Precision livestock is the term which applies to technology that allows the farmer to make accurate decisions based on actual data from the herd. Its development is favored by an increase in the number of animals on farms, allowing the farmer to prioritize his attention on certain events (calving, zeal, diseases, losses in fertility, changes in feeding, etc.) which can occur to each animal. An investment in this type of technology is profitable on the farm due to the detection of all these anomalies. By making appropriate decisions in real time, higher profit margins are achieved and the efficiency of production systems is improved (AFRIGA, 2016).
There is a wide range of devices available to farmers associated with management systems (software) that allow the analysis of the information obtained. The most popular are the activity sensors, geolocators, infrared thermography sensors, temperature sensors and ruminal pH in bowls, rumia sensors, ear canal temperature sensors, bulbar temperature sensors or 3D cameras.
The collars DIGITANIMAL are being adapted to the demand of the sector, provide real-time information on animal activities, provide traceability to livestock that is monitored with the device, provide one-year battery life at low cost and provides the location of animals. They are particularly useful in pasture-based production farms or in extensive systems.
The identification of problems such as sanitary, feeding, reproductive or on-farm management are addressed correctly when we know the physiological interactions that occur in the animal. These are sometimes evident with the appearance of clinical signs, however, others go unnoticed for the herdsman (subclinical or asymptomatic) and others are only evident through the management of the productive data of the herd.
References
Fernández C, Xercavins A, Blanco-Penedo I, Velarde A 2016 Precision Livestock and project 4D4F:
participatory approach. AFRIGA AÑO XXII-Nº 124.