After four generations of farming in The Netherlands, CowManager founder Gerard Griffioen decided farming had to be done easier. He thought to himself: What if you could measure a cow’s health, fertility and even recognise heat stress and transition issues beforehand? Always keep a detailed eye on your herd, even when you aren’t physically present? He changed the dairy business forever by inventing the first ever cow monitoring ear sensors in 2004.
What Makes CowManager Stand Out from the Herd
CowManager is built and continuously upgraded on years of knowledge, university research and worldwide on-farm tests.
Griffioen: “Every day we gain experience among the cows in our own company. I regularly walk among the cows and discover what could be improved upon, what information is needed.”
And because of his own farming background, he knows it’s best to not work for farmers, but with them.
“We actively listen to our customers. We have customers (and local representatives) worldwide who actively think along about innovations and test them on-farm.” By now, thousands of farmers across the globe monitor their herds with CowManager’s ear sensors, which results in non-stop valuable cow data and ongoing developments. The key to this success? Ear temperature.
Why Measuring Ear Temperature is Best
In developing a non-invasive system like the ear sensor, Griffioen effectively combined innovative farming technology with so-called old farmer’s wisdom. Back in the day, whenever dairy farmers would doubt if a cow was feeling well, they would first feel her ears to check for a change in temperature.
Cows’ ears are full of vital information which tells us how they’re actually doing. Whenever a cow gets an infection, the blood in the ears moves to vital organs. A crucial sign, which can save you a lot of problems further down the road. CowManager ear sensors monitor cows’ rumination, eating, inactivity, activity, ear temperature and high active behaviour.
The CowManager data graphs show you the ear temperature of the specific cow compared to the average of the total herd. Does a cow have an ear temperature 7°C lower than the herd average, and is there an alert of illness? You’re the first to know. Never miss a heat again, improve your in-calf rates and say goodbye to tail paint and Kamars. On top of that, CowManager cows live longer, produce more milk, are in better shape and perform better.
The Only System with In-Depth Transition Monitoring
CowManager still is the only cow monitoring system out there that is successfully measuring ear temperature combined with other parameters. This combination results in more accurate and earlier alerts. It catches sick cows days before they even show clinical signs of being ill and lets you monitor recovery in detail. It never lets you miss a heat, and makes breeding a breeze, even with sexed semen.
And it makes the transition period – when 75% of all adult cow disease events find their origin – monitorable, recognising underperforming cows up to 50 days before calving, so you can avoid surprises after. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Sharing Data All the Way Back to Install Date
With the MultiView function, which is available on every CowManager system, dairy farmers can easily share important data with veterinarians, staff, herd managers, AI specialists, nutritionists, and researchers. This lets them monitor the herd’s performance as a team, completely changing the way business is done for the better.
CowManager is the only system to give remote access to a cow’s data and history dating all the way back to the install date. It gives you a complete overview of cow data in easy-to-read coloured graphs that allow you to analyse results and progress per cow or group or even season, so you can recognise patterns and opportunities together.
The Future Is in the Ear
Would you like to discuss the benefits of cow monitoring with like-minded people? Get in touch with our local representatives to ask all your questions or to get a personalised quote.