Utilizing Technology to Manage Cows on Multiple Locations

Sit down to watch a football game and you’ll likely see players sporting wristband playbooks. Players can look down, locate the play on their forearms and prepare themselves for the next move. This is one way coaches have been able to improve communication between players. The same kind of concept is being used on dairy farms—simplifying and improving communication.

Saving time and labor, BoviSync streamlines communication with their football sleeve-like technology. Data is collected through mobile devices, strapped onto the forearm, engaging employees with easy-to-use tools to gain productivity and efficiency for their operation. That data is then stored in a cloud-based system, allowing producers to gather and analyze data from across the dairy and for some, across multiple sites.

Clay Reese, director at BoviSync, says that their mobile app is intuitive and makes chores efficient with two-way communication of tasks. “BoviSync simplifies processes by making tasks easier to complete,” he says.

Fir Ridge Holsteins

According to Scott Ruby, owner of Fir Ridge Holsteins in Scio, Ore., BoviSync technology has revolutionized the way his team manages cows. “My sons, Matt and Jake, are much more sophisticated in using it than I am, but even I can navigate the program with ease, design and run reports, input data, utilize the cell phone app for entering data, etc.,” he says.

Incorporating all data from other programs on farms, Fir Ridge Holsteins gathers information and data from CowManager, Zoetis genomic data, GEA DairyPlan milk data, SMS mating data and Holstein Association classification data and pedigree, all of which syncs together. “This is really powerful,” Ruby says.

Ruby uses data and information from multiple sources when making management decisions, like moving cattle from one dairy to the other. He also utilizes this information when making culling decisions. “One of the most exciting ways it helps us is with our strategic breeding program,” Ruby adds.

His sons have created a sophisticated algorithm that pulls data from multiple sources to help the Ruby family decide which type of semen, whether that be sexed Holstein or conventional Angus, be used on each cow. The data from all entities is uploaded automatically into BoviSync, then BoviSync incorporates all that data and then it can be exported to Excel so that the data can be sorted and utilized. The breeding plan is then uploaded to BoviSync and available on the mobile devices for breeders.

Fir Ridge Holsteins is a partnership between Scott Ruby, his sister, Michele, and their mother, Ida. Their Registered Holstein cows are housed and milked on one of two locations: Scio (where the youngstock are also raised) and 83 miles west on the coast in Cloverdale. Each location has around 600 cows and a double-14 herringbone parlor where cows are milked three times daily.

Understandably with so many miles separating Fir Ridge’s two dairies, it can be a struggle to transfer data from one site to the other, but BoviSync’s cloud-based platform allowed the Ruby family to overcome that challenge. Moving cattle back and forth between the two farms twice weekly, Ruby says that BoviSync simplifies that process. “We can access the data from either dairy from anywhere; and the program allows us to view data from either dairy individually or both dairies combined, which is extremely helpful,” he notes.

Customer Support

As good as any technology is, the customer support feature is ultimately what producers come to rely on. According to Ruby, if he ever has a question or needs assistance with anything, he just reaches out to BoviSync’s support department and a support team member circles back right away, even on weekends.  

Initially, when he began using the program, BoviSync’s support team entered all their protocols and standard operating procedures into the program. “This makes it extremely easy to enter information into the phone because all of our protocols are in drop-down menus to select from,” Ruby states.

Recently Ruby met with Zoetis, where they reviewed his herd health data, comparing genomic data, reviewing herd health trends, which makes it all nice to see how the dairy operates as a whole.

Dairies can also run reports which help with employee reviews. “I can run a report about lameness and when I see that one employee finds 90% of the lameness and I have 10 other employees on the farm, you can tell which employee is doing their job and which ones have room for improvement,” says Dr. David Cook, co-founder and CEO of BoviSync

Reese believes that when employees can see the benchmarks they need to meet and then measure what they are doing right and what they need to do better, that all folds into retention. BoviSync technology can help with that because that data can benchmark employees with themselves, as well as employees with other employees on the farm. With breeding, marking lame cows, etc.

“Information gleaned from BoviSync drives decisions that have a direct impact on the health and well-being of many animals. It’s better for animals and the people who manage them,” Reese adds.

Improving communication between team members is something everyone strives for, whether you’re on a football field or a dairy farm. Applying technology can boost the confidence with day-to-day tasks on a farm, making employees and owners strive for success and feeling like they just made the big touchdown to success.