News -

Barcodes aid dairy farmers

The same technology that is used to scan and read our grocery items as they wiz through the checkout is set to become common place in our dairies - farm dairy sheds that is.

A revolutionary new design utilizing existing barcode, EID and scanning technology is set to make one of the regular jobs on a dairy farm quicker, easier and more efficient.

For the past 100 years dairy farmers have been regularly testing milk from individual cows for quality. Herd testing is on average carried out four times a year on New Zealand farms and though it is seen as a valuable tool to measure and monitor a herd's performance is often regarded as a hassle, meaning extra time in the shed and additional work.

Now, thanks to a revolutionary new EID (electronic identification) solution, introduced to the dairy industry by farm improvement company Livestock Improvement (LIC), herd testing for many farmers next season will not only be quicker, but also more accurate.

"Herd Testing gives farmers an overall picture of their herd and the production of each individual animal - it identifies which animals are making the most money," says LIC Herd Test Operations Manager, Rob Young.

"LIC collects and analyses milk, the volume, milkfat, protein and somatic cells (an indicator of mastitis), the information is then translated into a range of comprehensive animal performance reports which enable farmers to make informed strategic decisions, including breeding, which animals have mastitis and which should be culled from the herd - creating a higher value milking herd."

The EZ Link EID uses a specially designed EID stick reader, much like the scanner at a supermarket checkout - which reads and then wirelessly transmits all the information contained on an individual cow's electronic identification tag (EID), including its number, to a specially designed hand held device, which then accurately matches the cow and its correct milk sample.

So instead of trying to read (often dirty) ear tags and type them into a hand-held device, the farmer can simply walk down the drenching race past the cows and with a wave of the wand identify each cow, capturing all the data on that animal as it's read from the EID tag. The farmer then walks past the milk flasks scanning the barcodes and as if by magic, cow and milk sample are matched.

"Using EID technology there is less risk of a stuff-up in results, it eliminates inaccuracy - it reads the correct cow number and links it to the correct flask," says Orini Downs Farm Manager Harry Rich.

Harry Rich trialled EZ Link EID in both his herringbone sheds and says herd testing was definitely quicker: "EZ Link EID has eliminated two jobs that can potentially make your herd testing results inaccurate, out of the system.

"EZ Link EID has exceeded my expectations - it was fantastic to use. I no longer have to go along and manually read the tags, it made herd testing a more enjoyable experience and I am more confident in the results. The results have to be more accurate - and I like accuracy."

"I could just walk down the bale, and ping, ping, ping it read the cow numbers, then I walked back up the row and scanned the flasks. I'm all for not having to jump up and down on the rail trying to read numbers.

"I believe technology should be used to make life easier - EZ Link EID has proved it does - and if the technology is available to improve on how thing are done - then use it."