Farm Smart: Make the blue book redundant with Herdwatch

Farmer Case Study

Tipperary suckler farmer Brian Reidy manages an 80-acre weanling enterprise alongside a busy career as a farm nutrition consultant — and relies on Herdwatch to keep the farm running whether he is at home or abroad.

Ballylooby, Co. Tipperary Suckler to Weanling Spring & Autumn Calving Herdwatch for 5 Years

Brian Reidy and his father Pat run a suckler-to-weanling enterprise on 80 acres in Ballylooby, Co. Tipperary. The system is split 50:50 between spring and autumn calving. AI is used in autumn and a stock bull runs with the spring-calving herd. In addition to managing the farm, Brian works off-farm as a farm nutrition consultant. He works mainly with dairy farmers in the south of Ireland and also travels internationally. As a result, having access to farm information from anywhere is not just a convenience — it is essential.

Technology has always been central to how Brian manages both sides of his life. He tries to use as much technology as possible to keep easy access to his information at all times. Herdwatch has been part of that approach for the last number of years.

“Since I started using Herdwatch, the blue book has been made redundant inside in the filing cabinet.”

24/7 access to herd information — at home or abroad

Brian adopted Herdwatch on the farm five years ago. Since then, both he and his father Pat have access to the same account. Brian uses his phone and Pat uses both his phone and an iPad. Consequently, when Brian is away on work, Pat can access all the herd information without needing to make a phone call.

“My father uses the app all the time. If I’m away and he wants to access information, he can see exactly what I can see. He can see when a cow was inseminated and if she’s repeating, for example.”

This shared access has effectively eliminated the communication gap that can arise when one person is off-farm. Furthermore, it means Pat can act on information immediately — rather than waiting to pass on a message or consult a notebook. Even simple questions like which bull to use on a repeating cow are answered straight from the app, without a phone call.

Scanning results are also visible to both. When cows have been scanned at the appropriate time, Brian and Pat can both see which ones are in-calf and whether the calf is likely to be a bull or heifer. In particular, this helps Brian pinpoint cows that may have a more difficult calving ahead.

Breeding season management — the Watchboard and heat detection

Breeding is one of the areas where Herdwatch makes the biggest difference for Brian. The app flags cows that have not come into heat since calving. Once a cow goes past 42 days without bulling, Brian is alerted and can arrange scanning to investigate. Similarly, every AI serve is recorded on the spot as it happens.

“When it comes to breeding, I use the feature that tells me the cows that haven’t come into heat since they calved. Once they’re gone more than 42 days, we look at intervention — I’ll scan those cows to see why they haven’t started bulling.”

In addition, the Watchboard feature is something Brian finds particularly valuable during the breeding season. Notifications appear each day flagging which cows are due their first serve or due to repeat. Moreover, the Watchboard also highlights cows approaching their calving date. This allows Brian to pen them separately in the shed ahead of time.

“The Watchboard feature is very handy because it pinpoints what animals are likely to be repeating — and it also pinpoints the animals closest to calving, so I can pen them separately while they’re inside the shed.”

Remedy recording — scan the barcode and it is done

Recording remedies for Bord Bia inspections used to mean writing everything into the blue book. Since switching to Herdwatch, that process has been replaced entirely. Scanning the barcode on a medicine box extracts all the relevant details automatically. These include the expiry date, withdrawal period, and product information — all straight into the app. Treatments can then be attributed to individual animals or to a batch, as appropriate.

“Recording remedies in Herdwatch is so easy. You simply scan the barcode on the box and that extracts all the relevant information — the expiry date, the withdrawal period — straight onto the app.”

Replacement tag ordering — and ICBF replacement values at a glance

Spotting a missing tag used to mean making a note and dealing with it later. Now, Brian simply opens Herdwatch on the spot. Whether he is walking a field or passing the feed passage in winter, he can order a batch of replacement tags directly through the app. The tags arrive in the post without any further effort.

“When you’re strolling around the field and you see a cow has lost a tag, you can put it into Herdwatch straight away — or if you see it on the feed passage during the winter, you can order a batch of replacement tags through Herdwatch on the spot.”

In addition, Brian highlights a feature that has become particularly useful in recent weeks — the replacement index value now appears at the bottom of each animal’s homepage. As a result, he no longer has to click through to ICBF separately to check the replacement value of his heifers. Everything is visible in one place, instantly.

Brian also gives regular feedback to the Herdwatch customer care team. In his experience, responses are always quick and the team are appreciative of suggestions — viewing farmer input as a way to improve the app for everyone, not just the individual.

Brian uses Herdwatch across all key areas of the farm:

Shared herd access — father and son viewing the same records on any device
Heat detection alerts — cows flagged if not bulling after 42 days
AI recording — serves logged on the spot as they happen
Watchboard — daily reminders for first serves, repeats, and calving dates
Scanning results — in-calf status and bull/heifer visible for each cow
Remedy recording — barcode scan extracts all details automatically
Replacement tag ordering — batch ordered from the field in seconds
ICBF replacement index — visible on each animal’s homepage, no separate login needed
Bord Bia compliance — all records in the app, blue book no longer needed

Watch Brian’s story

In the video below, Brian explains how Herdwatch fits into managing a suckler farm alongside a demanding off-farm career — and why shared access for his father has been one of the standout benefits.

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

Manage your farm from anywhere — and never miss a beat

For Brian, Herdwatch means his father always has the information he needs on farm — and Brian always has it wherever he is. No phone calls. No notebooks or blue books.

“Since I started using Herdwatch, the blue book has been made redundant inside in the filing cabinet.”

Join Brian and over 22,000 farmers using Herdwatch to simplify farm records, improve breeding management, and stay Bord Bia compliant every day.

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