Farm Smart: Getting the most out of your farm business by introducing technology
Father and son team Pat and Padraic Kennedy run a dual beef and dairy operation in Templemore, Co. Tipperary — milking 90 cows and finishing 140 beef cattle across 250 acres, with Herdwatch keeping records across both enterprises.
Pat and Padraic Kennedy have been farming at Templemore, Co. Tipperary for four or five generations. Today, they run a dual beef and dairy operation across 250 acres of owned and rented land. Padraic looks after the dairy side — milking 90 British Friesian and Holstein cows. Pat, meanwhile, manages the beef enterprise from an out-farm about a mile and a half up the road, finishing 140 Hereford cattle.
Calves are transferred from the dairy to the beef unit at six weeks old. From there, Pat aims to finish most of them before 30 months. Consequently, the two enterprises run as separate herds — but are linked through Herdwatch, which both Pat and Padraic use daily.
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Why Hereford — and a farm built around quality beef
The Kennedys have been breeding Herefords for 25 years. For Padraic, the reasoning is straightforward — easy calving, better live weight gain, and a quicker finish compared to black and whites.
In recent years, the farm has also invested significantly in infrastructure. A new 12-unit herringbone parlour was installed three years ago. Last year, a new 100-cow cubicle shed was added. As Padraic puts it, farming is advancing faster than ever — and staying ahead of that matters.
How they found Herdwatch — and signed up that same night
Padraic first heard about Herdwatch at an IFA meeting in Killea in 2016. Several farmers at the meeting were already using it and all said the same thing — it was saving them hours every week and taking the hassle out of inspections. That was enough for Padraic.
Medicine recording — scanned in seconds, ready for inspection
Before Herdwatch, medicine recording meant scribbling into a book or writing on the back of a piece of paper. Inspection preparation, as a result, meant playing catch-up in the week before an auditor arrived. Now, every bottle is scanned at the point of purchase and the record is done.
Furthermore, the withdrawal period is recorded automatically and assigned to the specific animal treated. When the inspection comes, the report is a single click away.
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Breeding, AI, and the Watchboard — no more lost AI slips
Padraic carries out his own AI on the dairy herd. Previously, he recorded serves on sheets of paper — and too often lost them. Now, every serve is recorded in Herdwatch as it happens and shared automatically with ICBF.
In addition, the Watchboard feature provides a reminder for each cow three weeks after serving — flagging any that may be returning to heat. The app also calculates the expected calving date and tracks days since calving, helping Padraic decide whether to re-serve or leave a cow longer.
Calf registration and transferring between herds — done in minutes
Because the Kennedys run two separate herds on two farms, transferring calves between them is a regular task. Herdwatch handles this in a matter of minutes — select the calves, transfer them to the other herd’s profile, and the movement is recorded automatically.
Calf registration is equally quick. Because the AI bull and dam information is already recorded from the breeding, all Padraic has to do is scan the tag. The breed of the calf and the sire are filled in automatically, and the card goes out in the post within days.
Replacement tags — ordered from the field, no phone calls needed
Ordering replacement tags used to mean ringing the tag supplier and reading out the full ear tag number digit by digit. Now, Padraic simply clicks on the animal in the app and the order goes off automatically. He describes it as one of his favourite features.
Pat and Padraic use Herdwatch daily across both enterprises:
- Medicine scanning — purchased at the vet, scanned into the app immediately
- Breeding records — serves recorded in real time, shared with ICBF automatically
- Watchboard — repeat heat reminders and calving date calculations
- Calf registration — scan, auto-fill sire and breed, card posted automatically
- Herd transfers — calves moved between farms in minutes
- Replacement tags — ordered directly from the app with one click
- Bord Bia reports — generated instantly for inspections
97%+ on every Bord Bia inspection since joining
Since using Herdwatch, both Pat and Padraic have found compliance inspections significantly less stressful. Rather than spending the week before an inspection pulling together records, everything is already in the app — and reports are printed off in seconds.
Participating in the Irish Hereford Prime welfare programme
More recently, Pat and Padraic were invited by Irish Hereford Prime to participate in a pilot welfare programme exploring more sustainable approaches to livestock husbandry. Regular weighing of Hereford calves at different stages is central to the programme. Herdwatch supports this directly — inputting a weight automatically calculates the average daily gain since birth or since the last weigh.
Watch Pat and Padraic’s story
In the video below, Pat and Padraic walk through how Herdwatch fits into the daily running of both their dairy and beef enterprises — from medicine scanning to calf transfers and inspection reports.
You can read more real farmer stories on our farm case studies page.
All reports at the click of a button
For Pat and Padraic, Herdwatch ties together a dual beef and dairy operation — keeping records accurate across two farms, two herds, and two enterprises without any doubling up of effort.
“All in all, Herdwatch has really made farming easier for us. The more you put in, the more you get out — simple as.”
Join Pat, Padraic, and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify compliance, save time on records, and make better decisions every day.