One of the most powerful tools on any dairy farm is now the smartphone. Dairy farms produce lots of data, e.g. milk yield, milk protein, milk fat, cell count, and it’s not just total figures. Milk recording means we have this info for every cow every 6 weeks.

Add to that calving details, breeding details, both planned and actual dates, then any vaccines, and/or illness. There is also EBI details and ancestry details for each animal.

It’s easy to see how farmers could get buried under a heap of paper any day we open the door of the farm office! Did I forget to mention the grass records that are done weekly too?

To keep on top of all this, a little computer sits neatly in the corner and, as much as possible, I like to keep things as up to date as I can and the computer has software from Agrinet to help. And a new feature is a smartphone link-up on which I can record events, but what is really handy to me anyway is the ability to look up information any time any place.

A few weeks ago while out measuring the grass with the help of my Teagasc advisor, we stopped in the field to admire the cows and we happened across one cow still with red tail paint, so what’s her story I was asked?

Instantly I was able to say not bulled and no pre-service heat notice (that is what red paint means). However, one quick look through my phone and I could recite calving date and difficulty, milk yield and components from milk recording, any illness over the cow’s entire lifetime, along with any weight recording, cow’s sire and dam and grand sire. Upon being asked about the sire I looked up icbf.com and had every conceivable detail you could imagine pretty much instantly and while standing in middle of paddock.

The grass is growing really well at 89kg/day demand is 51 so I am skipping paddocks to try to keep cover per cow to about 170 - 180.

A few dry days are badly needed so I can bale up the surplus now and get it back into the rotation. I don't have a mower and don't do any topping so this is the only chance I have to remove any dead material or excess butt on the sward.