App saves farmers time on paperwork and boosts profitability, survey shows
21st October 2022
A recent survey by Herdwatch revealed more than 1,600 farmers said the app saves them an average of three hours a week, allows them to monitor and manage their herd performance more efficiently, and ultimately increases profitability. One dairy farmer from Cornwall even calls the app her “supernanny”.
The farm management app is used on over 18,000 farms across the UK and allows farmers to manage their farm with an easy-to-use app catering for both cattle and sheep farmers.
Herdwatch is designed for cattle farmers but at the click of a button you can switch to Flockwatch, which caters for sheep farmers’ needs.
There is also a section for mapping your farm and creating paddock records, which are shared across both sides of the app – along with a smart shared medicine cabinet.
Multiple users can access the app and if you are in an area with poor mobile coverage, it works offline. Best of all, if you ever have an accident with your phone, your farm records are safely saved to the cloud.
Kate and Kevin, who balance a young family with full-time farming, say they are extremely thankful for the app when it comes to farm assurance inspection time.
“The supernanny”
Cornwall farmers Kate and Kevin Hoare have been using Herdwatch on their dairy farm for many years and Kate describes it as her “supernanny”.
The couple say the app saves them hours on farm paperwork and increases productivity, as they always have their herd’s information to hand. “We use the app for everything from tracking medicines, registering calves and movements, breeding management, doing our reports and more.”
Kate and Kevin, who balance a young family with full-time farming, say they are extremely thankful for the app when it comes to farm assurance inspection time. “The last inspection we had last summer was super easy! I pulled out the reports from the app in seconds and just emailed them onto the inspector.
“Before, I would have had to show him the reams of paperwork I would have written up; it was all very messy. Herdwatch has definitely made farm assurance and Arla inspections a lot easier.”
“I would absolutely recommend Flockwatch to other farmers,” says Cammy Wilson, who farms in Ayrshire.
“The key thing is the simplicity”
This year, Herdwatch released its brand new sheep management app Flockwatch, a dedicated part of the app for sheep farmers to manage their flock performance more efficiently.
Flockwatch is essentially Herdwatch for sheep farmers; it allows you to create your flock and then track flock health and performance, individually or in groups in the app.
YouTube superstar Cammy Wilson – better known as ‘The Sheep Game’ – has been using Flockwatch on his farm in Ayrshire, Scotland. He now boasts over 200,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel and is a strong advocate of the Flockwatch app.
“I would absolutely recommend Flockwatch to other farmers; the key thing being the simplicity of the app. You don’t have to go into some six-week training program to master it. It almost seems super expensive and well developed because of its simplicity!”
Top benefits
Herdwatch says the app has become a necessity for many farmers, offering many features and benefits for suckler, beef and dairy herds such as:
- Your herd in your hand
- Record batch medicines simply and quickly
- Easy animal registrations and movements
- Full breeding cycle management
- Weight recording and ADG tracking
- Map your farm using satellite imagery
- Milk module to track cow performance and much more.
The Herdwatch farm management app links with BCMS(CTS), ScotEID and APHIS to help farmers eliminate farm paperwork and make better decisions. You can also view your milk recording data from CIS and NMR.
To join over 18,000 other farmers saving time on farm paperwork and making better decisions, download the free Herdwatch/Flockwatch app here, or from the App Store/Play Store. Or for more information visit www.herdwatch.co.uk or call 02037732763.
