Farm Alert is a new text reminder service from the Irish Farmers Journal to assist farmers with herd health management.
Farm Alert was developed to help guide farmers through the tangled web that is vaccines and parasite control.
The service works as a calendar and text reminder, based on key dates for farms. Dates such as calving, breeding, housing and turnout.
These dates are selected by the farmer and from there, the calendar will automatically formulate the vaccination and dosing protocols on a month-by-month basis.
Seven days before vaccination or dose, a text alert will be sent to the farmer’s phone reminding them of the date it’s due to be administered.
Spring
Calving is just over a week away now for many farms and it won’t be long before we’re in the thick of the action.
Calf health is something that can often get overlooked at this time of year, as other jobs take priority and time is in short supply.
Research shows that disease outbreaks are more common in pre-weaned calves than any other group of animals on the farm. Therefore, calf health needs attention this spring.
Vaccination and dosing play a crucial role in preventing outbreaks and will be the difference between high and low mortality rates.
With calf prices at an all-time high and milk prices low, keeping mortality rates low will be vitally important, as calves are going to be a major part of the business’ income in 2026. Health management can get messy in the springtime with so many different vaccinations and parasites to protect against.
Take a farmer who will be vaccinating for IBR and clostridial diseases in young calves this spring.
That farm also treats against coccidiosis and worms shortly after turning calves out to grass.
The heifers on the farm are vaccinated for BVD and leptospirosis in late February.
That’s a lot of moving parts and dates to contend with for anyone in a short window of two to three months, especially when you consider some of these diseases require two shots of vaccines or boosters at different times.
Farm Alert works to simplify all of this and by registering to the service, the entire treatment programme will be available at the click of a button, taking the planning and remembering out of the equation.
Set up
The process of getting the herd set up on Farm Alert is simple. By following these five steps you can get started today.
Step 1 Go to www.farmalert.ie and click sign up. Set up a new account using a name, email address, password and some personal details.
Step 2The next part of the process is entering the bank card details. The service comes at a charge of €25 for subscribers to the Irish Farmers Journal. Subscribers discount code has been sent in our last Dairy newsletter. The cost is €60 per year for those who are non-subscribers.
Your bank card needs to be set up for online payments. You will be prompted by a notification on your phone to verify the payment with your bank provider.
Step 3 Once the payment has been made, there will be several different options on the dashboard.
Click build a new calendar, to get the ball rolling. From there you will be prompted to input the key dates for the farm. These are calving start date, breeding start date, housing date and turnout date. These dates allow Farm Alert to build a calendar of vaccinations specific to the farm.
Step 4After the key dates have been inputted, select dairy (beef and sheep to come).From there, select the targeted diseases and parasites you wish to treat against.
The preferred product can be chosen for each of the diseases and parasites. All of the above can be done in consultation with the local vet or adviser if necessary.
Step 5Upon completion of the above four steps, click generate calendar and the service is ready to go. You will be able to view your calendar on the website or by printing it off.
The text reminder service will automatically kick in once you click save. Before saving, have a quick scan through the calendar to ensure the products and dates are as you would like.
If any changes are required, simply click on the treatment as it appears on the calendar and edit from there.
Getting signed up to Farm Alert this spring could revolutionise animal health on the farm. The product is designed in consultation with farmers to give the user a simple and effective tool to organise herd health, all in one place.
Farm Alert is a new text reminder service from the Irish Farmers Journal to assist farmers with herd health management.
Farm Alert was developed to help guide farmers through the tangled web that is vaccines and parasite control.
The service works as a calendar and text reminder, based on key dates for farms. Dates such as calving, breeding, housing and turnout.
These dates are selected by the farmer and from there, the calendar will automatically formulate the vaccination and dosing protocols on a month-by-month basis.
Seven days before vaccination or dose, a text alert will be sent to the farmer’s phone reminding them of the date it’s due to be administered.
Spring
Calving is just over a week away now for many farms and it won’t be long before we’re in the thick of the action.
Calf health is something that can often get overlooked at this time of year, as other jobs take priority and time is in short supply.
Research shows that disease outbreaks are more common in pre-weaned calves than any other group of animals on the farm. Therefore, calf health needs attention this spring.
Vaccination and dosing play a crucial role in preventing outbreaks and will be the difference between high and low mortality rates.
With calf prices at an all-time high and milk prices low, keeping mortality rates low will be vitally important, as calves are going to be a major part of the business’ income in 2026. Health management can get messy in the springtime with so many different vaccinations and parasites to protect against.
Take a farmer who will be vaccinating for IBR and clostridial diseases in young calves this spring.
That farm also treats against coccidiosis and worms shortly after turning calves out to grass.
The heifers on the farm are vaccinated for BVD and leptospirosis in late February.
That’s a lot of moving parts and dates to contend with for anyone in a short window of two to three months, especially when you consider some of these diseases require two shots of vaccines or boosters at different times.
Farm Alert works to simplify all of this and by registering to the service, the entire treatment programme will be available at the click of a button, taking the planning and remembering out of the equation.
Set up
The process of getting the herd set up on Farm Alert is simple. By following these five steps you can get started today.
Step 1 Go to www.farmalert.ie and click sign up. Set up a new account using a name, email address, password and some personal details.
Step 2The next part of the process is entering the bank card details. The service comes at a charge of €25 for subscribers to the Irish Farmers Journal. Subscribers discount code has been sent in our last Dairy newsletter. The cost is €60 per year for those who are non-subscribers.
Your bank card needs to be set up for online payments. You will be prompted by a notification on your phone to verify the payment with your bank provider.
Step 3 Once the payment has been made, there will be several different options on the dashboard.
Click build a new calendar, to get the ball rolling. From there you will be prompted to input the key dates for the farm. These are calving start date, breeding start date, housing date and turnout date. These dates allow Farm Alert to build a calendar of vaccinations specific to the farm.
Step 4After the key dates have been inputted, select dairy (beef and sheep to come).From there, select the targeted diseases and parasites you wish to treat against.
The preferred product can be chosen for each of the diseases and parasites. All of the above can be done in consultation with the local vet or adviser if necessary.
Step 5Upon completion of the above four steps, click generate calendar and the service is ready to go. You will be able to view your calendar on the website or by printing it off.
The text reminder service will automatically kick in once you click save. Before saving, have a quick scan through the calendar to ensure the products and dates are as you would like.
If any changes are required, simply click on the treatment as it appears on the calendar and edit from there.
Getting signed up to Farm Alert this spring could revolutionise animal health on the farm. The product is designed in consultation with farmers to give the user a simple and effective tool to organise herd health, all in one place.
SHARING OPTIONS