Harnessing smart technology at Donald’s Farm – how collars are helping drive smarter farming decisions

At Donald’s Farm, innovation and education go hand-in-hand. For the 74 hectare educational dairy farm, when it came time to enhance efficiency and demonstrate leading-edge technology to visitors, SenseHub® Dairy was the monitoring collar of choice.

Donald’s Farm is a 74-hectare (61 effective) educational dairy farm which is home to around 130 predominantly Jersey cows and 10 Milking Shorthorns. Each year, approximately 35 replacement heifers are reared, alongside 20–30 Jersey bulls that are sold as 100 kg weaners.

Led by General Manager Sam Waugh, the farm operates as a pasture-first system—typically running between System 2 and 3 depending on the season. Sam’s focus extends beyond daily operations to include educational programmes, sponsorship, and community engagement, while Emma Williamson helps to run the farm’s day-to-day operations. Flexibility is key to their success, with in-shed feeding and a herd home allowing the team to respond effectively to seasonal feed shortages.

Moving to Smart Collars

When it came time to enhance efficiency and demonstrate leading-edge technology to visitors, Donalds Farm made the move to install SenseHub® Dairy.

“We wanted to reduce labour pressures and enable a 10-week AB period,” Sam explains. “At the same time, it was important for us to showcase the technology that’s shaping the dairy industry.”

From Uncertainty to Confidence

Initially, Sam was unsure how accurately the collars would detect cows on heat—or how easy the data would be to interpret. Those doubts were quickly dispelled.

“Now that doesn’t even cross my mind,” he says. “The focus has shifted to how we can maximise the value of rumination data all year round.”

Even though the system was installed just three weeks before mating, the team quickly gained confidence in the collars.
“Right from the start, they picked cows better and more consistently than we could,” Sam says.

Training and Support

Training was concise but comprehensive.

“It was fast-paced, but it set us up well,” Sam says. “The training folder was particularly helpful for navigating the different system components.” Support from their vet has also been key in helping them achieve their goals.

Delivering on Key Objectives

The benefits of the system have been clear in two main areas:

• Heat detection: The collars’ consistency has had a major impact on mating results, helping Donalds Farm achieve a tighter calving spread through a 10-week mating window and easily include the use of short-gestation semen at the end of the mating period.
• Rumination monitoring: By closely tracking rumination data, the team can fine-tune feeding levels and identify potential issues early, improving both cow health and productivity.

This season, they’ve even built new metrics into their system: cows remain on once-a-day milking after calving until they reach 400 minutes per day of rumination, before moving to twice-a-day milking.

Everyday Impact

Checking the system has become part of the daily routine.

“We always take a quick look before each milking,” Sam says. “During calving, it’s even more valuable—we monitor rumination daily to track recovery.”

The technology has also given the team more flexibility.

“Having collars means any staff member can draft cows for AB,” Sam explains. “It’s freed up my time to focus on other parts of the business-like cropping and our education programmes.”

Fine-tuning for Performance

While the collars haven’t necessarily prevented major issues, they have helped the team make small adjustments with big payoffs.

Looking Ahead

Sam sees only positive outcomes from adopting technology like SenseHub Dairy monitoring.

“There’s a wealth of information in the system,” he says. “Learning to report and interpret it better will help us keep improving cow and farm performance.”

His advice for other farmers considering collars?