29 Sep 2014

Cow mating app launched

8:27 am on 29 September 2014

A new smartphone app has been launched for farmers and it's the dairy industry equivalent of Tinder.

The dairy genetics co-operative LIC has released a MINDA Mating app that helps farmers figure out when their cows are in the mood for mating, naturally or artificially, and collects the details surrounding it.

LIC's product specialist Rob Young said the MINDA Mating app would make life a lot easier for dairy farmers.

"It's a quick and easy tool for farmers to have on their smart phone that allows them to record pre-mating heats, do it yourself inseminations and also any natural matings that they might see. In the past they've had to fill those details out on a mating detail certificate, post it in and it's quite a manual and paper-driven process, so what we've tried to do is update that process, make it easier for the farmer to update those records."

Mr Young said the MINDA Mating app also recorded information on the cow's ancestry and projected calving dates, giving farmers more information with which to make decisions about feed, labour resources and culling.