A season to remember
Favourable weather was part of the story, with Lambie noting “a great season so far” thanks to consistent rainfall. But the real game-changer came from optimising animal health and performance, powered by the data and insights from Datamars’ Active Tag technology.
In the past, we've had very mixed results, but with the use of Datamars and some good advice from Ryan Luckman with the Vet Centre in Waimate, we've made a huge improvement.
From calving to conception: A smarter approach
The shift started before calving, with nutrition strategies informed by the data collected by the Active Tag collars. Post-calving, the focus was on lifting rumination rates quickly. One small but impactful change was providing bailage in the paddock for newly calved cows – a move that had an immediate effect.
“That piece of bailage meant that it actually got the cow's rumination rate up straight away.” says Lambie. “When you get your rumination rate up it means their intake is higher, they lose less body condition, and the cows never look back from the date of calving.”
The team monitored for ten days of consistent rumination while cows were milked once a day before integrating them into the main herd – ensuring a robust, ready-to-breed cow at the right time.
Data-powered reproduction gains
Mating success also improved with Active Tag collar generated heat and rumination data. Vet analysis allowed for early intervention with non-cycling cows, lifting conception rates even in those more challenging groups.
“Even with that group of cows we had a 53% success rate in our conception rates, and then a better rate in the second round.” Lambie explains.
So Datamars and the information that comes from it, with the correct analysis, is a phenomenal tool. And we've benefited from it this year with an 81%, 6 week in-calf rate and only 5.6% empties.
Sustainability through precision
Sustainability is an important factor for Lambie when it comes to his farms. With the insights from the Active Tag system, Lambie talks about what this means for his farm’s environmental impact.
“If we're looking at things for climate change (and a whole lot of other things), then one of the key things is actually having really good in-calf rates.” Lambie explains. “If you've got that, you've got choices as to the type of animal you're keeping. It means ultimately, longer term, we can actually start to say, well we could actually keep lace young stock.”
