Farm Smart: Transitioning from playing professional rugby to full-time farming

Farmer Case Study

Former Ireland rugby captain Rory Best swapped the international stage for the family farm near Poyntzpass, Co. Armagh in 2019 — and uses Herdwatch to manage a pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd of 140–150 head alongside his father and brother.

Poyntzpass, Co. Armagh Pedigree Aberdeen Angus 140–150 Head 124 Ireland Caps

Rory Best needs little introduction. After 124 appearances for the Ireland rugby team and a distinguished career with Ulster, he retired in 2019 and returned to what he describes as something he has loved since he was “no-age” — farming. Today, he works alongside his father John and brother Simon on the family farm near Poyntzpass, Co. Armagh, running a pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd of between 140 and 150 head.

“The transition from rugby to full-time farming has been reasonably good. Even during lockdown — which was really difficult for everyone — for me personally, transitioning at that time meant I had no other distractions. It gave me time to readjust and get fully involved in the family enterprise again.”

Rory Best pedigree Aberdeen Angus farmer Poyntzpass Co Armagh Herdwatch

Rory Best on the family farm near Poyntzpass, Co. Armagh.

A pedigree Aberdeen Angus system built around ease of calving

The Bests calve their cows down in March and aim to have the young bulls away by the following July or August. The majority go into dairy herds — a deliberate choice, given that Angus bulls are in strong demand from dairy farmers who want easy-calving genetics.

Fertility and ease of calving are the two priorities that drive everything on the farm. Getting a calf a year from every cow and weaning them at half body weight going into housing is the target. Furthermore, keeping bulls suitable for dairy herds means avoiding any calving difficulties on either side.

Rory Best Aberdeen Angus cattle herd Armagh spring calving Herdwatch records

“Ease of calving is a big thing for us. A lot of our bulls go into the dairy herd — dairy farmers don’t want to be pulling big calves out, and we don’t want that either on our farm.”

Why Rory chose Herdwatch — and how it kept him connected while still playing rugby

Rory started using Herdwatch while he was still playing professional rugby. At that stage, being able to keep an eye on the farm remotely and get jobs done between training sessions and matches was essential. The phone-based approach suited him perfectly.

“I chose to go with Herdwatch because the phone is something you have with you at all times. When I was still playing rugby, I was able to pull the phone out of my pocket and keep in the loop and get jobs done. It’s the simplest way to keep records — you’re not writing on scraps of paper.”

Now that he is farming full time, the same simplicity applies in a different context. Whoever has the phone on the day records whatever needs to be recorded. As a result, nothing gets missed regardless of who is working the farm.

Weight recording — father and son, working together

Weight recording is particularly important on the Best farm, given the focus on live weight gain and producing bulls that perform well in dairy herds. Rory and his father John do this together — one handling the cattle, the other inputting weights into Herdwatch in real time.

“Weight recording is really important for us and the great thing is that my father and I can do it together. When we are weighing our calves, we can input the weights into the app and it gives you the daily live weight gain for each one.”

Calf registration, tagging, and customer support

Calves are registered and tagged straight away on the app — so nothing gets forgotten in the busy calving period. In addition, Rory highlights the support available from the Herdwatch team as one of the standout aspects of the service.

“The calves are registered and tagged straightaway so that we don’t forget about it. If you have any issues you can phone Herdwatch — they can sort it out remotely and talk you through what you need to do. For me, the support you get is invaluable.”

Rory uses Herdwatch for the following tasks on the farm:

Weight recording — daily live weight gain calculated automatically per calf
Calf registration — tagged and registered immediately at birth
Remote farm management — check stock and jobs from anywhere on the phone
Shared farm access — father and son recording from the same account
Customer support — remote assistance available whenever needed

Watch Rory’s story

In the video below, Rory talks through his transition from professional rugby to full-time farming — and how Herdwatch has been part of managing the pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd from day one.

You can read more real farmer stories on our farm case studies page.

The simplest way to keep farm records

For Rory, Herdwatch made it possible to stay connected to the family farm during his final years in professional rugby — and now helps him run a pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd with his father and brother, simply and efficiently.

“Herdwatch has been invaluable in the day-to-day running of the farm.”

Join Rory and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to keep records, track performance, and make every job on farm faster and easier.

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