During the early morning hours on June 11, 2017, Carl Carlson, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Pennock, Minn., started his day just like any other. A trip to the farm, a check-in with employees and a quick look-over of his 1,700- cow herd. The familiarity of the Carlson Dairy co-owner’s morning routine, along with his brother, Chad, and father, Curtney , never differed. But within just a few short hours, their day would be far from normal.
A line of severe thunderstorms had trekked its way across South Dakota, through Central Minnesota and was on a direct path to Pennock, the town where Carlson Dairy, LLP. was located. By 7:30 a.m., the intensity of the storm had ramped up with an EF1 tornado touching down just on the outskirts of Carlson’s operation. Though the tornado was only on the ground for a mere matter of minutes, it had ripped its way through Carlson’s facilities, damaging all of the farm’s buildings – some almost completely leveled – and injuring 10 animals.
“It did some extensive damage to our parlor,” Carlson says. “We were outgrowing the parlor and it was almost 20 years old, so it was already in need of some updates. After the storm hit, it was time for a change, and we made the decision to redo some things.”
In 2018, after the family had cleaned up from the destructive storm, the Carlson’s made the transition from their damaged double-18 parallel parlor to a 60-stall GEA DairyProQ robotic milking carousel. Along with the robotic technology, the family decided to invest in GEA’s activity monitoring system, Cow Scout , for the entire herd.
“We decided to go in on the activity monitoring because it correlated with the new carousel, but I was also never a big fan of heat monitoring. I was doing most of it myself,” Carlson says. “Truthfully, I really wasn’t even a fan of activity monitoring systems until I saw what they could do, and they’ve made a world of difference for us.”
Taking an all-or-nothing approach, activity collars were placed on breeding-age heifers, dry cows and the entire lactating herd at Carlson Dairy.
“It was an adjustment at first,” Carlson notes. “Just learning all of the different things the system can do was pretty overwhelming. There are all kinds of different reports and information I didn’t even know I could look at. It took a little while to figure out what things meant, and I still don’t know how to use everything that’s in there, but it’s made a big difference in our herd.”
Ramped Up Repro
Right off the bat, Carlson saw a big change in his ability to identify cows who were in heat.
“The biggest thing was just being able to identify animals that were probably in heat overnight that you didn’t catch,” Carlson says. “Or just being able to distinguish animals that had shorter heat cycles or lower activity times that I would have missed otherwise. We got better at catching the right cows in heat at the right time.”
Before the addition of the activity monitors, Carlson’s herd conception rate was running near 38% with a 25% pregnancy rate. Now his herd – which has expanded to 2,000 Holsteins, pushes a conception and pregnancy rate towards 52% and 40%, respectively.
“When it comes to the cows who make it to preg check day, almost all of them are pregnant,” Carlson shares. “We’re not missing many cows. I ended up changing some of my repro protocols as far as timed AI shots go. Now that we have the collars and have figured out a system that works for us, it’s not worth my time to give those shots.”
Health Benefits
Starting at 12 months of age, every animal on Carlson Dairy receives an activity monitoring collar. Not only does this help identify animals that need to be bred, but it also alerts Carlson to when an animal may not be feeling her best.
“I can see when an animal is not eating well when her rumination drops,” Carlson says. “That usually correlates to a dip in milk production. That information helps me catch sick animals a little sooner before things get worse.”
According to Stephanie Schroeder, Regional Sales Manager at Waikato Milking Systems, utilizing activity monitors can be a huge benefit when it comes to saving money on vet bills.
“There’s a lot of things you can identify with activity monitors from a health standpoint,” Schroeder says. “The data can point to issues that you may not be able to see just by looking at the cow herself. The information gives you the ability to catch things sooner. Unfortunately, producers really kick themselves when they decide to ignore that information, because by the time they start to see the signs of a sick animal, it’s too late, and they may end up with a dead cow. That really drives the message home that it’s important to listen to and trust what this technology is telling us.”
Along with herd health monitoring, Schroeder notes how activity monitoring technology can also be utilized on a nutrition level.
“We use activity monitoring on my farm as well as my husband’s operation, and it’s really interesting to look at the rumination data when a new crop of forage or a feed ingredient hits the feed bunk,” Schroeder says. “For example, my brother-in-law does all the feeding and he loves to look at the pen group data when he makes an adjustment to the feed. We’re also able to share that information with our nutritionist.”
On a similar note, Carlson gives data access to certain individuals on his operation as well.
“Our nutritionist has access to this data along with our reproductive team at Select Sires,” Carlson says. “Our vet doesn’t have direct access to it, but we’re able to sort out the cows that have issues for him to take a look at. From a management standpoint, it hasn’t really changed what we do to take care of our animals, it has just made us more efficient at it.”
Words of Advice
Learning how to manage any form of new technology can be a daunting task, but figuring out how to sift through herd data on a daily basis can intimidate even the most tech-savvy of farmers.
To help make the transition smoother, both Carlson and Schroeder offer key pieces of advice before diving into activity monitoring:
- Explore your options – With an overabundance of activity monitoring technology on the market, nailing down a system that best fits your operation is imperative.
“I’m not saying one system is better than the other, but each system has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Do your research, ask questions and find a system that is going to work best for you,” Carlson says.
- Know your limitations – While activity monitoring can be used on dairy farms of any size or scale, there are limitations that can hold these systems back. Try to identify possible bottlenecks before making the investment.
“One of the biggest problems I see is issues with rural internet,” Schroeder says. “It’s important to have solid internet with these systems. If you aren’t able to access the data and actually utilize it, then it’s a waste. Try to find a way to improve your Wi-Fi connection.”
Another common issue Schroeder sees is tracking data on animals who move from farm to farm.
“One farmer may have their dry cows or replacement heifers at a different facility, but they aren’t able to record that data at that farm,” she says. “If you want to be able to see that data, you have to have readers set up in both locations.”
- Utilize the data – Today’s producers are dairying in a data-driven world that’s much different than it was a few decades ago. While capturing that data has become easier, remembering to utilize the data to its utmost potential remains a challenge.
“Dairymen and women are driven on seeing a return on investment,” Schroeder says. “It’s harder to see that ROI if you aren’t using all of the information these systems provide. I hate seeing data captured then farmers choosing not to use it. Embrace that data, trust it and utilize it on your dairy.”
An Appealing Future
As technology continues to evolve, it can sometimes feel as if farmers are spending less time with their cows and more time on screens. Though this does hold some form of truth, both Carlson and Schroeder believe that activity monitors allow producers to be more efficient with their time and knowledgeable about what is happening on their operation. The incorporation of new technology also serves as a beacon to help call the next generation back home.
“We have a lot of kids that are planning on coming back to work here,” Carlson says. “Right now, we’re not looking to expand any further, but obviously there are different avenues we could go with. There are a lot of options out there, and we have a lot of kids who want to come back to the farm. That’s one of the main reasons that we’re trying to keep up to date on technology so we can keep it appealing for our kids to come back to. They’re already better at technology than I am, so it will be interesting to see what the farm looks like five to 10 years down the road.”
For Schroeder, the future in activity monitoring looks bright.
“I think we’re just going to continue to see things get easier and more efficient for farmers,” she says. “Who knows what data and information we’re going to be able to record to make us better at our jobs next. It’s pretty exciting to see.”
