Jans Guichelaar

“We no longer miss heats and inseminate almost blindly – so much trust we have in the system.”

In the small village of Hollandscheveld in the municipality of Hoogeveen, farmer Jans Guichelaar and his wife Rianne run a farm with 141 cows. Since spring 2023, they have been using the smaXtec system – a decision that has significantly improved both their daily work and quality of life. “As we often work off the farm, smaXtec lets us know how our cows are doing, whether in the barn or out in the field,” says Jans Guichelaar.

All-in-one health management, precise heat detection

With smaXtec, the farmer has a constant overview of the cows’ inner body temperature, water intake and drinking cycles, rumination, and activity levels. “This all-in-one health management system gives us much more control and security in our daily planning,” states Jans Guichelaar. Heat detection, in particular, has transformed their work: “We used to miss heats in young animals kept in a separate barn. Now, all heifers over 12 months have a bolus, so we don’t miss a single heat and can inseminate the animals almost blindly – that’s how much trust we have in the system.”

Reliable calving notifications

Jans Guichelaar also relies on the system for calving: “When we get a calving notification, we can check if everything is on track, which keeps both the cow and us calmer,” the farmer states. “The clear graphs and data help us spot early signs of health issues. For example, we can give calcium early to prevent milk fever. This helps the cows start lactation more smoothly, and we’ve had far fewer problems with fresh calvers.”

Knowing what you can’t see

Thanks to smaXtec, Jans Guichelaar has also been able to respond quickly and accurately in unexpected situations. “I get updates on things I wouldn’t notice otherwise,“ Jans Guichelaar says. One example is an incident on a summer day when the system alerted him to insufficient water intake in a group of young animals. The issue? A broken water trough in the field. “Thanks to the alert, we fixed it right away.“A similar incident occurred on a cold winter day: “Thanks to a smaXtec alert, we discovered that a water trough for the young animals in a rarely checked barn had frozen.“

More transparency, less stress

Jans sums up the benefits: “With smaXtec’s 24/7 monitoring, we’re always in the loop, no matter where we are. We’ve had fewer health issues, and our results have significantly improved. Staff and trainees also get alerts on their smartphones, so everyone stays informed and can act quickly. This transparency makes our daily work much calmer and more secure.”