Farm Smart: Balancing off-farm commitments with an expanding herd in Co. Limerick
Croom, Co. Limerick dairy farmer Louise Crowley milks 150 cows in partnership with her father John — and uses Herdwatch every day to manage calf registrations, animal movements, dosing records, and Bord Bia compliance while juggling a busy life on and off the farm.
Louise Crowley farms in Croom, Co. Limerick alongside her father John, milking 150 spring-calving Friesian cows with plans to expand to 170 next year. Both farm full time, with additional help brought in during the busy calving period. When things ease off on the home farm, Louise works part-time as a relief milker with FRS.
Outside farming, Louise is heavily involved in Macra na Feirme at both club and county level. In addition, she scooped the Queen of the Land award in 2018 and serves as secretary of the local and county vintage club. Time, consequently, is always at a premium.
Technology to support an expanding herd
As the herd grows towards 170 cows, Louise and John have turned to technology to keep pace. Louise first heard about Herdwatch at the National Ploughing Championships. She became more familiar with it through her work with FRS. Now, both she and John are avid users.
Herdwatch is used every day on the farm — several times a day. It covers everything from calf registration and replacement tags to batched dosing and medicine cabinet management.
Calf registration — done before the second tag goes on
During calving season, Herdwatch has transformed how calves are registered on the Crowley farm. Previously, registration was done online on a PC after the event. Now, Louise scans the tag at the calf’s side and the registration is complete before she has even put on the second ear tag.
Animal movements — cert codes in the buyer’s hands before the calves leave the yard
The Crowleys sell most of their calves direct off the farm. Herdwatch has made that process significantly faster. Rather than waiting until after a buyer leaves to deal with the movement cert, Louise completes the movement form while the buyer is still picking their calves. As a result, if the buyer is on Herdwatch or online, they can have the cert accepted before the animals even leave the yard.
Furthermore, the ability to text the movement number directly to the buyer from within the app saves additional time and removes another step from the process entirely.
Dosing in the parlour pit — and no more working out withdrawal dates
Medicine recording is another area where Herdwatch has removed friction from the working day. When Louise buys something at the vet, she scans the code on the product straight away. By the time she gets home, it is already on her system. Moreover, the withdrawal period is tracked automatically — so there is no need to calculate dates manually.
Louise uses Herdwatch daily across the full dairy operation:
- Calf registration — scanned and submitted before the second tag goes on
- Replacement tag ordering — done from the phone on the spot
- Calf weighing — birth weights recorded and monitored against targets
- Animal grouping — batches set up for easier dosing and management
- Batched dosing — remedies attributed to a group in one action
- Animal movements — cert codes issued to buyer in the yard, instantly
- Medicine scanning — purchase recorded at the vet, withdrawal tracked automatically
- Milking withdrawal alerts — notified when a treated cow is eligible to return to tank
You can read more real farmer stories on our farm case studies page.
Used every day — several times a day
For Louise, Herdwatch is not one of many apps on the farm — it is the main one. From the calving shed to the parlour pit, it keeps records accurate, movements instant, and compliance sorted without adding to an already packed day.
“It’s just so much easier to keep track of everything now.”
Join Louise and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify dairy farm records, stay Bord Bia compliant, and make every job on farm faster and easier.