Nathan Down & Beverley Cock – GFC Farms (Fardel Manor)

Why did you choose Datamars?

We wanted a system that covered all the bases, herd weighing, heat detection, health alerts and automated drafting  all working together in one place.

Running a smaller parlour and drafting cows by hand was doable, but it was frustrating and time consuming. Having these systems integrated has massively simplified the job and removed a lot of the daily pressure.

 

Installation & First Impressions of the Datamars Tru-Test system?

The installation process of our Datamars Tru-Test system was smooth from start to finish, and the backup and support from Datamars has been second to none.

The app is very easy to use alongside the web platform and gives me a simple but powerful way to make management decisions quickly which is important when time is limited on farm.

 

Walk-Over Weigher

The walk-over weigh scale is already starting to build valuable data that will help with management and culling decisions.

With the size of our herd and the type of cows we run, cull cow weights and sale prices are an important part of the business. The system allows us to identify the lowest performing cows quickly without the need to manually weigh them.

We can now easily identify the bottom percentage of the herd and make better decisions around culling and feeding strategies. During grazing we will use the system to identify lighter cows and manage them differently to improve average daily gain, while also monitoring how changes in feed and nutrition affect the herd day-to-day.

 

Heat Detection

Since installing the Datamars Tru-Test collars our semen usage has dropped dramatically.

Previously, we relied on staff identifying potential bulling cows and I would then have to sort through them myself to decide which ones were actually ready to serve. Often only 10–25% of those cows were worth thawing a straw of semen for.

At first I was watching the cows closely to try and beat the system  not because I didn’t trust it, but because I wanted to make sure the technology was protecting the business. It didn’t take long before I realised the system was picking heats just as well as I could.

Scratch cards can be unreliable, especially during spring block calving when weather conditions cause cows to bunch together and tail swishing or general activity can give false signals.

Going into this spring, it’s a huge relief knowing the system will identify cows truly in heat and automatically draft them when they are ready.

 

Health Monitoring

The health alerts have already proven their value.

Recently the system alerted me to two cows showing early signs of E. coli mastitis. Because the alert came early, I was able to draft the cows straight away, identify the problem quickly and treat them before my team would have spotted the issue during milking or daily checks.

By the following morning the health trend was already improving and both cows were on the road to recovery.

Having this kind of early warning is extremely valuable, especially when staff may not always have the experience to spot these issues immediately.

The system also allows me to communicate clearly with the team about which cows need attention, which gives me more time to focus on wider farm management and spend time with my family.

 

Drafting Gate

The drafting gate has been extremely impressive.

The Datamars team recommended introducing the cows gradually over a few weeks, but we decided to test it straight away. On the first day we selected 97 cows for foot trimming  the gate drafted 96 of them correctly.

That gave us a lot of confidence straight away.

This spring we will be using the auto-segmentation function to draft cows at the correct breeding window, which should save a huge amount of time and improve the accuracy of inseminations.

Setting up the racework correctly was important, and the Datamars team helped guide us through that. We also installed the walk-over weigher after the gate and invested in new concrete and stock boarding to improve cow flow.

That investment has paid off with how smoothly the cows now move through both the drafting gate and weigh system.

 

Overall Impact

The Datamars system will be a real game-changer for the business.

We expect to spend less money on labour and semen, while also making more accurate management decisions across the herd.

The technology has been consistently reliable and the ongoing support from Datamars gives us confidence that the partnership will continue to work well going forward.

For us, this is a huge step forward in cow management and something we are genuinely excited about for the future of the farm.

 

If you would like to learn more about our Smart Farming technology & how you can save £1000’s on it with English grants, get in touch with the form below.