Data-driven decisions change the game at Victory Farms.

Protocols are set and followed based on monitoring reports. When workers come to work each day, they rely on lists of cows that need attention, whether it’s health treatment, breeding or other routine management. That translates into time and labor savings for a dairy that’s always looking for ways to increase efficiency.

SenseHub Dairy allows Souza to set up different treatment protocols and evaluate their effectiveness. The herd veterinarian walks through the barns every two weeks, reviewing protocols and adjusting them as needed.

“We’re always learning,” he says. “We’re always looking at new reports that we can pull up to become more efficient. To be successful you have to be committed to learning and making changes.”

In another move toward greater efficiency, Victory Farms installed SenseHub® sorting gate technology in parlor return lanes, eliminating routine use of headlocks. As each group leaves the parlor, the highly MorganMyers Agency accurate sorting gate technology identifies cows needing attention and automatically diverts them into pens for management.

“Sort gates have been a game changer for us. We’re not running around trying to find the 10% or 15% of cows that need treatment,” Souza says. “Before, we would lock up 3,000 cows in order to breed 20 cows. Now we lock up none. The other cows are able to go back to their pens and do their thing.”

Souza recently expanded use of technology on the farm to include SenseHub® Dairy Youngstock for calves and heifers. Each calf gets a monitoring ear tag at birth. Just like collars on the cows, the SenseHub tags alert managers to calves that may need an intervention.

“SenseHub catches those calves and we’re able to do a preventative treatment before they get to the point where we need an antibiotic,” Souza says. Thanks to flashing LED lights on the monitoring tags, workers can quickly and easily spot calves that need intervention, also reducing treatment time.

By incorporating SenseHub Dairy Youngstock for calf management and SenseHub Dairy for cows, Souza plans to have every animal at Victory Farms monitored from birth until the time it leaves the farm. Monitoring tags stay on heifers through breeding up to eight months gestation. After that, females are switched to SenseHub collars to monitor them during the closeup, fresh and lactating periods.

“It’s a minimal investment for an animal that it is worth $3,500 to $4,000,” says Souza, pointing out that the value could reach 10 to 20 times that for those with high genetic potential.

At Victory Farms, it’s all about providing the best possible care for every animal.

“We really take care of our cows. That’s the number one priority. We love our cows, so we have to take care of them,” Souza says.

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