Blue Star Trusts Transition Alerts to Catch Issues Early

Monitoring Transition

Blue Star Dairy Farms implemented CowManager’s Transition Monitor to help identify at-risk cows, knowing the technology can catch issues up to 50 days before calving. It helps them intervene early and reduce transition diseases, such as metritis, milk fever and ketosis.

When Sherri and Javier talk about the Transition Monitor, they emphasize the technology alerts and how CowManager helps the dairy do a better job of keeping animals healthy from the dry cow pens to the prefresh and maternity pens. “When CowManager sends a transition alert, I can pull up a graph and get a detailed look at how the cow is doing. We know if she is going to calve soon or if she has a different issue we need to catch,” says Javier.

Insights Before Symptoms Show

With the dry period being such a critical time that affects a cow’s health, her calf’s health, and both of their future milk production, the more you know about potential problems the better off your herd will be. That’s why CowManager is such a good fit for Blue Star. It detects subtle changes in behavior and eating patterns, indicating that a dry cow is at a higher risk of having issues and becoming ill after calving. Knowing this insight before symptoms become clinical helps Javier and Sherri identify cows that need attention and allows them to provide tailored supportive treatment, if needed.

It’s About the Technology

The main goal of Blue Star Dairy Farms, says Sherri, is to raise healthy animals and keep cows producing. “The use of technology like CowManager helps us to do things even better with less manpower,” adds Sherri. “Even when we’re not at the farm, we can monitor our herd and see things that we wouldn’t be able to see just by visually looking at the cows.”

Javier concurs and appreciates how the system does so much work for them, stating that the phone app enables him to be away from the dairy and know exactly what’s going on with individual cows and on a group level. No matter where he is, if he receives an alert from the system and isn’t nearby, he can ask one of the other employees to go check on an animal in question. “The app is very beneficial,” he says.

At Blue Star Dairy Farms, CowManager navigates crucial points not only in the transition pen, but also in the lactation cycle, helping the family meet overall herd management goals. Sherri says, “I’m looking forward to using all the data collected and learning more about what CowManager can do to help us keep improving animal health.”

“For farms that don’t have CowManager, I really recommend it,” adds Javier.