings in labour, scratchies, tail paint. But I'd say the ease of use and accuracy of heat detection are the major benefits for us.
“We only use CIDRs on individual non-cycling cows now, so our synch costs are definitely less."
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