New device tells when cows are in heat
ITHACA, NY - Higher profits
might be in store for the nation’s
dairy fanners as the result of a
Cornell University invention that
takes the guesswork out of
determining when cows should be
bred.
When it is m place on a dairy
farm operation, use of this elec
tronic device-called a “Passive
Electronic Activity Monitor”-can
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reduce long calving intervals,
resulting in more profitable milk
production, says Norman R. Scott,
one of the system’s co-inventors.
Scott, a professor of agricultural
engineering, is also director of
_ research for the New York State
College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at Cornell. He developed
the estrus detection system with
two of his former graduate
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The invention is based on
researchers’ observations that the
activity levels of cows increase
when they go into estrus. It differs
from other systems in that it is
fully automated and needs no
batteries.
At the heart of the estrus
detection system is a small, cir-
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cular transponder, about two in
ches in diameter and about a half
inch thick, a bit smaller than a
hockey puck. Worn much like a dog
tag on a collar around the cow’s
neck, the transponder includes a
sensor for detecting and recording
the cow’s movements as a part of
an electronic cow identification
system.
The transponder is designed to
be used in conjunction with an
automatic milk metering system
and other herd monitoring
systems.
Scott says this invention will
enable farmers to know, at a
glance, which of their cows are in
heat, and the milk production of
each cow, or the total herd, at
every milking.
“The potential is significant,"
Scott says. “By increasing the
detection rate of estrus and
therefore presumable breeding the
cows on time, you will produce
more milk without additional in
puts "
The system consists of the
transponder, equipment to ac
tivate the transponder, a receiver,
and a microcomputer. Scott says
that the biggest advantage of the
system is its complete automation.
As cows walk into the milking
parlor on a farm, the activity
monitoring and identification
devices contained in the tran
sponder and the cow’s neck are
activated by an electronic coil at
the parlor entrance, the activated
transponder sends signals con
taing the cow’s identification and
its recorded movements to a
receiver, rpinv« that in-
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formation to a microcomputer.
“The microcomputer printout
will show the likelihood of estrus
and also how much milk is
produced by each cow,” Scott
says.
In addition, the system can use a
video display screen in conjunction
with the computer printout
equipment. The screen, if mounted
in the milking parlor, will enable
the farmer to monitor the herd at
milking time; a more permanent
record will be kept in the computer
or printed on paper.
Scott and his colleagues are now
looking for manufacturers who
would build and market their in
vention.
The Cornell invention has been
tested at the university’s Animal
Science Teaching and Research
Center at Hartfor, where hundreds
of milking cows are used for a
variety of research projects. Tests
have shown that the automated
estrus detection system is ef
ficient, reliable, accurate, and
fully automatic, Scott says.
“No other estrus detection
sensor provides the automatic
input of information without a
power source (battery),” Scott
explains.
the accuracy of the existing
estrus detection methods in use
ranges from 40 to 60 percent. The
new Cornell system is expected to
boost that rate by 10 percent or
more. This would result in an in
creased earning, on average, of at
least $3O in increased milk
production per cow per year, Scott
estimates.