Farm Smart: Suckler farmer’s wife leaves the Blue Book behind and opts for Herdwatch.
Templemore, Co. Tipperary suckler farmers Mary and Pat Scanlan signed up to Herdwatch at the National Ploughing Championships four years ago — and have not looked back since. The blue book has not been opened since.
Mary Scanlan and her husband Pat run a suckler farm in Barnane, Templemore, Co. Tipperary with a herd of between 30 and 35 cows. Their three children — Michael, Patrick, and Catherine — have all left the family home but return to help out when needed. For years, Mary handled all the farm paperwork herself. It was time-consuming and relentless. After hearing about Herdwatch through the grapevine, she finally signed up at the National Ploughing Championships.
The blue book — retired after four years
Before Herdwatch, everything on the Scanlan farm was recorded by hand. The blue book was the centre of all the farm’s records — animal movements, purchases, sales, remedies. As a result, finding anything meant physically searching through it. Since joining Herdwatch, however, that book has not been opened. Everything is now recorded through the app and retrieved with a single click.
Inspections — everything printed in seconds, no scrambling
Inspection time used to mean searching through paperwork and trying to piece records together. Now, because Mary records everything on the day it happens, all the information is already in the app when the inspector arrives. Furthermore, generating the reports takes a matter of seconds. Consequently, there is no preparation required in advance and no stress on the day.
Calf registration — no more cards driving around in the car
Before Herdwatch, calf registration involved filling out a physical card and keeping hold of it until it was submitted. In practice, that often meant the card sitting in the car for days — or longer. Now, however, Mary registers each calf through the app on the day it is born. The record is done immediately and there is nothing to chase up afterwards.
Mary has since recommended Herdwatch to neighbours and believes it is something every farmer should invest in. In her view, the combination of ease, accuracy, and compliance readiness makes it worth it regardless of herd size.
Mary and Pat use Herdwatch for the following on the farm:
- Remedy recording — logged on the day, replaced the blue book entirely
- Animal purchases and sales — all movements recorded in the app
- Calf registration — completed on the day of birth, no physical cards
- Inspection reports — printed in seconds, no advance preparation needed
- Day-to-day herd information — accessible instantly on the phone
You can read more real farmer stories on our farm case studies page.
The blue book is in the filing cabinet — for good
For Mary and Pat, Herdwatch replaced years of handwritten records with something that takes seconds to enter and seconds to find — whether it is a remedy record, a calf registration, or an inspection report.
“Every farmer should invest in it — it makes everything on the farm that bit easier to do.”
Join Mary, Pat, and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify suckler farm records, stay compliant, and make inspection time stress-free.