Cheshire Dairy Innovators Win Recognition For New Cow-Locating Technology

A family business from Ellesmere Port is celebrating after being highly commended in the New Product competition at the UK’s leading dairy event.

Eye Farm Innovative Dairy Solutions impressed judges at UK Dairy Day 2026, with Cow Locate® standing out in a highly competitive field of eight finalists.

The product provides a precise location for every cow in a housed herd – helping to keep robotic milking moving by finding fetch cows easily and making it quicker and easier to pull cows out for routine health checks or emergency veterinary attention.

“Solving everyday challenges for farmers by saving them time, improving profitability and enhancing animal welfare is our driver for innovation at Eye Farm,” said founder Dave Hawkes.

“Being highly commended in our first New Product competition at such an important event for the UK dairy sector is a welcome endorsement of Cow Locate and its value to farmers. What really excites us, however, is the difference we are already seeing Cow Locate make on our early adopters’ farms."

"For example, being able to locate an individual cow without disturbing or moving others makes working inside the shed safer for farm staff and reduces unnecessary stress for the animals.”

Cow Locate uses a continuous stream of real-time data transmitted wirelessly from collar tags worn by the cows. Using a phone, tablet or PC, farmers can select an individual cow by her unique number or be guided by the health and fertility alerts from Cow Locate – all without needing to be in the shed.

Cow Locate then displays her precise location on a digital map of the shed. Once inside the shed, the cow’s collar tag lights up, along with LED indicators on the antennas above her location, guiding farmers and their teams to find her quickly and efficiently.

“There are more than 450 dairy farms in Cheshire – including mega dairies with over 2,000 cows,” said Dave.

“Herd management involves a range of daily demands, with individual cows needing attention for everything from hoof trimming, insemination and pregnancy checks to health concerns such as mastitis. Being able to locate and bring the right cow out quickly for examination or treatment helps keep the parlour running smoothly, supports successful breeding and maintains overall farm productivity."

"Our hope is that Cow Locate will make a practical difference to dairy farming in Cheshire and beyond, with the potential to benefit the wider UK dairy industry.”

Eye Farm was founded by Dave and his wife Jane in 2025, and the couple have since welcomed their son William, aged 25, to the team following his graduation from Edge Hill University this summer.

Their wider operations, customer service and business development team bring first-hand farming experience – having grown up on family farms or worked in the industry, alongside specialist knowledge of cow fertility and herd management.

“It’s been an incredible first year in business,” said Dave, who spent 14 years specialising in electrical systems for farms before founding Eye Farm.

“More than 350 farms across the UK now use our herd management system, which has continued to evolve with the addition of tools to monitor and prevent heat stress, an automatic sort gate and, most recently, Cow Locate. I would especially like to thank our colleagues at ENGS Systems Ltd.”

Eye Farm are set to unveil their next innovation at Dairy-Tech 2027 – taking place in Stoneleigh Park on 3 February.