Enhanced communication, real-time monitoring and improved cow efficiency are among the benefits of dairy cow Halters, Kaipara Farm Vets’ veterinarian Rory Dean says.
Working with several of his dairy farming clients using Halter technology, Dean said the farmer-veterinarian relationship is transformed and animal health outcomes improved.
He is reporting back to the Halter company on aspects of the new working relationships, including one farm adopting collars on heifers, a first for Northland.
“Monitoring of the reproduction performance and the animal health treatments and responses have been considerably enhanced.
“Cow observation has been taken to a new level, for my clients and for me.”
The collars measure changes in rumination and movement and any severe fluctuations trigger a health event that is responded to quickly.
“Farmers have an opportunity for early intervention, request an examination and get started on treatment and management.
“Picking cow heats and identifying those struggling to conceive and those that can be pregnancy scanned have also been accelerated.
“Lameness is almost non-existent because cows now walk at their own pace as they respond to the collar cues and learn their way around.”
Sub-clinical milk fever after a drop in rumination is another early intervention that saves money and improves cow condition.
“We are picking up the disease far earlier and avoiding the costs of loss of milk production and prolonged cow recovery.”
Dean is well-placed to comment on the animal welfare matters concerning Halters. He is a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists – Dairy Medicine Chapter.
The collar beeps and vibrations in no way compere with impulses from power fencing.
“The cows are getting cues from their collars, supplementing their normal cues from humans, noises and feeding times, and quickly learn to navigate and respond pre-emptively.
“Collars are minimising disease, which is a strong factor in animal welfare, and making health treatments timely and more effective.”
Dean said farmers with Halters gain considerable benefits from management, mapping, pasture utilisation and cow efficiency.
The farmer with Halters on heifers from one year onwards said time management and herd security benefits are additional to improved growth rates from better pasture utilisation.
The heifers are on a run-off, which now receives fewer personal inspections, and the collars are strong deterrents to theft and illegal slaughter.
Should a heifer be moved, injured or killed, an alert from the collar is sent to mobile phones.
Heats are identified earlier and heifers are in better condition to conceive and carry.
Dean said his interactions with dairy farmer Halter clients have been helping them to trust the data and the alerts.
He monitors research and trial work on “wearables” around the world and passes data observations and reports back to his clients.
“In Northland with our smaller herds and labour shortages, the biggest immediate benefits from Halters come from time management and the saving on hours spent moving animals and temporary power fences.
“I have no doubt that the savings more than outweigh the costs of collar leasing.”
Halter recently reduced its prices by 37% to $9.90 per cow per month and published reproductive performance figures from its clients.
The company said Halter farms achieved a median 70.9% six week in-calf rate, 4.1% higher than the 15-year industry median of 66.8% reported by Dairy NZ.
Founder and chief executive Craig Piggott said Halter’s top 10% performing farms achieved an average of 80%.
Halter has launched new Graze, Grow and Mate calculators on its website where farmers can see the potential pasture, mating and milk production gains based on their region, herd size, farm size, supplement costs and milk price.
