What Is Herd Management Software?
Herd management software keeps individual digital records for every animal on a livestock farm, makes reproduction and production tracking easier, and shows the farm's profitability in numbers. With notebooks or Excel it is easy to lose track of when a cow was inseminated, how many days one has not shown heat, or which animal is not eating its ration. The bigger the herd, the bigger these losses.
Promix Herd Management works by ear tag number. Each animal's milk yield, weighing history, reproduction records, health and treatment history build up on a single animal card. Because it runs in the browser, you reach the same data from your phone in the barn and from your computer in the office; no installation needed.
What Does Promix Herd Management Do?
The software automates daily follow-up and bases your decisions on data:
- You spot animals with falling milk yield early
- Expected calving and dry-off dates are calculated automatically after insemination
- Vaccinations and treatments build up on the animal card, so milk withdrawal periods are never missed
- Average daily gain (ADG) of fattening animals is calculated automatically at every weighing
- Cost and profit per head become visible together with feed cost
How Is Milk Yield Tracked?
Milk records are entered per animal and per milking. The software calculates the daily average, the group average and the animal's yield trend across the lactation. Animals falling below the herd average are moved to the top of the list, so you catch a problem in the numbers before the animal shows it. Because milk yield and ration cost are in the same account, feed cost per litre can also be calculated.
Heat Detection and Insemination Tracking
Reproduction is the biggest driver of profit in dairy farming. Every missed heat lengthens the calving interval and turns directly into lost income. In Promix, when a heat observation is recorded the next expected heat date is calculated; when an insemination is entered, the pregnancy check, dry-off and expected calving dates go to the calendar automatically. When calving happens, the calf is added to the herd linked to its dam.
Weighing and Average Daily Gain in Beef Cattle
On fattening farms, weighing is the only objective measure of whether the ration is working. When a weight is entered, the software instantly calculates the difference from the previous weighing and the average daily gain (ADG) between the two. Animals and pens below the target ADG are listed separately. For farms working at the scale there is a fast entry mode: scan the tag, type the weight, and weigh thousands of head without changing pages.
Health, Vaccination and Treatment Records
Vaccination schedules, treatment protocols and administered medicines are stored with their dates on the animal card. Recurring treatments are defined as protocols and applied to the herd in bulk. Medicine stock and lab results (blood tests, semen records) are tracked in the same section.
Herd Profitability and Depreciation Analysis
In the end, record keeping answers one question: is this animal making money? The profit analysis module compares income and cost per head; the depreciation section works out the animal's current value and carcass calculation. Because feed cost is calculated by the ration software , the figures are based on the real ration cost rather than estimates.
How to Use the Free Herd Management Software
For farmers looking for free herd management software, Promix unlocks all herd modules free of charge after sign-up. Just register with your email address: your account is activated as soon as you enter the verification code — no installation or payment details needed. It works in the browser on phone, tablet and computer. During the trial no module is restricted, including milk tracking, reproduction records, weighing and profit analysis.
Who Should Use It?
- Dairy farms — that want to shorten the calving interval with yield and reproduction tracking
- Beef fattening farms — that want to see the return on their ration through weighing and ADG
- Breeding farms — that need to keep pedigree and reproduction history on record
- Veterinarians and animal nutritionists — who follow several farms from the same interface
If you also want to formulate rations, take a look at the Promix Ration Software page; the two modules share the same account and database.