Somewhat bizarrely, the technology used in the wearable was originally developed for the military to monitor torpedoes; however Dairymaster, the company behind the monitor, believes it will prove highly useful to farmers looking to cut their costs by keeping their herd healthy.
If the monitor detects that a cow is sick, it will immediately send an alert to the farmer, enabling them to take action straight away. This can potentially save the farm a lot of money as a missed illness in a cow can be financially damaging.
The monitor also keeps track of a cow’s fertility and hormonal cycle – information that can be used to more effectively breed cows, which the company says leads to a higher rate of successful pregnancies.
“This can completely revolutionize productivity on farms as the MooMonitor+ allows the cow to follow her natural cycle resulting in more calves and healthier cows who can perform at their peak levels,” explained Dr Edmund Harty, CEO of Dairymaster
“The MooMonitor+ basically allows producers to have their herd in their pocket – this means that they can enjoy more family or free time and their herd is still being monitored for health and heat detection on a constant basis.”
The monitor joins a growing selection of wearable technologies for animals, including trackers for cats and tail lights for horses.
The farming industry in general is very keen to embrace new technologies, particularly those with the potential to boost efficiency and save money.
Drones are already being used by some farmers to monitor the need for fertilizer on crops, a technique than can save thousands.
Elsewhere there are predictions of a coming rise in robot tractors to manage farms, along with specialist AI to keep farmers informed about all aspects of their operations.