Mixing cows with honey: How one farmer uses tech to balance a legacy
This was the case for Kevin Collins, a dairy farmer based in Timoleague, west Co. Cork, who also has a successful honey business.
Datamars recently visited him on his farm where he milks between 230-240 cows.
A family man with four children, Kevin is a ninth-generation farmer, with farming firmly in his genes. He has now been working in agriculture for over 40 years.
Since taking over the family business in 2022, Kevin has continued to manage the dairy herd while also running a honey business called Molaga Honey.
Beekeeping has been in the Collins family for four generations, dating back to 1860.
The enterprise was originally started by Kevin's great-grandmother and passed down through the generations.
Kevin's father later diversified by beginning to sell honey, all while helping to manage the bees and the daily operations of the farm.
However, as the demands of dairy farming grew, his father had to step back from beekeeping to focus more fully on running the farm.
Speaking from his farm in Timoleague, Kevin explained: 'My father was very interested in bees and beekeeping and so he took it a step further and started to sell honey off the west coast of Ireland in the late 1960s, but when he went into full-time farming, this kind of took a step back a little bit.
'Only when he retired did he take it up full-time again when I took over the day-to-day farm.'
Now, not only is Kevin running the farm, but he has also taken over the honey business that his father had diversified into.
However, managing both enterprises has not come without its challenges.
Balancing the demands of a large dairy herd with the careful attention required for successful beekeeping has meant Kevin has had to become even more efficient with his time, finding new ways to keep both sides of the business thriving.
That's where the Tru-Test Active Tag collars and Dairy Drafter system have made a real difference for Kevin.
The collars provide real-time insights into each cow's activity, health, heat detection, and reproductive status, enabling Kevin to make timely, informed decisions.
Integrated with the Dairy Drafter, the system automatically drafts pre-selected cows as they exit the milking parlour, significantly reducing manual labour and saving valuable time.
With the Tru-Test collars and app freeing up more of his time, Kevin shared the impact this has had on balancing the two businesses.
The Co. Cork farmer said: 'Because we are not watching the cows consistently or not all the time, this gives me an extra couple of hours in the honey business so I can concentrate on that.'
Kevin said he chose Tru-Test because of the support available from Datamars.
'With the great support behind it, having 24/7 back up and especially from Charlotte in customer service gave me the real confidence,' he said.
'The training we received helped us to properly understand the system and how to read the data properly on the phone and help to get the timing right.
'I know exactly when to AI (artificially inseminate) the cows, making our breeding more consistent.'
The Co. Cork farmer also noted the impact the system has had on managing the herd and overall farm performance.
He said: 'The system picks up the cows that we might otherwise have missed, helps us to tighten up on our calving period and also shows the intensity of the heat and gives you the optimum timings for the sexed semen.'
Kevin said one of the main advantages of the system is how it has changed his day-to-day life on a personal level.
'It gives me great deal of flexibility to step away from the shed and take the kids to matches and training and get to spend more time with them - which means a lot,' he said.
Datamars Livestock is transforming dairy farming with its integrated Smart Farming ecosystem.
The range includes advanced tools such as Tru-Test Active Tags and Collars, the Dairy Drafter, the Walk-Over-Weigh (WOW) system, and the Fence Monitoring System working seamlessly together to provide real-time insights, automation, and greater control over operations.
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