As commercial dairy farms become larger, managers lose the ability to monitor each cow individually. But the need to “see” and “know” each animal personally, as in days gone by, has not vanished.

Activity monitoring has followed somewhat the same path as the digital television. More companies have entered the marketplace as technology has evolved, which has increased the competition for technology development but also significantly reduced the price. Datamars entered the activity monitoring marketplace last year with the launch of the Tru-Test Active Tag system.

Onboarding a new activity monitoring system is not simply flipping a switch. In fact, the process starts well before purchase.

Automation and technology go far beyond relieving dairy’s labor pains.

The future of dairy farming is already here. In this episode, Rudy Ebbekink, marketing and communications manager for Nedap, discusses what technology is on the horizon to improve the life of cows, farmers and farm families for many years to come.

Chemicals these days are pricey.
That’s one of the reasons Bar-Mac Dairy in Gustine, California, has adopted automation on their farm.