The fact you're working off-farm, how do you manage detecting cows in heat?

It can be a big misconception, I suppose, that AI isn't practical if you're working off-farm.

I suppose, to be honest, if we relied on watching cows for heat every morning and evening, it probably wouldn't work.

That's why we were using fixed time AI synchronization programs.

So the first thing I do each year is ring my AI technician Dermot and find out when he's available.

Once we have that data agreed, everything else works backwards from there.

The aim is to have both the cows and the replacement heifers ready to be inseminated on the same evening, which keeps the whole breeding season organized.

What changes from all that you've mentioned today do you think have made the most impact from a labour point of view, particularly when you're working on a farm?