Wearable technology generates a huge amount of information on modern dairy farms, but turning that data into practical management decisions can be challenging.
During the 2025-26 season, one of VetSouth’s Southland dairy farms used data derived from their wearables and the CowSmart service to monitor transition performance, cow recovery, and reproductive outcomes.
Regular reviews of rumination, activity, and heat data enabled farmer and vet to work together to assess cow nutrition, evaluate transition performance, plan for mating, and monitor overall herd performance.
A key focus for the farm was rumination recovery following calving. Trends in rumination data across recently calved cows provide valuable insight into how effectively cows are adapting to early lactation.
By monitoring these trends, the CowSmart team were able to assess recovery patterns, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend nutritional adjustments during the calving period.
As shown in the graphs below, noticeable improvements in rumination recovery were observed within a week of the farmer implementing the nutritional changes.
Figure 1. Transition summary graphs showing average rumination minutes for recently calved first-lactation and mixed-age cows before and after nutritional changes introduced on 23 August 2025.
While recovery still remained below the desired target range in some groups, the trends provided both the farmer and his KeyVet with confidence that the management changes were having a positive impact and supported further refinement of transition management.
“The CowSmart service gave us the ability to make changes to cow feeding during calving as we went, based on solid data, and then see the results quickly to determine whether it worked or not,” said the farmer.
He subsequently achieved his farm’s best empty rate to date alongside high production for the season.
While many factors contribute to reproductive performance, the ability to monitor transition recovery and evaluate management changes in real time provided valuable insight.
With wearable technology becoming increasingly common on NZ dairy farms, combining on-farm knowledge with CowSmart’s interpretation of data can - as this farmer found - help identify opportunities earlier, evaluate the effectiveness of management changes, and support better-informed decisions during critical periods.
“The CowSmart reports were the key to utilising our cow collars fully. All the data is there, but it isn’t easily analysed. CowSmart does it for you.”
If you’d like to learn more about CowSmart or the data your wearables are collecting, talk to your KeyVet.
