Location: Colorado, USA
Farm Size: 7,000 cows across two sites
Service: Dairy Data Partners (DDP)
Interviewee: Blaine Nicks, Director of Herd Operations
The Challenge
Hunter Ridge Dairy manages nearly 7,000 cows across multiple sites. With operations split between fresh cows, high cows, and breeding groups, management was stretched thin and labor costs were rising due to redundancy across sites.
On top of that, data was coming from too many different places: herd management software, feeding software, activity systems, and more. Blaine explained:
“It doesn’t take very long and you’ve got data overload… I was spending more time gathering the data than actually resolving issues.”
The need was clear: consolidate data into one place and free up time for decision-making.
How Dairy Data Partners Helped
Hunter Ridge partnered with Dairy Data Partners (DDP) to streamline their herd insights.
The reports provided by DDP initially focused on feeding data, helping identify consistency gaps across feeders and rations. Blaine shared:
“With DDP reports, I can consolidate a couple hours’ work into a few minutes and make decisions faster.”
The system highlighted ingredient-by-feeder trends, revealing opportunities to reduce feed costs and ensure every cow received the diet prescribed by the nutritionist.
The Impact
The biggest shift came in team engagement and efficiency. DDP’s clear, colour-coded reports became a powerful training tool:
“Our feeders could see red, yellow, green – it clicked right away. We’ve seen big improvements in consistency.”
Today, reports go directly to the feeding manager and head feeder, allowing them to act before issues escalate. Blaine noted:
“By the time I get the report, half the time they’ve already made changes.”
Looking Ahead
Hunter Ridge has already expanded Dairy Data Partners across all three sites, helping their team make timely, consistent decisions across the herd.
The next step is building on this success with additional IDS innovations already in progress – from body condition monitoring to camera-based heat and health detection, to technologies that reduce labour through automation.
Blaine summed it up:
“I’m excited to see how these products continue to get smarter and change the industry. Having a partner who listens and adapts to our needs is key.”
Blaine’s Verdict
When asked if he would recommend DDP, Blaine’s answer was simple:
“Yes – and I have.”