What to Look for When Choosing a Herd Management System?

For modern dairy and beef enterprises wanting to manage rising input costs and ensure sustainable profitability, recording farm data is no longer an option, but a necessity. There are many "Herd Management Programs" on the market, but not all of them may fully answer the needs of your enterprise.

Here are 5 key features you should look for when choosing a cow tracking program or farm information system:

1. Full Integration with Hardware (IoT Compatibility)

A software where data is only entered manually is no different than using Excel. A good herd management system must be able to pull instant, automatic data from digital milk meters in the milking parlor, smart collars on the animals' necks, and weighing systems. Dairysense eliminates human error by transferring millions of data points from its sensors directly to the platform, untouched by human hands.

2. Early Warning and Alarm Systems (AI)

Recording that your animals are sick after they fall ill will not save you. A modern farm automation should analyze deviations in animals' rumination, movement, sleep, and feeding behaviors and warn you before the disease emerges.

3. Ease of Use and Mobile Application

Farmers spend their days not in front of a computer, but among the animals in the barn. It is essential that the software you choose has an understandable, simple interface in your language, and most importantly, a fast Mobile Application where you can enter instant data while working in the field.

4. Reproduction and Veterinary Calendar

The program needs to automatically calculate critical phases like "cow calving calculation," "pregnancy tracking," and "dry period." When a cow is to be inseminated, when she will have a pregnancy check, or when vaccination day has arrived, it should be sent by the system to the veterinarian as a notification (SMS, Push Notification).

5. Uninterrupted Technical Support

The support team behind it is as important as the features of the software. Having a support team that understands the language of farming and that you can reach out to quickly 24/7 in case of a problem with the hardware or software is of critical importance to the success of the project.