Farm Smart: Louise Crowley’s Time-Saving Strategies for Calving Season
Third-generation dairy farmer Louise Crowley from Croom, Co. Limerick milks 200 cows alongside her father — and has used Herdwatch since 2018 to keep calf registrations accurate, treatments tracked, and records always audit-ready.
Louise Crowley is a third-generation dairy farmer from Croom in County Limerick. She farms alongside her father John on a 200-cow spring-calving dairy operation. Her grandfather started the farm. Her father John continued it. Now Louise is the one driving it forward.
She joined Herdwatch in 2018 on the recommendation of a friend. At the time, she was looking for a simpler way to manage farm records. That recommendation proved to be a turning point.
From Pallaskenry to a 200-cow dairy farm
Louise always wanted to farm full time. As the eldest of three daughters, she was determined to build the skills to make it happen. She enrolled at Pallaskenry Agricultural College — just 20 minutes from home — and completed her training there.
After college, she joined her father in a partnership and set about expanding and improving the farm. That included reseeding land, expanding the herd, and adopting new practices to improve efficiency and sustainability. Technology became a central part of that plan.
Calf registration — done right, done fast
During the Herdwatch team’s visit in January, Louise had already calved 25 cows — including a set of twin heifers. With calving in full swing, speed and accuracy in calf registration are essential.
In the past, Louise admits she would leave registrations and do them in batches later on. That approach, however, led to mistakes. She was tired. Details got missed. As a result, she changed her approach entirely.
Now, as soon as a calf lands, it gets tagged and registered immediately on the app. Each one is done individually. Consequently, records are always accurate and up to date — no catching up, no errors.
Remedy tracking and the Watchboard feature
On the day of the visit, the cow that had the twin heifers was running a slightly high temperature. She needed a two-day course of antibiotics. Louise treated her that morning and recorded everything in Herdwatch straight away.
The farm also uses a whiteboard system to track which cows are out of the tank. However, Louise is clear about its limitations. It can get rubbed off. It is not permanent. The app, by contrast, keeps a reliable record.
In particular, the Watchboard feature acts as a reminder system for upcoming treatments. Nothing gets overlooked — even in the middle of a busy calving season.
Louise uses Herdwatch for all key daily tasks on the dairy farm:
- Calf registration — individual, in real time, at calving
- Remedy scanning and treatment recording
- Withdrawal period tracking per cow
- Watchboard reminders for upcoming treatments
- Performance tracking and farm compliance reports
Watch the full AgVentures episode
In the first ever episode of Adventures with Herdwatch, Casey Shanahan joins Louise on the farm — watching a heifer calve live, tagging and registering calves, and recording a treatment, all in real time.
You can read more real farmer stories on our farm case studies page.
Tag it. Register it. Move on.
For Louise, Herdwatch means no more batch registrations, no more missed treatments, and no last-minute panic before an audit. Everything is done in real time — straight from her phone at the cow’s side.
“The phone and the tagger — the only two things you need.”
Join Louise and over 21,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify calving records, track treatments, and stay on top of compliance all year round.