Staged approach to dairy herd tech paying off for Southland farm

Southland dairy farmers Caleb and Paula Hamill own Hamkee Dairies near Winton, milking 460 cows through a 50-bail rotary on 162ha effective. They began their careers in the sector in 2008, and by 2013 had transitioned into self-employed contract milkers, reaching farm ownership ten years later.

They have been working in stages to build their suite of breeding, milk and animal-health decision making technology. Caleb started with Protrack Draft & Animal, paired it with SenseHub Dairy Collars and then added milk sensors late last season.

“Protrack was a stepping stone to putting other tech on like collars, but you have to have the gate first,” Caleb says.

The Protrack shed automation and the SenseHub Dairy Collars are connected and work together. The automatic drafting system means the team can keep the shed moving while Caleb works elsewhere.

“It’s a known brand, and I can honestly say it hardly misses a cow.”

Milk sensors can read individual cow yield, fat, protein, lactose, blood and conductivity twice a day and alert him to anything moving against its 10-day average. Breeding and feeding calls are then made from that data.

“That animal’s going to be in my herd for 10 years, so whatever decision I make on that breeding day has a 10-year effect.”

Every cow is matched to the right straw based on her production and age, with sexed semen kept for the top performers.

Back in autumn, the system alerted him to two heifers that then tested positive for IBR, and a third with Salmonella.

“Identifying that cow and separating her from the main herd potentially saved an outbreak.”

SenseHub Dairy training specialist for Southland Maigan Sanford says “most farmers only scratch the surface early on of what the system is capable of.”

“It can do a lot, and it often takes multiple seasons for people to realise its full potential,” she says.

Her strongest users are set apart because they keep asking more of the technology.

“As you move through, you start looking for more, so we can start creating more for you.”

“You have to trust the system and go all in.”

Farmers are trained in the tech in person and online. Backup support is available across the board to learn the system, and if something physically or technically goes wrong.

“Most of my guys know that they can text or call me and I’ll jump onto it as soon as I can.”

When the team on the ground isn’t around, the service desk is available from 4am to 7pm.

To watch or listen to Caleb’s story which featured as an episode of CountryWide Connect’s Agritech segment in partnership with SenseHub Dairy click here