Farm Smart: Saving time on farm paperwork in Kanturk

Farmer Case Study

North Cork Creameries suppliers Donal Lehane and Thomas McAuliffe milk 100 pedigree Holsteins in Kanturk — and use Herdwatch to manage breeding, derogation records, selective dry cow therapy, and compliance, all from the yard.

Kanturk, Co. Cork 100 Pedigree Holsteins Spring Calving North Cork Creameries

Donal Lehane and Thomas McAuliffe farm 51 hectares in Kanturk, Co. Cork — 40 at home and 11 on outside ground. They supply North Cork Creameries and run a spring-calving system with 100 pedigree Holsteins. Breeding has always been a priority on the farm. In addition, they have been milk recording for over 30 years.

Before Herdwatch, all the paperwork fell to Donal’s wife Maura. Calf registrations, Bord Bia records, dry-off management — she handled it all, and handled it well. However, as the workload grew, evenings were increasingly spent in front of the computer trying to keep on top of it. Thomas spotted an opportunity to change that.

“I thought to myself — if I had the right tool in place, I could have a lot of this done walking around the yard with the phone in my hand.”

A reluctant start — and the easiest sign-up they’d ever done

Donal was not immediately convinced. He assumed signing up to Herdwatch would be complicated. Furthermore, Maura took genuine pride in the paperwork she managed — particularly calf registrations, which she was very good at. Changing that system felt like a risk.

Once Donal agreed to give it a go, however, the reality turned out to be very different from what he had expected.

“Getting up and running with Herdwatch was extremely easy. We signed up at the kitchen table in a few minutes one day. To be honest, the hardest part of getting set up was finding the bank card to make the payment!”

Since then, Donal and Thomas use Herdwatch to record all remedies, treatments, and feed purchases on the go. As a result, the evenings that used to be spent chasing paperwork are now largely free.

Breeding, milk records, and selective dry cow therapy

With a long history of milk recording and a strong interest in genetics, breeding management is central to how the farm operates. Herdwatch handles their pedigree registrations, breeding records including serves and scans, and ICBF sync — all in one place. In addition, milk recording results come through to the app directly, making dry-off management decisions in the parlour more straightforward.

“We get our milk records in the Herdwatch app, which is very handy for making dry-off management decisions in the parlour. We do selective dry cow therapy, so having all that information in one place is really useful.”

Derogation and feed tracking — staying in control year round

Because the farm is in nitrates derogation, concentrate usage has to be carefully monitored throughout the year. Thomas records every feed purchase in Herdwatch as it happens. Consequently, he always has an accurate picture of how much has been used — rather than discovering a problem at the end of the season.

“Because we’re in derogation, we’re conscious of our ration usage. Every time I purchase feed, I record it on Herdwatch for our own records — it allows me to keep track of it. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself feeding quite a high level of concentrate without even realising how much you bought.”

Replacement tags — ordered from the yard in seconds

Previously, spotting a cow with a missing tag meant making a list and bringing it back to Maura to order later. Now, Thomas pulls out his phone on the spot and the order goes directly to their tag supplier through Herdwatch. The tag arrives in the post within days — no list, no delay.

“If I see a cow in the yard with a missing tag, I can just pull out the phone and order the tags from our tag supplier on the spot with Herdwatch in a few seconds.”

Quality Assurance inspections — ready before the auditor arrives

Bord Bia preparation used to involve going back through notes jotted during the year and vet receipts — essentially depending on memory to backfill the records. It was time-consuming and not always accurate. Now, because every medicine purchase and treatment is recorded at the time it happens, all the reports are already there when the inspector calls.

“In the past, we’d be going back on notes we jotted down during the year and vet receipts — almost depending on memory to backfill the records. But now with Herdwatch in my pocket, a medicine purchase is recorded when it’s bought and treatments are recorded on the spot.”

Donal and Thomas use Herdwatch daily across the full operation:

Remedy, treatment and feed purchases — recorded at the point of purchase
Calf registration — with the Department and pedigree registrations
Breeding records — serves, scans, and ICBF sync
Milk recording results — accessible in the app for dry-off decisions
Derogation feed tracking — every purchase logged to monitor ration usage
Replacement tag ordering — done from the yard in seconds
Bord Bia reports — generated instantly, no preparation needed

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

Done walking around the yard — not sitting at a computer

For Donal and Thomas, Herdwatch has shifted farm records from the kitchen table in the evening to the yard during the working day — making compliance, breeding, and derogation management all faster, more accurate, and far less stressful.

“The hardest part of getting set up with Herdwatch was finding the bank card to make the payment.”

Join Donal, Thomas, and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify farm records and make better decisions every day.

Download the Free App Request an Instant Quote