In today’s rapidly evolving dairy landscape, the mantra “work smarter, not harder” is more relevant than ever. The integration of cutting-edge technology in farming practices is not just a trend, but a necessity for enhancing productivity, welfare, and the overall management of how we care for livestock. However, it’s crucial for producers to pause, take a step back and strategically evaluate the technologies that best fit their unique needs before making a purchase.
Finding the Right Fit
Steven Pavelski, Large Herd Application Expert for Nedap, says purchasing tech can come with excitement and anticipation to help create an ‘easy’ button for the dairy. Although, he notes that it is important to temper expectations and enlist a team of members from the dairy, along with external advisors, to create an implementation plan that includes regular checkpoints to hold stakeholders accountable.
“Many times, if a new tech fails on a farm, it is because the chain of people involved to install and implement it fell apart at some point, and nobody diagnosed that break in the chain to rectify the situation,” he says, sharing it is also imperative for farms to document the goals they hope to achieve through tech implementation. “And, then address them in your team checkpoints to work towards achieving them,” he adds.
For example, if a farm wants to move away from using tail paint after installing activity monitors, Pavelski says there should be a checkpoint after all of the cows are onboarded and the data is flowing smoothly to talk through daily protocols and how those should start to shift.
“At some point, once the team verifies, they ‘trust’ the system, they need to decide to drop tail painting and then follow the numbers to verify they are still achieving their insemination and preg rate standards,” he says. “This may sound simple, but without the constant follow-up, the workers may go on painting tails for eternity. It is also very important to have the follow-up checkpoint to monitor the numbers verifying that performance is maintaining or increasing, because if it is not then there may be a need for increased training or ‘dialing in’ the system in order to reach those goals.”
Vanbeek Dairy’s Innovative Leap
In the quest for improved breeding efficiency and healthier herds, Vanbeek Dairy took a significant step by integrating modern technology into their operation. Milking around 1,100 cows, this Monroe, Oregon dairy farm installed the GEA CowScout monitoring system, a decision made years after constructing their 50-cow stall rotary in the early 2000’s and incorporating milk meters with a robotic cow prepping arm.
Fred and Martin Vanbeek, owners of Vanbeek Dairy, had been considering various monitoring systems for a while but hesitated due to uncertainties about the cost-benefit analysis.
“I just didn’t think I could get them penciled out,” Fred admits, stating he wasn’t completely sure the calculations would justify the expense. But he realized that something needed to change to improve his herd’s conception rate.
On herd check days, Vanbeek noted a concerning pattern: half of his cows were not pregnant. Transitioning to OvSynch timed breeding seemed like a solution, but it led to a dependency on scheduled breeding rather than heat detection.
“The guys are not losing their ability to heat detect. They just start relying on the timed breeding unless the cow is obviously in heat,” Vanbeek explained.
A visit to another dairy farm using CowScout and discussions with his team, coupled with a promotional offer from GEA, convinced Vanbeek to take the leap of faith and integrate the CowScout monitoring system.
“It became a no brainer,” he stated.
The Impact of the Investment
Today, Vanbeek Dairy is reaping the rewards of this technological investment. Vanbeek is pleased with the system’s ability to identify and manage cows in heat efficiently, leading to quicker breeding.
“My preg rate went up, which was what I was hoping for,” he shared. Despite still relying on a synchronized shot program for cows not detectably in heat, the number of shots has decreased by 50% or more, reducing costs and improving pregnancy rates. Vanbeek shares that his 21-day preg rate now averages 35%, up from 25% before installing CowScout.
“It really is too soon to know where my preg rate will fall because I feel it takes a full year to truly evaluate,” he says. “Although I know it will continue to be higher with the new monitoring system.”
Vanbeek reflected on this recent tech purchase, noting that some aspects are difficult to quantify, but the overall benefits have proven substantial. He also shares that the ability to spread costs over time without an initial down payment also made the investment more manageable during low milk prices earlier this year. Vanbeek says that the immediate positive changes to his breeding practices confirmed that this decision was the right one for his dairy.
“Out of the gate, I was saving money on fewer shots and my herd conception rate increased,” he says.
Health Monitoring
Vanbeek is still navigating the learning curve associated with the CowScout monitoring system’s health benefits. Early detection of health issues before visible signs appear has proven beneficial, although diagnosing the precise problems remains a challenge.
“Now you start seeing health alerts before the cow shows signs of being sick and before she drops in milk,” he noted, sharing that most issues identified so far have been stomach related.
Even though the initial calculations didn’t purely justify the investment by shot reduction alone, the overall savings and improved conception rates validate the decision. As Vanbeek continues to refine their use of CowScout, the long-term benefits for herd health and productivity will undoubtedly shape a more efficient and profitable future for the farm.
Advise to Producers
Before making purchases, Pavelski strongly recommends producers to do their own research, like Vanbeek did, and talk to other farmers. He also says producers should enlist their trusted advisors to learn about the tech, especially the insights being created by it to elevate their management strategies. In addition to this, when the learning curve looks big, breaking it down into small steps and assigning team members to own each of them is beneficial.
“Celebrate the milestones within the process to increase engagement amongst all stakeholders, and always have a spot in management meeting agendas to talk about progress with the new tech and what the next steps are in the implementation process. Also keep the supplying company and tech support teams close and hold them accountable if the results do not achieve the expectations you outlined before purchase,” he says.
Vanbeek says that generally it all comes down to timing and when the timing is right, most producers take the leap of faith to make the investments.
“It all starts with what problem do you want to solve or get help on and for me that was to reduce the number of shots I was giving and increase my pregnancy rate. I’m glad that I kept reading articles and thinking about incorporating a new monitoring system and when the right deal came along, I took the leap of faith and implemented it,” he says.
Integrating technology into farming operations involved careful research, strategic planning and timely decisions. By breaking down the learning process, celebrating achievements and ensuring accountability, producers can effectively incorporate new technologies to enhance their management strategies and achieve the goal that the purchase was intended for.
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