Another advantage is that Poppe is now able to quickly locate cows for insemination. “We used to attach a strap around the ankle of cows in heat during milking. Then, after milking, we had to search the entire barn to find the cows,” he explains. “Now, I just take a look on my phone after breakfast to see which cows are due for insemination that day. I prepare the straws, and, once I’m in the barn, I use my phone again to locate the cows.” If required, Poppe inseminates cows up to twice a day. “Before the new system, this would have simply been too time-consuming.”

Reduced hormone treatment

Poppe has also significantly reduced hormone treatment in his herd. Previously, he had to hormonally induce heat in around 8 to 10 cows per month, at a cost of 12 euros per cow — but this figure has now fallen to a maximum of 20 cows per year, saving the farmer “a lot of time and money.”

Furthermore, Nedap COWcontrol™ is linked to the ReproManager program from CRV, which makes it much easier to record animal data. “Before I installed it, I never would have believed that the system could bring so many benefits”, says Andreas. “It was quite a substantial investment, but I think it will have paid for itself within two years.”

He puts this success down to the combination of increased efficiency and shorter calving intervals. “And, of course, the fact that the cows are healthier,” Poppe says. “Thanks to Health Monitoring, a potentially sick cow is flagged  before the situation becomes critical. This kind of thing can’t really be quantified in financial terms, but I know it is saving me a great deal of money.”