MONITOR YOUR HERD WITH COWMANAGER
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The CowManager herd monitoring system uses a revolutionary ear sensor technology to provide accurate, real time information about individual cows’ fertility, health, nutritional status, and location. Producers can opt into the modules that best serve their farm. Rottinghaus Family Dairy and Fincham Dairy LLC, both located in Kansas, currently use the Fertility Module, which provides data about heat intensity and heat stage for maximizing heat detection in individual cows. Read on to learn more about these two farms’ experiences with CowManager!
Josh Rottinghaus owns Rottinghaus Family Dairy
in Seneca, Kan. and milks 300 cows. After talking with a friend who used a heat detection system, Josh began researching different activity monitoring options for his own farm and landed on CowManager. He installed the system in July 2020.
Why did you decide to purchase a CowManager system? Josh: I had been working with more employees, and the cost of drugs for synchronization was becoming exorbitant. Our cows milked well but the repro wasn’t what it should be. It wasn’t conception; it was a matter of finding cows in heat.
What has been the impact of CowManager? Josh: It made up the money pretty easily with
more pregnant cows. I am no longer on a standardized shot program, which has saved a considerable amount of money. Our conception rate has gone up, and it has worked out well. I’ve put CowManager tags on all of my heifers, and now that I’m breeding completely off good standing heats, I’m using strictly sexed semen on my heifers, and then I’m even using some sexed semen “cherry picking style” on my first lactation heifers. I’ve just started that as a trial, so we will see how it goes. You can be away and still know what’s going on at the farm. Just this morning, I had to leave early to take my kids to the dentist. A bunch of cows popped up to breed later and I wouldn’t have been there to see them. It is nice being able to have an extra set of eyes on the farm.
What are your goals moving forward regarding CowManager? Josh: I am thinking about getting the Nutrition Module back depending on milk prices [producers receive a free trial of
the different modules upon installation]. The rumination monitor on fresh cows is very helpful…when activated you can make a ration change and see if it is just one cow or the entire herd that is off. It gives you an extra tool to measure what is going on more than just a gut feeling. It eliminates some of the possibilities when figuring out a problem.
with heat detection and wants to eliminate some money on drug bills, I’d definitely get “ If a producer has issues CowManager. It’s a good system…it’s worked out well for me.
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–Josh Rottinghaus, Rottinghaus Family Dairy, Seneca KS
