Texting till the Cows Come Home
A BulkSMS.com Case Study

One of the biggest problems faced by cattle farmers across the world, is keeping an eye on their cows at all times. Knowing when the cows are on heat, when they are ill or when they’re on the move is a tricky task. To manage this, many farmers use specific tracking software, designed to help farmers keep track of their cattle from their desktop computers.

One cattle farmer, based in the Netherlands, has taken this software a step further by adding text messaging into the mix, and the results have been impressive.

How does he do it?

Jack Konijn, the owner of the farm, uses a tracking and farm management system called Delaval. This system keeps track of the movement of all his cows through a sensor worn around their necks. Whenever there is unusual movement, for example, when a cow is lying still for too long, or if they are moving too quickly, the sensor triggers an alert warning. This alert is sent to the Devalal management software which can be accessed by the Jack on his desktop computer.

According to Jack, this software is amazing, but it requires access to a computer throughout the day, which is not always possible. Jack needed a solution that kept him up to date and aware of any abnormal movements of the animals as they happened. He has access to his phone throughout the day, which made him start experimenting with SMS.

Using the BulkSMS API solution, Jack programmed the alerts to be sent to his phone rather than his computer. Now, whenever there is a warning alert, it comes straight to his phone and he knows what’s happening with his herd, no matter where he is.

Why SMS?

“I programmed the alerts to be sent as text messages so that I can stay up to date. SMS doesn’t rely on an internet connection, so it is the most reliable solution,” says Jack.

To find out more about our SMS API solution, SMS API, click here. Or take a look at some more ways our clients are using it.