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Cows wearing fitness trackers?
Dairies using tech to monitor herd health
By Darren Turley
TAD Executive Director
The size and scope of today’s dairy farms are amazing feats of efficiency and advancements through technology. The ability to feed, nurture and milk thousands of cows everyday is such a monumental task, and Texas dairy farmers do it every day. Producers continue to adopt technology to identify and monitor their animals to maintain their health. Even facial recognition of cows is being tried on modern farms. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true!
On many dairy farms, cows wear collars or ankle monitors (think Fitbit) with a chip that transmits much of the same health information we receive from the fitness monitors we, ourselves, wear. For example, the dairy farmer can find out how many steps a cow takes, as well as track her temperature and rumination.
Paired with the data that can be recorded two or three times a day at every milking, the dairy farmer has a wealth of data on each dairy cow every day of their lives. This data can alert the producer to an issue before it impairs an animal’s health. Early detection is proving to positively impact the overall longevity of a herd.
Robotic milking operations, which are being increasingly installed by Texas dairy farmers, are expected to increase the production of milk from cows who enjoy the low stress environment and technological evaluations these new barns provide.
The technological advances even reach a cow’s diet. Dairy nutrition is becoming so advanced that most people would be amazed at the analysis that goes into making sure every animal eats a balanced diet precisely tailored to the animal’s age and milk production level. Feed is not just balanced on the animal’s macro needs of protein, carbs and fats, but also on the cow’s amino acid requirements.
Not only does all this technology help producers maximize their dairy production, but it actually helps producers pamper their herd. When you add in that modern dairy cows receive regular nutritionist and veterinarian visits along with pedicures as needed, you can see that today’s dairy cows get lots of love.
