Farm Smart: Less Farm Paperwork Leads to A More Harmonious Marriage
Farmer’s wife Rosie lives and works on a 66-cow dairy farm — and says Herdwatch has not just transformed the paperwork, it has given her a more harmonious marriage.
Rosie knows farming life from the inside. Living on a dairy farm and milking 66 cows, she has always been closely involved in the day-to-day running of the operation — particularly the paperwork side. In 2016, she and her husband came across an advert for Herdwatch in the Farmers Journal. They decided to give it a go. As Rosie puts it, they had nothing to lose.
Life before Herdwatch — great fun, apparently
Rosie is candid about what life was like before the app. Paperwork was a persistent source of stress in the household. Getting her husband to bring in dosing containers so she could write everything down was a battle. Registering calves meant sitting down at the laptop every few days and hoping no mistakes had been made. Furthermore, if something was entered incorrectly, they had to start again from scratch.
A more harmonious marriage — and calves registered in minutes
Herdwatch has not changed how they farm. However, it has significantly changed the atmosphere around the paperwork. The arguments that used to come with it have largely disappeared. As a result, Rosie describes the household as considerably more harmonious since they signed up.
Calf registration is now done immediately. As soon as her husband tags a calf, he gets out his phone and registers it on the spot. Consequently, there are no missed registrations and no late-night laptop sessions to catch up.
Dosing records have also changed. Previously, recording treatments was often left until the last minute — sometimes only a few hours before a Bord Bia inspection. Now, dosing goes into the app straight away. Moreover, the fear of an inspection arriving before the records are in order is gone entirely.
For Rosie and her husband, Herdwatch has delivered the following on the dairy farm:
- Calf registration — done on the phone the moment the tag goes on
- Dosing records — entered straight away, no more last-minute panic
- Bord Bia compliance — records ready without any advance preparation
- Less household stress — paperwork no longer a source of arguments
You can read more real farmer stories on our farm case studies page.
For a more harmonious marriage — try Herdwatch
For Rosie, Herdwatch did not change the farming — it changed everything around the farming. Less stress, less paperwork, and a lot fewer arguments about dosing containers.
“Although Herdwatch has not changed the way in which we farm, it has definitely saved time on the paperwork — and the arguments that come with it.”
Join Rosie and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify dairy farm records, stay Bord Bia compliant, and make every day on farm a little easier.