Chris and wife Emma began trialling Ida on their on their 720-cow Waikato farm in autumn 2019. After the 12-month trial was finished, Ida's capabilities were obvious. She has since made a huge difference to Chris on-farm - and to his cows.
"I am saving a lot of time in the mating period, when we don't have to be picking cows to be put up for AB each day. Thanks to Ida, I'm gaining an extra 2-3 hours every day for each of the two nine-week mating periods each year," says Chris.
"Thanks to Ida, I'm gaining an extra 2-3 hours every day for each of the two nine-week mating periods each year."
- Chris Poole, Runner Up of FMG Young Farmer of the Year
They do half their calving in autumn and the rest in spring, and have seen a 5% improvement in their six-week in-calf rate since adopting Ida. They have also found more flexibility around culling to improve herd quality.
"At calving time, Ida helps us by identifying cows that may need a hand," explains Chris. "She sends me a notification if a cow has been sitting or not ruminating for a prolonged period of time. In these cases, that cow will need a hand getting her calf out, or she might have milk fever. With this information, we are able to treat cows early, and prevent avoidable deaths."
Ida also supports cows' health by automatically drafting those with identified health issues during afternoon milking. "We check the drafted cows at the end of milking and normally they are lame or have mastitis that hasn't been found by the milkers at that milking. If a cow has no visible symptoms, she'll still spend a few days getting milked once a day with the sick mob until she looks well and her eating and rumination times have come back to normal."
Ida was developed by Amsterdam-based artificial intelligence company Connecterra, who wanted to give farmers more insight into their herds and help them identify issues on-farm, find solutions and transition to sustainable farming.
The technology collects behavioural data from cows using collar-mounted sensors and combines this with data from internet-connected systems and equipment on-farm. She then translates the data into real-time, easy-tounderstand insights. The technology is available at Farm Source stores; we recognise the benefits of animal monitoring to support your animal health and wellbeing and strive to bring farmers the best deals, products and expertise.
Canterbury-based Farm Source TSR Cristian Zavala-Ruiz has been working with Connecterra's business development manager to introduce Ida and says there are already a few farmers using it. "One of the main concerns many farmers have is not always knowing about calving issues and when a cow is in trouble. Ida helps with that," he says. "All this comes down to the immediate care a cow may need after or during calving. Close to calving, cows must be inspected frequently, especially in poor weather. Ida can help if for instance, something is wrong in the middle of the night; it will send an alert to the farmer so they'll know what's happening," says Cristian.
Chris has found this a huge benefit too, which is one of the reasons he recommends other farmers embrace Ida - so that they can keep an eye on their cows round the clock. "This provides peace of mind so when you're away from the farm, or even sleeping, any animals needing attention will get it."
With this kind of technology, Cristian says, farmers save time, expenses or labour costs when using Ida's insights to make decisions around reproduction and health. "Ida gets results and leaves you more time with the family. Ida provides a lot of data, which farmers should be prepared for," says Chris. "However, thanks to a great user interface, it's easy to understand it. Ida also has a fantastic customer success team to help, and they're a message or phone call away. The care from the team is really outstanding".
For more information about Ida and Connecterra's partnership with Fonterra, visit nzfarmsource.co.nz/animalmonitoring or contact your local Farm Source store.