Ian Powell

Harnessing Technology for Smarter Dairy Farming

Ian Powell, a dedicated dairy farmer in Inglewood, New Zealand, runs a 120-hectare farm with 350 cows and a grazing system. When he decided to integrate Nedap CowControl into his operation, the installation process turned out to be surprisingly straightforward. “Getting the Starlink to the cow shed was harder than actually the process of getting CowControl working,” Ian recalls. The real game-changer, however, was the support he received from Nedap. “The support that we received from Jan at Nedap was really good in terms of teaching us and making the thing work as well as it could.”

From Guesswork to Data-Driven Decisions

One of the biggest revelations for Ian and his team was how Nedap CowControl transformed their approach to health monitoring. Initially, they focused less on heat detection and soon faced an unexpected challenge—an increase in lameness among their cows. “We had a lot of cows come up lame. It wasn’t until then that we really discovered that we could use CowControl to pull our lame cows out a couple of days before we were pulling them out previously.”

By relying on CowControl’s health insights, Ian was able to detect health issues earlier, keeping his cows healthier and in production for longer. “In terms of animal health, it is really beneficial. Just more milk for longer.” The system fits seamlessly into his daily routine—once the cows return to the shed, he quickly reviews CowControl data to identify any cows needing attention. This proactive approach has significantly improved herd management and efficiency.

Boosting Reproduction Efficiency with Reliable Heat Detection

Before adopting CowControl, Ian had concerns about using technology for reproduction management, especially in a herd of large animals. However, those worries quickly disappeared. “I had this perception in my head that as soon as I put technology near animals, especially animals the size of cows, we would be having trouble with it. We were checking them every single day through mating, and every single collar was reading, and it just works.”

Pre-mating, which used to be a labor-intensive process requiring three weeks of visual monitoring, has now been simplified. “Being able to look back in terms of what’s happened over those three weeks without actually doing it gives us another chance for, let’s say, a break, in the looser sense of the word.” With CowControl handling heat detection, Ian and his team can focus on other critical tasks while maintaining optimal reproductive performance.

Empowering Staff and Achieving Work-Life Balance

One of the biggest advantages Ian has seen with CowControl is how it has boosted staff confidence and decision-making. “The biggest benefit of CowControl powered by Nedap with staff is that it gives them the confidence in their decision-making, because previously, they would’ve not had the confidence of whether this cow is sick. Whereas now they just look on the software and it helps them to make the right decision.”

For Ian, it also means he can trust his team to run the farm without him always being present. “Nedap CowControl gives me the confidence to leave my team to continue to function without me. This gives me the work-life balance that I’m trying to achieve.” A key moment that highlighted this newfound flexibility was when Ian attended his wife’s graduation in Wellington. “Because of CowControl, I was able to commit to attending an event in Wellington for my wife’s graduation, which I would have constantly struggled with and more than likely stressed about what was happening at home while I wasn’t there.”

In a time when labor shortages in agriculture are a growing concern, Ian sees technology as a way to attract and retain staff. “Both of my staff have got less than four years’ experience, and I’ve got the confidence to go away and know that because they know how the technology works, they can just do exactly what I would do if I was here.”

A More Sustainable and Flexible Future

Before CowControl, Ian felt tied to the farm from mid-July through December due to the demands of insemination. Now, with an efficient heat detection system in place, he feels confident extending the breeding period and maintaining high productivity without compromising his ability to step away when needed. “That flexibility that I’ve got enables me to go off and do other things.”

For Ian, this shift is about more than just convenience—it’s also a matter of well-being. “In the environment that we’ve got, where some mental health issues for farmers are becoming more and more, having that flexibility to just go, ‘Righto, we’re going away for a weekend,’ and being able to get that balance is really important to us.”

With Nedap CowControl, Ian Powell has found the perfect balance between innovation and tradition, improving herd health, increasing efficiency, and achieving a work-life balance that once seemed impossible. “CowControl has taken a lot of that stress out, so it’s sort of given us the ability to have the balance that we get for the second half of the season, the whole year round.”