Turning seven years of sheep records into information we can use

Canadian producer Ursina Studhalter explains how bringing flock information into one accessible system has changed the way she and her husband manage their sheep.

Canadian sheep farmer and agricultural accountant Ursina Studhalter knows that collecting information is only the beginning. To be valuable, farm data must also be easy to retrieve when an animal is being assessed, treated, weighed or sorted.

That was not always straightforward on Ursina’s farm. Years of lambing and performance information were spread across notebooks and spreadsheets, making it difficult to see an animal’s complete history at the moment a decision needed to be made.

Today, Ursina and her husband, Andrew, use iLivestock to connect those records with their everyday work in the barn and handling system.

Since adopting the technology on their farm, they have also become authorised iLivestock dealers.

Ursina Studhalter and Andrew Bos and their sheep. Image courtesy of Sheep Canada Magazine. Photography by Emily Brown, Em’s Art Photography.

Finding a practical alternative

The change began when a tag reader used by the farm’s pasture flock broke. While looking for an affordable replacement, Ursina came across an advertisement for an unfamiliar RFID reader and discovered the accompanying iLivestock management app.

After contacting the company, Ursina met an iLivestock representative at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show. The farm began with a six-month software trial and, within two months, had introduced the wider hardware and software system.

Although the equipment was an important part of the setup, the app was the deciding factor. It could run on the phones and tablets the farm already used, operate without Wi-Fi and make animal information available wherever the work was taking place.

Existing flock data was imported into the platform, avoiding the need to start again.

Bos View Farm, image courtesy of Sheep Canada Magazine

Capturing information once

Lambing information can now be recorded digitally when lambs are tagged. Details are connected directly to the ewe’s record, while notes and coloured flags can be added immediately if an animal requires attention.

For Ursina, this has removed much of the repeat administration that previously followed a day in the barn. Information no longer has to be written down first and

Find out more

Want to make your livestock records easier to capture, access and use? Contact the iLivestock team to discuss your farm, explore the platform or arrange a demonstration.

Transparancy note

This story is based on Ursina Studhalter’s account of using iLivestock on her own farm, originally published in The Farming Frontiers Studio Notes on 28 August 2026. Following their adoption of the platform, Ursina and Andrew became authorised iLivestock dealers. The story has been adapted by the iLivestock Team and approved by Ursina before publication.