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Chaired by Farmers Guardian editor Katie Jones, this episode sees MSD Animal Health Technical Advisor Stephanie Small joined by Will Sanders, farm manager at Major Farming Ltd. in Staffordshire, to explore how SenseHub monitoring technology is transforming fertility management and day-to-day decision-making in a 650-cow spring-calving herd. Will shares how the move to SenseHub was driven by his team on the ground — and how, after an initial dip in fertility figures as the farm adjusted to the system, results are now firmly on the up. He discusses how automated drafting has changed the culture within the team, the role of individual cow behaviour data in insemination timing and sexed semen decisions, and the labour-saving benefits that have improved both efficiency and job satisfaction across the farm. Stephanie provides the technical context behind the data, including how to read individual cow behaviour graphs, use custom reports for met checks and rumination monitoring, and identify cows that have dipped in performance before they become a problem. Together, they make the case for trusting the technology — and the team — to deliver better fertility outcomes.

Presenters

Katie Jones
Katie Jones

Head of Livestock at the Farmers Guardian and Editor of Dairy Farmer magazine

Will Sanders
Will Sanders

Farm Manager, Major Farming Ltd

Will Sanders is farm manager at Major Farming Ltd., a 404-hectare tenanted dairy farm based at Castle Hayes Park in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The farm runs a herd of 650 Jersey-Holstein crossbred cows on an extensive grazing system, with cows at grass from late January through to December. The herd calves in a tight spring block with a calving interval of 365 days and is milked twice daily through a 40:80 swingover herringbone parlour, producing approximately 6,000 litres per lactation. Alongside the milking herd, the farm rears 320 replacement heifers and 340 beef bull calves. Major Farming is part of the MSD Animal Health Demonstration Farm Network and uses SenseHub technology for heat detection and automated cow drafting. Will works alongside farm owner Rupert Major and herd manager Nick Harvey, supported by veterinary and business consultancy advisors, with a focus on driving fertility improvements and consolidating consistently high performance across the herd.
Stephanie Small
Stephanie Small

Technical Advisor, MSD Animal Health

Having started milking cows next door to her childhood home in Worcestershire at the tender age of twelve years old, Steph Small graduated as a vet in 2010 and spent several years in farm animal practice in mid-Wales and Oxfordshire. She joined the pharmaceutical industry in 2014, moving to MSD Animal Health in 2017. She has been technical lead for dairy solutions at MSD since 2019 and now holds the title of ‘Veterinary Advisor for Technology’, advising on the real-world aspects of using data to inform clinical and management decisions on farm to improve health, welfare and sustainability. Her other special interests include the impact of farm technology on the working lives of farm staff and veterinary surgeons, udder health and infectious diseases of adult cattle.

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