Dierk Engelbrecht

Dierk Engelbrecht, a farmer from Brockhold-Hanredder, a small village north of Hamburg, runs a modern dairy farm with 250 cows together with his family. Nearly two years ago, he decided to implement the innovative smaXtec health management system, which has been in successful use ever since.

Early disease detection: Acting instead of reacting

“smaXtec gives us an overview of all the important aspects – whether it’s feeding or diseases like pneumonia, mastitis, ketosis, or acidosis. We detect problems early, can act quickly, and help our cows in time,” explains Dierk Engelbrecht. The most crucial parameter is the inner body temperature, which provides early indications of health issues, such as udder infections. Early detection of E. coli mastitis is particularly important: “When this is on the way, we can see it very clearly and intervene much earlier. That way, we’re proactive rather than reactive.”

Monitoring rumination activity is also important for the dairy farmer: “We immediately notice any deviations. For example, after a feed change – if the average daily rumination time drops by 20 minutes, I know something’s wrong. Then we check whether it’s due to the feed composition, the new feeding strategy, or other issues.” The system enables preventive management that saves time and improves herd health.

Heat and calving alerts: more security and time savings

“Since we started using smaXtec, manual heat detection is no longer an issue for us,” reports Dierk Engelbrecht. “The system tells us exactly when a cow is in heat and the optimal time for insemination. This saves us a lot of time and effort.”

Another advantage becomes evident in the calving pen: “Now we only have cows in the pen that are actually close to giving birth. Our experience shows that the calving notification reliably provides a time window of 6 to 30 hours before birth. The alert is based on a drop in body temperature and works perfectly.”

Improved KPIs thanks to smaXtec

“Since we started using smaXtec, we’ve been using significantly less antibiotics because we identify diseases early and can treat them in a targeted manner,” says Dierk Engelbrecht. Insemination has also seen significant improvements: “In the past, we sometimes inseminated on speculation to avoid missing heat cycles. Today, smaXtec tells us exactly when a cow is in heat, making us much more efficient. This has allowed us to reduce semen usage and use more sexed semen for heifers.”

Dierk Engelbrecht is particularly proud of the increased milk yield: “Recently, we surpassed the 12,000-litre mark – a milestone for us, to which smaXtec has significantly contributed.” His conclusion: “Of course, smaXtec costs money. But it’s an investment I’m happy to make because I know exactly how much value it brings.”

Reliable support always on hand

With the support of the smaXtec support team, Dierk Engelbrecht feels well-advised at all times: “Our contact person Lena is always there for us – and it’s reassuring to know we can rely on her expertise and the entire team,” he says. Whether it’s urgent questions or the introduction of new features, the competent and reliable assistance ensures that operations run smoothly and every challenge is successfully overcome.