Modern Dairy Farms - The Importance of Accurate Heat Detection


Posted May 4, 2020 by roboticdairy20

Successfully running a dairy farm comes with a lot of responsibilities, with a seemingly never-ending list of tasks.
 
As The usage of artificial insemination earnings ground in contemporary dairy farms that the significance of true heat detection becomes more crucial for plantation profitability.

Classic heating detection approaches relied on Visual monitoring of heat associated behaviour exhibited by the cows using an AM-PM viewing program - that the cows are detected for an half hour twice daily, once in the morning and once in the day. Normal precision of visual monitoring is about 40% because of how visual heat detection demands experience, brief heats are widespread and might fall involving observations, many of heats happen between midnight and 6am if there isn't any one to view them among other explanations. Clearly this degree of precision leaves a lot to be desired.

The inefficiency of Visual monitoring resulted in the assimilation of many kinds of answers to this problem of heat discovery. These heat detection aids may typically be divided into three classes: mounting detectors which offer a sign of the cow in heat getting mounted by another bunny, hormone synchronization protocols that time the cows' heat cycles and electronic heat detection aids.

Tail painting and mount sensors provide an indication to the farmer if the cow has been mounted by other cows (a typical heat related behavior) and therefore is in heat. These methods do not provide a marked improvement in heat detection accuracy as they are affected by cow activities unrelated to heat, nor are they able to determine the exact timing of the beginning of the heat cycle to optimize insemination timing and require a considerable investment in labor to administer, maintain and monitor them.

Another popular method intended to increase heat detection is the administration of hormone synchronization protocols to synchronize the timing of heats across the herd. The cows are subjected to a hormone shots which induce all of the injected cows into heat at a specific time at which they will be inseminated. While they may solve the issue of knowing when a heat occurs, these protocols incur considerable expenses in labor and in purchasing hormones. To date no research was conducted as to the effect of the hormones on the cows and the milk consuming public. It is highly probable that a negative public reaction would rise if the extent of the use of synchronization programs would be publicized.

Electronic heat detection aids were first introduced into the market in the 1980's with the deployment of pedometers. Pedometers are strapped to the cow's leg and count the number of steps she takes - an increase in the number of steps taken by the cow provides a 70%-80% accurate indication of the cow being in heat.

Pedometers were never able to generate considerable market penetration due to their cost-benefit ratio. 70% accuracy was not enough to induce farmers to invest in these systems.

The next version of electronic heat detection aids came along in the early 2000's, when the Heatime® detection system was first marketed. The Heatime® which is based on a neck mounted tag containing a micro processor and a three dimensional accelerometer was an immediate hit. The tag monitors specific heat related movement and its intensity which brought the system's accuracy to 90%-95% detection of heats. By 2010 the Heatime® became the best selling system in the world with about a million heat detection tags sold, proving that farmers are willing to invest in technologies that provide a real solution to this issue.

An efficient reproduction program is the key to dairy farm profitability. It is estimated that the cost of a"afternoon open", daily a cow which Ought to be pregnant isn't pregnant, price the farmer a mean of 4 in Lost milk production, dropped calf earnings and dropped cow earnings, along with Additional labour costs, veterinary expenses, heifer purchase expenses, Breeding prices and feed prices.To get more detail visit https://www.roboticdairyfarmequipment.ca/
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Issued By Donny D. Rodriguez
Country United States
Categories Accounting
Tags robotic milking systems
Last Updated May 4, 2020