Doornenbal Dairy

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment.”

In Escalon, California, Jennifer de Vries serves as assistant manager at Doornenbal Dairy, where they milk 2,000 cows across three dairy sites. For Jennifer and her team, the goal has always been efficiency and profitability, doing as much as possible with what they have.

“When you step in early, you don’t have to deal with bigger issues down the line,” she says. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment.”

How smaXtec Changed Health Management at Doornenbal Dairy

Since implementing smaXtec in January 2025, Jennifer has seen first-hand the efficiency in how much sooner she can detect potential disease. “Prior to smaXtec, most of our health issues were detected using visual symptoms and examining the cow,'' she explains. “With smaXtec, we're able to use the system to detect those cows early, before visual symptoms even arise.”

Of everything smaXtec offers, one feature stands out above the rest for her: “One feature I can’t live without is the internal body temperature alerts.” With 24/7 access to internal body temperature, water intake and drinking cycles, rumination and activity, Jennifer says, “It’s the extra features that put them ahead of other products on the market.”

Conception Rate Climbed From 33% to 38%

smaXtec insights haven’t just helped Jennifer catch sick cows sooner; they’ve reshaped the farm’s entire approach to breeding. Moving away from a double-ovsynch program to a reduced hormone protocol paired with the smaXtec system made a measureable difference across the board.

‘Conception rates at Doornenbal Dairy improved from 33% to 38%, first service conception rate climbed from 37% to 41% and pregnancy rate rose from 21% to 24% in less than one year,’ says Jennifer.

250,000 to 180,000 Drop in Somatic Cell Count

Jennifer has also seen the power of prevention show up in milk quality. By catching subclinical mastitis and other diseases earlier, before the fully develop, her team has been able to treat cows sooner and keep their somatic cell count low. “Since bringing smaXtec and other management changes to Doornenbal Dairy, we’ve taken our somatic cell count from averaging 250,000, dropping to 180,000,” she explains.

Heat stress, a constant challenge for any dairy in California’s Central Valley, has become easier to manage as well. “smaXtec allows us to visualize from within how the heat impacts our cows in pens that have more heat abatement than others, and comparing the two, has really helped to make the argument that we need to continue improving and implementing more heat abatement strategies on this dairy.”

Advisory Support That Goes Beyond the Install

For Jennifer, 24/7 internal insights are only part of what makes smaXtec valuable. “The customer support at smaXtec really sets them apart,” she says, “through the installation process, as well as the months following. The smaXtec team really helped us develop protocols, see what works and add it as a tool in our toolbox, rather than this overwhelming system with so much information that we don’t know what to do with.”

That support extended to the entire team at Doornenbal Dairy. “They really helped us get all our team on board, especially our Hispanic employees,” says Jennifer. “The smaXtec team is just as supportive as they were on day one.” For Doornenbal Dairy, that consistency has made all the difference.