CENSORTEC has been the main supplier of Nedap’s activity monitoring technology in Ireland since their establishment in 2017.
In the intervening 8 years, they have become Ireland’s leading supplier of cow collars.
Recently, they caught up with some of its longest-standing customers and found out how the technology has improved their lives.
PJ O’Donoghue
PJ O’Donoghue farms in Co. Cork and has valued the peace of mind that the collars have brought him since he installed the system in 2017.
‘We have collars that are constantly monitoring our cows, so we have the peace of mind that someone is always looking after the cows and ready to tell us any problems. If you’re away in any part of the world you can look at your app and see what’s going on and call back and say ‘Hey, would you mind looking at this cow?’, and that gives great peace of mind to both the owner and the person coming in to help out,’ explains PJ.
PJ installed the Censortec collars in 2017 and trusts the system completely.
‘It’s so accurate and reliable. I haven’t had any problems in the 8 years since I installed the collars, and they’re still functioning perfectly,’ PJ continues. ‘Cow welfare has definitely improved since we started using the collars, but you know, farmer welfare has improved too, and that’s what it’s all about,’ he laughs.
Dick O’Neill
Dick O’Neill, who milks 260 cows with his son Eoghan in Co. Cork, installed the collars in 2018.
‘It’s an extra pair of eyes on the cows, and you can’t possibly watch everything all the time. That’s not necessarily just during the breeding season. That can be from the health point of view all year round. It’s given us a lot more freedom in how we farm.’
Noel Griffin
In 2021, Noel Griffin decided to go with Censortec collars.
‘The cow collars improve my quality of life by taking the workload off me completely. It’s like having two men working for you, one at night and one during the day. The cows are being watched the whole time, making farming a lot simpler,’ says Noel.
Noel finds that the collars have given him a much better quality of life on and off the farm.
‘It also gives you more time for other things in life,’ continues Noel. ‘Farming will take every hour you give it, but you must know when to stop and enjoy, and Censortec helps take the pressure off. I recommend collars to anyone; it just takes the hardship out of farming and is worth every euro!’
Declan Flynn
In Limerick, Declan Flynn became a Censortec customer in 2021.
When speaking of why, he says, ‘It’s made everything far simpler. You can take more time off and entrust someone else to read the information from Censortec because they can read a tool and draft the cows. So, you don’t have to be there for 12 weeks of breeding yourself.’
Censortec, based in Co. Kerry, have a dedicated team. Sales are led by Donagh Crowley, with technical support from Sean Crowley and Andrew Helen.
Padraig Kelly, Eric Kelly and Michael Lyons carry out installations.
Rachel Cooper has just joined the team as a Farm Support Specialist to help farmers get the most out of their collars.
Rachel grew up on a dairy farm in Co. Cork, where she still regularly helps out.
She’s also a recent graduate of UCC’s Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree.
Censortec is the agent for Nedap cow monitoring technology in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Censortec has been supplying Nedap SmartTags since 2017 and has a long-established relationship with Nedap.
Nedap is based in Groenlo, Netherlands.
They are the global leader in heat detection and health monitoring, having been monitoring dairy animals for over 40 years, with nearly six million cows wearing Nedap collars.
Using the latest technology, cows are monitored 24/7. Data from the neck collars can be accessed via a phone, laptop, or tablet, giving farmers complete visibility of their herd.
To find out more, visit censortec.com.
You can also contact the Censortec team at 066-9713000
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