Israeli firm Afimilk which develops new technologies for the dairy industry has released a new automated heat detection system for stanchion barns, the AfAct II, which it says will improve the fertility of tied cows.
Afimilk develops, manufactures and markets advanced computerized systems for the modern dairy farm and for herd management. Since 1977, it has been a pioneer in the field, with the introduction of the first electronic milk meter. Since then, based on its strong research and development group, the company has continued to provide cutting-edge solutions for the milking parlor.
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The company’s systems are installed and in use on thousands of farms in 50 countries across five continents. With hundreds of thousands of milk meters and millions of behavior sensors installed, Afimilk boasts that it sets the standards for dairy farming and management around the globe.
AfiAct II Stanchion incorporates long-range data collection and leg-mounted behavior monitoring tags (AfiTag II) throughout the Stanchion barn. It sends heat alerts as breeding lists to users’ computers and cell phones.
Farmers of tied cows have usually relied on visual detection of heats or synchronization protocols. This often results in open days and longer lactation intervals, preventing the herd from reaching full profitability.
The company states that its AfiAct II Stanchion’s heat indicator analysis delivers accurate high-performance, heat detection in tie stalls. Owners of tie stalls, it maintains, can substantially improve their herd’s fertility: the system can increase pregnancy rates by 6% and 9% compared to visual observation, and can reduce yearly open days by 20 to 40 per cow, compared to other methods.
As a result, a tie stall farm with 100 cows may expect to save between $10, 000 and $20, 000 per year, declares Afimilk.
Statistics from users show that the system doubles the number of confirmed heat events. Almost no cows were missed by AfiAct II, but detected by the operator (visual inspection), while a significant number of animals were bred solely following system detection.
“Afimilk has raised the level of our breeding program from a guessing game to a science. Used as a tool in addition to traditional methods we have reduced open cows on herd health by 5% in the last four months, ” says Joel Stam, owner of Eagle Lee Farm in Norwich, Ontario, Canada.
