CowDetect system up and running in three Denmark dairy farms
24 July, 2009
category: RFID
SMARTERFARMING and Ubisense have announced the installation of “CowDetect,” a system for visually tracking the movement of cows in real-time.
The goal of CowDetect is to monitor changes in the cows’ behavior in order to better assess “their health and welfare.” By monitoring a cow’s behavior a farmer could tell precisely when that cow is lactating, thus maximizing the potential milk yield and garnering the farmer a projected 315 to 355 Euro per cow.
Additionally, a farmer could also detect the early onset of diseases such as ketosis, an illness that significantly decreases a cow’s eating time several days before the disease becomes apparent, allowing the farmer to take timely action.
According to CowDetect’s website, the system involves each cow carrying a transmitter that is picked up by sensors positioned throughout the barn, which then relay information to handheld devices and a PC.