Canadian sheep farmer and agricultural accountant Ursina Studhalter recently shared a detailed account of how her farm uses iLivestock to record, find and act on livestock information. Since adopting iLivestock on her farm, Ursina has also become an authorised iLivestock dealer.
Ursina Studhalter with one of the sheep from her Canadian flock.
Image credits: Emily Brown, Em’s Art Photography
Ursina first encountered iLivestock while looking for a more affordable replacement for a broken livestock tag reader. After meeting a representative at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show, the farm began a six-month software trial.
Within two months, the business had installed the iLivestock hardware and software system. For Ursina, however, the main attraction was the app: a simple but capable way to bring livestock records into day-to-day farm work.
The existing herd data was imported into iLivestock, and the app could be used on the phones and tablets already available on the farm. Crucially for a working livestock business, the app did not depend on a Wi-Fi connection in the barn or handling area.
Previously, much of the farm’s information had to be entered and analysed separately by Ursina. With iLivestock, lambs can now be recorded digitally at tagging, including lambing details, notes and any issues requiring attention.
That means information is captured while the animal is in front of the farmer, reducing later data entry and the risk of details being missed.
The farm subsequently added an iLivestock eTagReader and imported a Rappa WeighCrate fitted with iLivestock load cells. This created a handling system that allows sheep to be weighed and sorted in three directions by one person.
Ursina reports that around 150 lambs can now be processed in an hour, with their weights recorded automatically for later review.
Ursina Studhalter and Andrew Bos and their sheep. Image courtesy of Sheep Canada Magazine. Photography by Emily Brown, Em’s Art Photography.
One of the farm’s most-used iLivestock features is its colour-coded animal flags.
Ursina and her husband have developed a straightforward system for marking animals to retain, monitor, medicate or cull. When an animal is scanned during a later handling session, its flags appear immediately on screen.
This helps the farm identify cull animals reliably, reconsider sheep being monitored and protect promising replacements from accidentally being sold or overlooked. Notes can also be added to explain why an animal has been flagged.
The same approach is used to follow offspring from selected sires and dams. Potential replacements can be identified early and then assessed later alongside their dam’s performance history.
Bos View Farm, image courtesy of Sheep Canada Magazine
For Ursina, the value of the platform is not simply that it stores information. It makes that information available when a decision must be made.
Animal histories, weights, lambing records, treatments and movements can be searched from the app. Farmers can create groups using recorded information. For example, ewes scanned with twins or animals meeting particular performance criteria, and produce reports or shipping lists.
Instead of relying on several notebooks and spreadsheets, the farm can now view an animal’s record while standing beside it.
Ursina’s account also describes areas where the farm’s experience was not seamless. Its existing Tru-Test reader did not connect to the app as expected, despite assistance from both companies, leading the farm to purchase an iLivestock eTagReader. She also identifies an aspect of dashboard navigation she would like to see improved.
Including these points matters: this is a farmer’s account of using the system in practice, not a scripted endorsement.
Her overall assessment is nevertheless strongly positive. The farm now has one searchable source of information that can be accessed and used where livestock decisions are actually made.
This article is based on Ursina Studhalter’s original account, published in The Farming Frontiers Studio Notes “Shepherding Data Made Easy” on 28 August 2026. It summarises her experience of using iLivestock in her own farming business. This summary was prepared by iLivestock and approved by Ursina before publication.
Images courtesy of Sheep Canada Magazine. Photography by Emily Brown, Em’s Art Photography.