Smarter Farming, Stronger Results: Hole Farm’s Journey with Datamars

 

Located in the picturesque countryside in North Cornwall just outside of Launceston in Egloskerry on the Penheale Estate,  Hole Farm is an organic 1,200-acre, autumn calving dairy farm and has been part of the Carswell Group for over 14 years.

The farm is managed by Matt and Charlotte Norton and is home to 540 low-input grazing Kiwicross cows. To support the herd and improve efficiency, Hole Farm has invested in Tru-Test smart farming collars and a drafting gate. This technology has transformed herd management, delivering accurate heat detection, streamlining cow flow, and ensuring timely interventions that directly contribute to better breeding and calving performance.

Decision to Upgrade

Speaking from Hole Farm, Matt reflected on the insight and decision behind investing in the Datamars Tru-Test Active Tag Collars and Drafter.

“The team on the farm, including myself and Charlotte, were completely new to this herd in 2024, which needed some TLC to make things run more efficiently. After having a long discussion with the business owner, it was a group decision to upgrade the farm with the Datamars, Active tag heat and health monitoring system and drafting gate.”

Time Saved

Matt explained that the system has already freed up valuable time which can now be spent on other areas of herd management

“Having the drafting gate and collar system, this meant not having to focus on tail paint and scratch cards and spending time looking for bulling cows.  Allowing us much more time to focus on management and other areas in the herd to improve, as lameness was a key area. This saved me around 6 hours per day! The data we see within the app has been dependable, so much so that now we trust the system fully and allow the gate and the collars to pick the cows out for us to AI and check for health issues. We spent a lot of time at the beginning, making sure that we did night checks, writing down what we saw, and the system always found the same results”

 

 

Support that Delivers

Acknowledging the importance of support when adopting new technology, Matt also praised the service received.

“Backup and after sales service has been excellent. There is always someone at the end of the phone who is able to help if something doesn’t seem right. The small tweaks to get the drafting gate to 99% read rate took a minimal amount of time and we are very pleased with the way it has run this past season.”

With the success of the installation and the initial first calving Matt is looking to a bright and productive calving for 2025, he explained:

“In 2025, after having the Datamars system in for 12 months, we are now expecting 530 to calve in 12 weeks.

In the first 6 weeks gone from 205 to 343 to calve. That’s a 67% increase in previous breeding season figures!  By bringing this amount of cows forward into the first 6 weeks, we are putting another 58,000l in the tank, this is a significant increase to the farm, over £30,000 at today’s prices.”

Health Alerts and Wellbeing

Alongside the production gains, Matt highlighted the reassurance the system provides through accurate health and heat alerts.

“If a cow has flagged in the health alerts, or we notice her not looking her best, we can refer to the Datamars App to confirm our thoughts and these almost always align and help us with our decision on how to treat that animal. These health alerts have been key in helping us to get on top of lameness, which had previously been a concern.”

Looking Ahead

The investment in Datamars technology has not only saved the team significant time but also delivered measurable improvements in breeding, calving performance, and herd health. For Matt and Charlotte, this has meant more hours to focus on managing the wider herd and addressing key priorities such as lameness. For the farm, it has translated into earlier calving’s, higher milk output, and a clear financial gain.

By combining accurate data with practical day-to-day management, Hole Farm is already seeing the benefits. With stronger calving results in 2024, a healthier, more efficiently managed herd, and a system they trust, the outlook for 2025 and beyond is bright for this 1,200-acre organic dairy farm.