Get past the flash: Four tips to find the right animal monitoring system
In a flooded market of animal monitoring systems, it can be easy to get caught up on what’s new or flashy. But flashy doesn’t always translate to what you need – efficiency, profitability and ultimately, a solution that makes your day-to-day herd management tasks easier.
When you dig into the nuts and bolts of monitoring system options, you’ll find most systems provide similar information, including health and activity insights. They don’t, however, have the same integration capabilities or farmer support.
Use the following considerations to help weigh your options and determine the best monitoring system for your farm:
1. Know the integration capabilities
You can significantly streamline your daily herd management by combining monitoring system data with your existing management tools and technology.
Most monitoring systems interface with herd management software such as DairyComp and PCDART, but capabilities vary. Some monitoring systems have more advanced integration capabilities, like automating protocols based on individual cow behavior.
These interface capabilities increase ROI by helping ensure the right cows get attention. They also reduce dependence on skilled labor by automating the process.
Integration goes beyond your herd management software. Some monitoring systems are standalone systems, providing only health, activity and group monitoring insights. Others are all-in-one solutions that integrate with animal identification components – such as a parlor, sort gate, cow location or milking robot.
2. Look for a reliable, durable system
Like any investment, you want a solution built to last. Most monitoring systems claim a battery life of 5 to 8 years. If you’re using a monitoring system with ID, find out if it requires battery life to ID or uses passive ID. If the ID runs off the battery, that affects longevity.
If you’re considering ear tags over a neck collar system, retention can be an issue. Understand whether the monitoring device must fasten to another tag or if it is an independent tag. If you’re considering going the ear tag route, plan to spend more time on tag maintenance.
3. Learn about accessibility
If the internet is a challenge on your farm, find out if it’s required to access the monitoring system. Some systems don’t require internet access unless you want alerts emailed to you, or want to transfer behavior baseline information from site to site. Other systems are solely cloud-based, which can significantly impact your user experience if you have a poor internet connection.
Learn how the rest of your farm’s team can access your monitoring system information – such as your breeding technician, veterinarian and consultants. Sharing access can be as easy as a remote login through the internet or an app, while others require more steps.
4. Find out how customer support works
When you incorporate a monitoring system into your farm, you’ll rely on it daily for herd management. If you have trouble with your system, you need someone you can call to provide immediate support.
Not every monitoring system company has a local technical support team or a 24/7 hotline you can call – and even if they do, many of these customer resources are based overseas. Find out if your system has a technical support team that is based locally.
Use these four tips to set your farm up for success with an all-in-one herd monitoring and identification solution, like GEA CowScout™. Work with your milking equipment dealer to find the right monitoring system for your herd.
