Implications for Dairy Cattle of Modern Technological Advances (II) Physiological and Behaviour Monitoring Technology - Juniper Publishers
Journal of Dairy & Veterinary Sciences - Juniper publishers Introduction In an industry as highly competitive as agriculture, the perpetually increasing pressure to produce cheaper sources of protein is further suffocating already meagre profit margins. In the past decade, in particular, a surge in the number of commercially available precision-farming products, utilising technologies common to the research sector are helping some farmers transform their business operations. Wearable technologies have become commonplace on farms looking to gain a competitive edge. Cow collars, anklets, smart ear-tags and indwelling rumen-boluses take advantage of low-cost, mass-produced sensor components to offer multi-faceted health-monitoring solutions. Accelerometers monitor animal movement, gyroscope sensors record ruminal contractions, ion-sensitive glass electrodes track fluctuations in rumen pH, thermistors and thermocouples register temperature and Bluetooth or radiotelemetric element...