SMART FARMING ▶▶▶
What makes a good sensor?
We are learning fast when it comes to sensors for dairy cows. But what are the latest innovations and insights? Dairy Global talked to Arnold Harbers from Nedap about what is yet to come.
BY EMMY KOELEMAN
A good sensor tracks a cow 24/7 and collects information that is otherwise hard to measure. Eating time, ru- mination time, non-chewing time (time not eating and not ruminating), ly- ing time, num- ber of steps, number of stan- dups are exam- ples of features that good sen- sors collect.
S
ensors are making their way to dairy farms around the world. Often, sensors are used for heat detection. But sensors can tell us so much more. Think of data around eating, rumination, non-chewing, lying,
standing, number of steps and the number of times the cow stands up. To speed up our knowledge about this, Dutch company Nedap started an extensive field study in 2016, on 8 dairy farms, together with Utrecht University, Wageningen University and Research Centre and Vetvice Consultancy in the Netherlands. Arnold Harbers, data analyst at Nedap is actively involved in this field study and explains more.
Nedap calls this project ‘Sense of Sensors in Transition Management’. What does this project entail and why did you start it? “The goal of the project is to create tools that can help farm- ers improve their dairy cow transition management. Ulti- mately, we want to make it possible for every cow to transi- tion healthy. That is of course ambitious but I believe it is good to have big dreams. The information from the sensors
can identify areas for improvement, can show effects of man- agement changes and can monitor transition management. In this project extensive health checks are done by veterinari- ans in the pre-fresh and fresh cows, and sensor data is collect- ed from all cows on eight dairy farms. Together with the pro- duction and reproduction data of these cows we can identify the cows with a successful transition. From the sensor data we want to extract ‘feed forward indicators’ to monitor and improve transition management.”
There are many sensors on the market. What are the most important features of a good sensor, besides the price? “This is, by far, service and support. I really believe it is even more important than price. A cheap sensor with limited ser- vice or support is actually a very expensive sensor. Our sensor, for example, is integrated in reproductive management solu- tions of AI/breeding companies and in the milking solutions of major milking equipment companies. These companies have worldwide distribution channels. Using this existing network, we can ensure a good service and support all day, every day around the world. Of course, there are other impor- tant things as well. A good sensor does more than just heat detection. A good sensor tracks a cow 24/7 and collects infor- mation that is otherwise hard to measure. Eating time, rumi- nation time, non-chewing time (time not eating and not ru- minating), lying time, number of steps, number of stand-ups are all examples of features that good sensors collect. Anoth- er important feature in my opinion is electronic identification in the sensor (the individual cow recognition). This type of identification is not standard in each sensor. Knowing which animal it is, is essential in the production of first-class quality milk in milking robots or conventional parlours.”
How can sensors help the modern dairy farmer manage large herds? “Sensors are a very good way to keep a close eye on the fertil- ity, health, well-being and location of every cow. And this can be done 24/7. This is important as farms and herds are get- ting bigger. Farm owners struggle to get qualified, motivated and affordable staff. In addition, sensor technology makes it possible to implement ‘management by exception’ on large farms. This means: only focus on those cows that need
6 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 5, No. 4, 2018
PHOTO: NEDAP
PHOTO: ANNABEL JEURING
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