An App for Tiestall Barns

If you milk cows in a tiestall or stanchion barn and don’t use a herd management software program, now there’s an app for you, too.

DeLaval has developed milk24, a mobile application that can be used on any mobile device to track basic production information and help make more informed management decisions. “We developed milk24 for stall barn customers who don’t already have a herd management program,” says Pat Wiltzius, solution manager with DeLaval. “The app will track yield results, blood presence, conductivity and other management factors that can help producers manage their milking herd.”

Producers integrate the app with milking units by pairing the units through Bluetooth technology directly to a mobile device. The app will track milk weights and other management information on individual cows and compare that data to herdmates and the entire herd. Alerts are created when production or other management factors fall below a certain threshold, triggering a management event to identify the cause.

Producers can look at data either online or on their mobile device, Wiltzius says. Access can be granted to veterinarians or other outside consultants who would benefit from analyzing the data.

“This helps make data simple,” Wiltzius says. “This is a starting point to help producers gain access to important data that will hopefully help them transition to other data management tools.”

The milk24 app can be downloaded from either the Google Play Store or Apple App store, depending on your device.

Note: This story appeared in the November issue of Dairy Herd Management.