Farms using beta version of a cow breathalyzer for pregnancy detection
Plus, virtual fence startup launches new app feature
An Australian entrepreneur has adapted a breath diagnostic technology initially tested on the International Space Station for use on cattle operations. The technology can detect if a cow is pregnant or sick by testing the breath of a cow for 15 seconds. The company claims it can detect pregnancy as early as 18 days after conception.
The technology is currently being tested on Australian cattle operations and could be commercially available within a year.
Read more comments from the farms testing the technology here.
Onfarm Solutions (Sponsor)
Teatwand has been partnering with dealers and farmers for over 15 years, providing award-winning teat spraying technology that reduces labor costs and protects cows from mastitis. Learn more here.
Virtual fence startup launches new app feature
Cow tech startup Halter has announced a new feature called Pasture Pro. The feature is available on the company’s smartphone app. It provides a live picture of a farm or ranch’s pasture supply and anticipated future growth across the farm. The app uses post-grazing photos and grazing data from the company’s virtual fence collars to calculate an estimate for the supply of forage in a particular paddock.
Read more about this new feature here.
Ear tag activity monitors could help keep daily track of cow budgets
University of Maine researchers are using farms’ existing ear tag activity monitors to track daily cow budgets. The data gathering project will be ongoing through the beginning of next year.
Read more about it here.
How partial parlor automation can lead to milking efficiencies
Read how adoption of just one parlor technology – including stopover sprayers, automated teat dip sprayers, automated detachers or milk meters – can maximize milking efficiency.
Read more here.
Michigan State University showcases EV charging station powered by methane digester
An auto industry researcher aims to prove electric vehicle charging stations on small and medium dairies would be viable, and even profitable, for farms that adopt the idea.
His mobile units have the capacity to create 30 kWh of renewable energy per day. That amount could charge the batteries of EV cars. The researcher envisions dairy farms could become destination points for EV car owners looking for a charge.
Read more about the idea here.
Dairy profit projections from ZISK
Projected profitability for the next 12 months for two dairy herd sizes CONTINUED TO CLIMB in recent profit projections from ZISK.
ZISK is a profit-projection smartphone app that tracks individual dairy farm profitability based on current CME board prices. Projections for a 1,000-cow dairy producing an average of 80 pounds of milk per cow and a 2,500-cow dairy producing an average of 85 pounds of milk per cow are provided.
12-month dairy farm profit projections (as of Aug. 22, 2023):
1,000-cow dairy = $439,900 (UP about $144,500 since the beginning of August)
2,500-cow dairy = $1.832 million (UP about $376,000 since the beginning of August)