In the Pen with CowManager

Jim Neuser, Cato, Wisconsin

“A savings in labor is the biggest benefit CowManager provides farms. You do not have to walk pens that you don’t need to be in to check for heats. It is a time saver and lets farms reallocate their employee time differently. CowManager is another set of eyes that works 24/7. It picks up sick cows before anyone can actually see that a cow is sick.

The farms I work with say they get the most benefit from the Health Module, but I also see a real advantage to the Fertility Module. For instance, one thing I’ve been doing is when we use prostaglandins, I now breed cows based on when they show up on the activity list, instead of on time. This change gets us better results because we are breeding cows when we know they are responding, instead of when we think they will be in heat.

It’s a good system. I have had people say if they didn’t have it already, they would find a way to buy it. It is definitely worth the money.”

Dan Zernicke, Bonduel, Wisconsin

“Two of the biggest benefits I see with CowManager is you give a whole lot less shots for synchronization, which reduces labor needs, and it is less stressful for the cows. Those are the unique benefits I’ve seen in herds. We have CowManager installed on our family’s heifer farm and have gone from using 15 CIDRs® a month down to one.

On another farm I work with that has CowManager we’ve reduced the number of cows bred by Ovsynch from 25-30 a week to under 10. Those changes are phenomenal and are a direct savings to the herd. Another dairy I work with has seen a good improvement in catching fresh cow and dry cow problems – which has resulted in a healthier herd that breeds back better.

There is no question that if CowManager tells you a cow is in heat – she is. CowManager is a really accurate system! When farms install CowManager, they have a hard time trusting the system, but you need to. The technology is so good that you need to trust it and let it help you.”

David Thoma, Midland, Michigan

“CowManager really helps with cow health. It finds sick animals long before you can see they are ill. It also does a good job finding cows in heat. With CowManager we are finding more cows in heat sooner and getting them bred before the time they are supposed to be enrolled in Ovsynch. Buying CowManager is a big decision but look at it as a long-term one. You will make your money back on it.”

Neil Estes, Cornell, Wisconsin

“Organic farms do not have the benefit of being able to use synchronization programs, so CowManager is a real asset. I find that CowManager definitely improves fertility. We get cows bred sooner and more effectively. What I mean by that is we are able to find heats that we would not have found with regular heat detection methods, and because of that we are getting more pregnancies.

I’ve worked with some other systems, and one thing CowManager has the advantage of is how it puts the information in front of you. It’s really user-friendly, easy to read and understand. Yes, it is a big investment, but your money will not be misspent. I’ve heard people say they don’t know how they farmed without it, and in fact wish they would have installed it sooner.”