Time and profit.
Just two small words, but they form the foundation for most of a dairy producer’s daily decisions.
From calf to heifer to cow, each stage of the animal’s life involves several key decisions, all of which, if not properly managed, can affect your bottom line. And it’s not only critical that those decisions point you in the direction of profitable business growth. Decisions should also be backed by solid data to save you time and costs up front.
“To get the most from a herd – and to not only save money but make money – a dairy producer must be able to evaluate what matters at the right time and make a decision based on the right information,” says Jeremy Tucker, associate director of sales at Merck Animal Health.
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From calf well-being to heifer nutrition to a cow’s health and production cycles, understanding the state of your herd is about integrating insights from a whole-life perspective. To get the most from your herd, it is important to start monitoring animals from day one and address potential concerns as soon as they become obvious, if not before.
“The profit potential of healthy animals cannot be understated, and it starts at birth,” Tucker notes. For example, the data collected by monitoring individual nipple-fed calves in group housing or individual hutches can be leveraged to make timely decisions concerning their healthcare and well-being.
Merck’s SenseHub® Dairy Youngstock technology can flag changes early, often before clinical signs become visible. By tracking individual animal behaviours, the monitoring system can identify changes in the individual animals in real time by comparing to its baseline. Based on this data, you can make informed decisions in consultation with your veterinarian or a suitable professional on the individual and herd level.
Also key to a dairy’s profitability is lower open rates. Nutrition plays an important role and an optimized diet can affect first service, overall conception rates and the post-calving period.
And once a cow has entered her production cycle, monitoring the trifecta of well-being – nutrition, health and comfort – is crucial to maintain optimum production.
Tucker says that Merck Animal Health developed SenseHub® Dairy to help producers proactively identify changes in health and reproductive indicators, plus nutrition or behavioural considerations that even an experienced eye can sometimes miss. It also helps minimize time spent in the barn which means producers can focus on the many other priorities that compete for time and attention.
“Quick detection of health or behavioural changes – by the producer or a herdsperson – means the farm could potentially reduce veterinary cost or repeat artificial inseminations,” he says. “This can lead to shorter intervals between calving, more milk and more profits.”
Being able to monitor some of the most important behaviours that reflect a cow’s health is no easy feat. Ensuring that data reflects your unique farm situation requires a full-time, adaptable and customizable solution.
“Our goal with SenseHub® Dairy is to offer producers a flexible tool that helps them find opportunities to advance the operational gains of their farm,” Tucker says. “Ultimately, the goal of SenseHub® Dairy is to provide producers with the freedom that comes from leveraging an integrated, whole-life monitoring ecosystem. A deeper connection with their animals can absolutely redefine their farm management.”
To learn more, visit the Merck Animal Health SenseHub® Dairy website.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease in animals. For the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of disease in animals, you should consult your veterinarian. The accuracy of the data collected and presented through this product is not intended to match that of medical devices or scientific measurement devices.
SENSEHUB® is a registered trademark of S.C.R. Engineers Ltd. Used under license.
MERCK® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC. Used under license. ©2025 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved. CA-SHB-250400001
