There is a new dating app, so to speak, for livestock.
The livestock artificial insemination business has experienced a dramatic shift in recent years, especially on dairy farms. An increasing amount of data is available to help farmers decide what bulls to breed to their cows.
As a result, Select Sires, the largest global A.I. cooperative, this week released Select Sires Mobile, a new app to help dairy farmers better search for the sires that fit their breeding goals. Leslie Maurice, director of communications, says that the sire search app lets farmers take advantage of data more effectively.
According to Maurice, “The ability to search for a bull quickly when you’re out there and you can see a pedigree, maybe you’re talking to your field rep out in one of your barns and you just want to look up a bull really quick and it’s right there and you’ve already marked it as your favorite. I think it’s going to really streamline the process and help our customer-owners be informed quicker than they ever were before.”
She says that the features of the Select Sires Mobile app include advanced filters, sharing tools, and more.
“Another feature that I think is going to be very helpful to our customer-owners and our field staff alike is the ability that customers can export lists of bulls and send it directly to their representative,” she states. “They can talk to them about the bulls that they want to learn more about.”
With broadband internet lacking in many rural areas, big data can sometimes be troublesome for farmers to take advantage of.
Jim Williams, chief information officer for Select Sires, says that a main feature of the app is its ability to work completely offline.
“Once this is downloaded you basically have over 30,000 animals in there with sires from all over the industry,” Williams notes. “So, you got all genetics for 30,000 animals at your fingertips on your mobile device.”
Even with advance features, he says the app is still easy to use: “This gives the ability for you to use a mobile device, be it a tablet or a phone, and you can really get the full experience of a really deep and rich search to find the genetics you’re looking for.”
For more information click HERE.