Internet of Things

[Jks]

Hi everyone,

I hope I am not doubling a thread but I did not find any similar after a quick search.

I am a foreigner student and writing an article about the internet of things in livestock farming. The idea is to use sensors to track vital-signs of every animal which can be used to forecast disase, injury or even oestrus.
I know there are already sysmetm out there that implement this.
I am consulting with a senior IT engineer who works for a company offering such systems and also a vet to find out what and how accurately you can forecast from vital-signs.

Although I would like to know the farmers opinion about the topic. Please forgive me since I know very little about farming.
Would such system be helpful at all?
Is it something an experienced farmer would know without employing such technology? Please shear your thoughts and comments.

Many thanks.

 

[foxbox]

Hi JKS, yes, you are right, you can track vital signs for a lot of different things. We're currently trialling boluses in cows that transmit periodic rumen temperature and activity (pH possible too) which allows prediction of calving, oestrus and ill health, along with monitoring activity and water intake at the same time. At present it's not an exact science however it hold a lot of promise.

Similar results can be achieved by using collars, ear tags and other technologies however the industry (and the tech) is new to this and there is a long way to go before any one system shines above all the others in my view.

 

[Jks]

Thanks for your reply foxbox!

I know there are several methods like collars, tags, boluses, under-skin implants and probably more. I am waiting to my vet friend's answer about how accurate those predictions could be.
However I would be very interested about farmers opinion of the technology.
Could it help avoid animal loss that would be unavoidable other way? Could it help incrase production by forecasting oestrus?
Are we looking at somethings that will be a vital part of livestock farming in a few decades? My article will focus on these questions and I would like to know the farmers answers.

Thanks

 

[TechWise]

Certainly very useful in cattle where the cost of the kit in relation to the animal it's protecting is pretty low.
I don't see IoT being of much use for sheep where a sensor costing £5 would take almost all of the profit out of the animal.
I think that GPS tracking of sheep to within say 100m would be very useful if costs per animal could be kept low. If a £1 tag helps you locate five or six sheep that have escaped into forestry or suchlike then all of a sudden the tech seems cheap. Meanwhile, if a £20 all singing all dancing sensor tells you a sheep has a high temperature then it dies the next day anyway, the technology seems expensive!

 

[Jks]

Thanks for your opinion TechWise!

Is animal loss due to disase causing a big loss to cattle farmers? I'm sure I can find statistics about it but first hand experiences would be much more helpful.
Also apart from disase, would the prediction of oestrus and lambing incrase productivity high enough to be worth the investment even in case of sheeps?

Thanks

 

[TechWise]

Thanks for your opinion TechWise!

Is animal loss due to disase causing a big loss to cattle farmers? I'm sure I can find statistics about it but first hand experiences would be much more helpful.
Also apart from disase, would the prediction of oestrus and lambing incrase productivity high enough to be worth the investment even in case of sheeps?

Thanks

As I said, I think most of these technologies would be very beneficial in cattle but not so much with sheep. Perhaps with high quality, pedigree type sheep the owner may wish to monitor fertility and suchlike. With commercial sheep, the procedure is typically to mix the males and females together and let nature take its course!

 

[joe soapy]

biggest market would firstly for extensively grazed cattle and ponies and maybe rams, location and temp and heartrate would cover things like staggers, milk fever and calving which need quick attention.
for many applications a simple bluetooth connection would surfice to a field located monitor station.
might be possible to fit a tile to each animal or bit of equipement and be monitored at a gate way or a strategic point along a road.
lots of exciting poss abilities with modern tech