Semex exhibiting Calving24 tool at 'Use of Technology on Dairy Farms' - Cowsmo

Semex exhibiting Calving24 tool at ‘Use of Technology on Dairy Farms’

Semex will be exhibiting its new Calving24 calving alert tool at the ‘Use of Technology on Dairy Farms’ open day, to be held at the University of Liverpool’s Woodpark Farm dairy unit on the 25th June.

Called Calving24, the system is part of the company’s ai24 range of products and services, which also incudes the ai24 Heatime heat detection kit. The device is inserted into the cow a week or so before the known calving date and monitors her body temperature. As calving becomes more imminent the device detects changes in her temperature. It then sends an alert via text message twice a day to up to three mobile phone numbers via a radio base unit.

Some 48 hours before calving the animal’s temperature will peak and then start to fall again and this change is relayed to those same numbers. At the start of calving, when the water bag expels the sensor, the temperature drops suddenly and another alert is sent.

“The device is, like the heat detection technology ai24 Heatime, another innovative genetic management tool to help busy farmers take the uncertainty out of a key event in their animals’ life,” says Willie Tait, Semex’ genetics manager. “It has proven to be an extremely useful management tool by acting as an early warning system for imminent calvings and means there’s less need to get up in the middle of the night to check cows that might be calving, which is a real bonus for the farmer or herdsmen. And, of course, the technology is also good for both mother and calf because it alerts the farmer to the calving, and results in fewer complications and deaths.”

The kit consists of up to 30 thermometers, an applicator and the radio base station. The price will be £3510 +VAT for a kit with eight thermometers, which is enough to equip around 200 cows in an all-year round calving pattern, as each thermometer should be able to be used for at least two cows each month.

The Use of Technology on Dairy Farms event starts at 10.30am and finishes at 3.30pm. Entry is free.

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