An new collaboration has been established to drive the innovative application of sensors to improve dairy cow health and welfare.
The collaborative project termed DASIE, “Dairy Animal Sensor Integrated Engineering”, has been co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK. The project is being led by industry partner IceRobotics Ltd, a dairy data systems manufacturer, in association with Harper Adams University and two other progressive British businesses: dairy company Dairy Crest and dairy farm consultancy Kingshay.
The project will focus on data and farm system integration as well as the development of dedicated sensor technology. The integrated system engineering will enable dairy farmers to improve cattle health and welfare, through the timely and reliable management of health issues concerning individual cows, based on continuous monitoring of specific animal behaviour. This will allow the farmers to take swift action to address health problems before they become more serious and more costly.
The types of conditions that will be addressed include fertility problems, lameness and mastitis. The new system will be designed around integration with existing farm systems and equipment, such as milk meters and feed dispensers. As well as systems integration, the project will involve field testing on research farms, economic validation on commercial herds and communication activity for the dairy farming community.
This will be vital for farmers to calculate the business impact on their dairy herds - thus helping the dairy industry as a whole to become more competitive in the national and international market.
Commenting on the pioneering project, Robert Boyce, of lead partner IceRobotics, said: “This is a ground-breaking collaboration which brings together industry-leading dairy players to help farmers use technology to manage their businesses more efficiently whilst also improving animal welfare.
All the partners are committed to ensuring that the solutions developed are accessible and affordable to a wide range of farmers and herd sizes – delivering visible and quantifiable results.
We’re looking at how providing reliable and robust technology, that integrates with a farm’s existing systems and practices, can lead to valuable management information. This can drive timely action by farm staff, thereby dramatically improving farm profitability and animal welfare.”
Dr Mark Rutter, from the academic partner Harper Adams, added: “It’s great to have established this cross sector collaboration, with each partner bringing different skills and experience. We’re all focused on ensuring that we develop innovative and user-friendly systems, with technology that is reliable and accurate wherever the cows are on the farm. ”
