The winter that (hopefully) ended this week shone a brighter light than usual on the unpredictable difficulties that are faced every year by farmers – freezing animals and feed shortages are merely the latest in a long list. It is also true however that some farmers’ problems could be foreseen if they had the tools to look ahead.

This is at least the philosophy of Tullow-based Co-operative Animal Health Limited, which has departed from its usual beat of veterinary, hygiene and animal nutrition products to build a software tool designed to help farmers to better understand their own operation.

CAHL, a Glanbia/Dairygold joint venture, has developed the Herd Health Management system with the help of consultancy firm Pathfinder, headed by former Vision Consulting managing partner, Saiid Ordibehesht. The Herd Health Management system could, according to CAHG chief executive Donal O'Sullivan, allow farmers add up to 6 cent to the value of a litre of milk. Across an industry producing 5,400 million litres in 2012, the numbers have the potential to be big.

O’Sullivan says the system is about farmers using the information they already have in a more effective way, rather than acting blindly on generic advice. It could, for example, point them towards investing more in one vaccine and less in another, or emphasising the spend that delivers greatest returns. For an average farm of up to 100 cattle, the cost would be roughly €300 per year but O’Sullivan says it should ultimately be cost neutral.

“It’s centred around helping individual farmers to improve profitability,” he says.