Posted: 16 May 2022

SHOW SEASON! 

TGM will be back at both Balmoral Show Northern Ireland in May and NSA Malvern in July.  The full range of Agrident readers will be on display.  Our team will be there to advise on reader selection, which software to use (free AgriDataTransfer, or SelectSheepware) and which weigh scales are compatible with the readers.

Reader Selection – Let us help you

It can be difficult to decide which reader to choose, when there are 4 models. It’s easier to make that decision when you see the readers, hold them in your hand and actually use them to read some tags.  For example, only one of the readers, the APR600, has a numeric keypad.  This is often used when a user does not have a Bluetooth weigh scale. It is quick and easy to manually enter weights. Our unique quick release fitting to enable an extension stick to be clipped on to the APR600 handheld will be on display. This is not an off the shelf Agrident product. It has been designed and manufactured by TGM and enables users to have a pocket reader when required, for example at lambing time, and a stick reader at other times, for example when loading animals to a trailer for sale.

Using EID with Cattle 

While we have focused on sheep over the last few years, EID is becoming more common now in cattle.  In Ireland, all calves tagged from July this year onwards will be EID tagged.  TGM works closely with Kingswood Computing Dublin and together we have designed what we think is a
unique recording method for cattle, linked to the Kingswood app. Phones are not easy to read in bright sunlight and not a good tool to use on a wet day. Generally, an external farm environment is not a very good environment for mobile phones, especially the more expensive ones!  How many times does a phone run low on battery at the wrong time?  Kingswood solved these problems by allowing users to record a number of cattle recording tasks directly onto the reader without a direct Bluetooth Link to a phone.  At the end of the work session the data recorded in the reader transfers to the app running in a phone – in the safety of the farm office. The use of the readers to record cattle events and the Kingswood Mobile Herd app will be demonstrated at the trade shows.

Share your lambing stories – we love to see your lambing pictures! If you have a minute send them to us and we will share them.