Commercially Available Digital Systems in Livestock Husbandry

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Examples of sensors for dairy cattle: The noseband sensor (RumiWatch) measures rumination, the pedometer (RumiWatch) and the neck sensor (Nedap Rescounter II) determine the activity

Livestock husbandry boasts an ever-increasing range of commercially available digital systems. These consist primarily of a hardware component (sensor) for data acquisition and a software component for data analysis and backup. 

Workload Reduction and Decision-Making Tools

These systems are often used e.g. to partially or fully automate individual operations, thereby reducing workload. In addition, many systems can collect animal-related data from individuals and groups of animals, thus, supporting farmers in their decision making process.

Overview according to the enterprise

The tables reproduced here are meant to give an overview of the digital systems currently available on the international market that are suitable for the early detection of wellbeing and health issues. However, the systems are constantly being refined, renamed and their functions undergo modification, therefore, the following information might be incomplete and quickly outdated.

The list was drawn up for the following farming activities:

  • Dairy cows
  • Calves
  • Fattening pigs
  • Breeding sows
  • Layers
  • Broilers
  • Dairy and meat sheep and goats

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