At first, dairy producer James Vander Waal was hesitant. He’d learned of SenseHub Dairy Youngstock monitoring and was intrigued by the possibilities but wasn’t sure he’d see enough return on investment at his 1,600-cow operation in Iowa. Then his calf feeder quit and he needed a new way to manage 350-plus calves. He gave SenseHub Dairy Youngstock monitoring a longer look and saw a technology that could open up profitable opportunities in a number of areas.
“Calves are worth more today than they have been in a long time, so calf care is extremely important,” Vander Waal said. “And when my calf feeder quit, it just made sense to give it a try.”
He now views his circumstances as a blessing in disguise. SenseHub Dairy Youngstock tags will monitor calves 24/7 after the first 27 hours of life, which delivers clear health benefits to the animals and labor efficiencies on farm. But it’s the shift in overall timing that Vander Waal enjoys the most. He feels now like he’s playing offense more than defense, and seeing better results for it.
“The tags are able to catch calves about two days earlier than I would through visual observation,” Vander Waal said. “Before the Youngstock tags, it was always a lagging thing. You were always a bit behind. With this technology, you can see the bigger picture and each individual calf’s health every day.”
Catching issues quicker
For calves especially, timing is paramount. The longer an issue lingers, the more likely the calf will be impacted further down the line.
SenseHub Dairy Youngstock monitoring improves care for the most vulnerable group on the farm by detecting animals that need attention before clinical signs of disease become visible. For producer Travis Hooker, the difference has been obvious at Diamond H Dairy in California. With 5,500 cows in the milking herd and 800-plus calves, any edge can pay off in multitudes.
“You notice certain things you wouldn’t have noticed before,” Hooker said. “We’re catching pneumonia or scours or whatever it is earlier. Even a really good [calf manager] who’s on top of it all the time will miss some of these because people make mistakes.”
When you can detect quicker and act faster, you see benefits immediately — and throughout the calf’s life.
“We have a lot less chronic calves,” Hooker said. “Way fewer calves that get treated and treated but never get better.”
Employee efficiencies
Every morning after feeding the calves, Vander Waal prints a health report and systematically walks the pens, looking for the LED light on the ear tag that signals a calf is showing abnormal behavior. This process ensures that only the calves needing attention are closely monitored, while the rest are left in peace.
“It’s not easy going through 350-plus calves and assessing each of them in a timely manner,” Vander Waal said. “Now, I’m able to give an employee a list and treatment plan, and it takes judgment calls out of the process.”
Hooker said it’s made employee training easier — vital in today’s labor environment.
“Instead of looking at 800 calves, we’re looking at 30, 40 that are on the list every day,” Hooker said. “It’s super efficient, super quick. We just look for the lights and treat what needs to be treated.”
Final verdict
So would Vander Waal and Hooker recommend SenseHub Dairy Youngstock to other producers? Hear it in their own words.
“Having a good replacement program is the life of your dairy,” Hooker said. “In two years those cows are the ones you are going to be milking so you want to make sure those cows have the healthiest upbringing they possibly can.”
“What I would say to someone else is these tags don’t just monitor the calves, they can help you determine when something is going on, on the farm,” Vander Waal said. “Whether it’s something in the colostrum phase or in the milk feeding, you’ll know if something’s changed.”
See how SenseHub Dairy Youngstock establishes long-term performance right from the beginning by treating calves sooner and preventing recurrence at SenseHub-Dairy.com.
