{"id":8126,"date":"2019-11-23T16:34:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-23T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herdwatch.com\/removing-the-paperwork-on-this-260-head-finishing-unit-in-co-derry\/"},"modified":"2019-11-23T16:34:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-23T16:34:00","slug":"removing-the-paperwork-on-this-260-head-finishing-unit-in-co-derry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herdwatch.com\/en-ie\/removing-the-paperwork-on-this-260-head-finishing-unit-in-co-derry\/","title":{"rendered":"Removing the paperwork on this 260-head finishing unit in Co. Derry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Farming in Dungiven, Co Derry, Derek and Jennifer Glenn run a beef finishing operation on approximately 200ac of land, bringing Limousin, Charolais and Aberdeen Angus heifers and bulls through to slaughter at\u00a024-26 months-of-age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The husband-and-wife team run approximately 280-300 head of cattle on average and the pair finished 260 head in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cBoth of us farm together. I work full-time managing an agricultural co-op where my day-to-day work would be involved in nutrition, soil fertility and fertiliser,\u201d Derek explained. \u201cI work on farm at the weekends and evenings; Jennifer is on the farm \u2013 full-time, five days\/week,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up until recently, the farm was home to 70 suckler cows and 100 ewes. However, these suckler cows and ewes have since been phased out; the Glenns replaced the 100 ewes with 100 ewe lambs which graze over the winter and are sold as hoggets in August\/September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Cattle are sold to the Foyle Food Group \u2013 their local factory \u2013 with some of the Aberdeen Angus beef sold on to the large supermarket chain, Tesco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Currently, the Glenn\u2019s focus is on buying in weanlings from one or two local marts for the beef finishing enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe are buying in weanlings at six-to-12 months weighing 300-350kg; we buy them in from local marts that we visit twice a week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Based on factory specifications, both Derek and Jennifer aim for a carcass weight of 340-350kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThat\u2019s what the factory is looking for, so that\u2019s what our goals are,\u201d Derek noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Attention to detail is of the upmost importance for the Glenn family. Once cattle are sourced from the local marts, they are housed in well-ventilated units and allowed to settle into their new surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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During their stay on the farm, cattle are fed different diets depending on the production stage, with grazed grass also included in the feeding system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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When it comes to the formulation of rations, this is carried out by Derek himself at Clonleigh Co-op, Co. Donegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Making Changes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The farming duo have implemented a number of changes on their farm over the past two years, with the aim of improving the efficiency levels on the farm. Firstly, \u2018tip-over\u2019 drinkers were installed \u2013 which can be cleaned easily \u2013 and ensure that the animals always have access to fresh, clean water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Secondly, an updated weighing system was introduced. All cattle are weighed coming off grass, at housing, before they are pushed on and at regular times during the finishing period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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By doing so, they can identify any issues with average daily gain (ADG) early on, and they can produce an animal as per factory specifications, without getting penalised for overweight cattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Glenns also turned to technology to improve efficiency, which also made the day-to-day running of the farm a lot easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Specifically, the introduction of the Herdwatch App has been a game changer for the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe were interested in something to bring some technology to the farm to try and record what we are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe were fed up of writing in books and writing on bits of paper. We were looking for an app specifically for what we do \u2013 finishing cattle, weighing cattle and dosing especially,\u201d Derek explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Herdwatch app suited the needs of Derek and Jennifer thoroughly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Picking up on the story, Jennifer said: \u201cHerdwatch is great for farm inspections. Rather than the old paper-based system \u2013 where we had to write everything down \u2013 we can now do a report from whatever date.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Derek outlined: \u201cFor our last farm quality assurance inspection, we didn\u2019t use any paper; we used our tablet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThe inspector came round and inspected all the cattle and then asked us for our medical records \u2013 instead of us looking for a pile of paper and books, we just handed him the tablet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cHe was very impressed; it was the first time he had seen it working on-farm,\u201d the Dungiven-based farmer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The duo also noted that their medicine book is always up-to-date, as when cattle are dosed or treated, the information can be entered into a smart phone or tablet as the job is carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cOn the way home from the vets, we will scan the medicine and it will be in our medicine cabinet on the Herdwatch App.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIf we are injecting an animal with 20ml out of a 100ml bottle, Herdwatch will then deduct the amount and have 80ml left in the bottle,\u201d Jennifer noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Derek explained that the withdrawal period is also recorded and the given timeframe will be assigned to the specific animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Glenns also enter the weight and purchase price into the Herdwatch App when the animals are sourced. Therefore, the weight and the performance of each individual animal can be tracked from the day it arrives on the farm to the day it is slaughtered, removing the need for additional paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Also, when feed is delivered into the yard, the details from the delivery docket are entered into the Herdwatch App, recording the batch numbers accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Both Derek and Jennifer highlighted that the notification function on \u2018the Watchboard\u2019 is a great addition to the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe get a notification every morning on \u2018Watchboard\u2019 of the cattle that are coming close to slaughter; it will start notifying us at 28 months, giving us time to pick out the cattle and get them away on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe have found the Herdwatch customer care team very helpful. When we were starting to use the app, we found little bits of the app that we thought should have been there that suited our system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe contacted the team and they did their very best to add the bits we thought would help us, which they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cSo, we are very impressed with that,\u201d Derek concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Try it Yourself for FREE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Herdwatch is fully compliant with Bord Bia and EU quality assurance standards and allows farmers to register calves and manage cattle movements on their phone. It is fully integrated with ICBF so farmers can see their breeding, milk records and EBI\/Eurostar information on Herdwatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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You too can join Judy and over 13,000 happy farmers saving time on farm paperwork and managing their farms more efficiently for FREE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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