10 June 2016 - A new online version of the herd management system most New Zealand farmers use will be officially launched at Fieldays by LIC.

MINDA® LIVE brings new features that will make life easier for dairy farmers, managers and their staff. Farmers will be able to use the system anywhere, any time on any internet enabled device.

“MINDA LIVE brings a modern online experience to the dairy farm,” LIC CIO Paul Littlefair said. The system has new features farmers have been asking for, such as automatic updates. “MINDA LIVE operates in real-time. Multiple users can enter data at the same time wherever they are. If a farm worker in the dairy shed puts information in the system, it will appear instantly at the house so the farmer can see it. Access is available via broadband, fixed or mobile, on any computer, tablet, or mobile devices,” Littlefair said.

New features include a virtual “holding pen” that will “hold” information users have entered until the farmer has a chance to review and approve it. Another feature is a new customisable report template. Farmers will be able to build customisable reports in the system by adding new animal attributes, e.g. breeding worth, milking information, expected calving date. “A range of new features will be progressively added to MINDA LIVE throughout the year ahead,” Littlefair said.

As a farm information and management system, MINDA LIVE puts farmers in control of their farm operations. It improves farmers’ decision making about herds and individual animals, including breeding, feeding and culling decisions. “Having access to this information is powerful. It helps you decide which animals to keep in your herd, which improves your production and the genetic merit of your herd over time.”

Littlefair said MINDA LIVE will still need to go offline from time to time to allow system upgrades and updates, e.g. when nationwide Animal Evaluation data updates take place. These data updates help ensure the animal data that benefits all New Zealand dairy farmers remains up to date.

Farmers are encouraged to come along to LIC’s site at Fieldays, EX1 in the Exhibition Building, to see MINDA LIVE in action. They are also encouraged to visit the LIC Automation site (E30) to find out about a range of innovative automation products for the dairy shed.MINDA LIVE offers for farmers at LIC’s site at Fieldays:

• LIC will be doing demonstrations of MINDA LIVE so you can see how it works
• Talk to the LIC team about how MINDA LIVE can help with your herd management
• If you don’t have a MINDA LIVE account, we can help you set one upTake advantage of special Broadband offers from Spark and Vodafone

MINDA Workshops at Fieldays

To find out more about MINDA LIVE, drop into one of our MINDA workshops, to be held in the Seminar Marquee in the Central Precinct at Fieldays.

A LIC press release June 10,2016