Ka wana te tī kaupapa ahuwhenua - Animal welfare top consideration in technology roll-out

The use of wearable technology for cows is proving to be a life-saving measure for herds on Parininihi ki Waitōtara farms.

“We’ve probably saved four cows from death because of them,” says contract milker Ricky Tito, who works on Farm 5, on Lower Winks Road, near Manaia.

The cow collars were adopted in June last year on the farm, and quickly proved their worth when they identified two cows that were having calving trouble, and two that had milk fever.

In one of the cases, information from a collar showed a cow had been calving too long overnight, and was in distress. As soon as Ricky saw the alert, he was able to help her straight away.

Shane Miles, Te Rau Whakahaumako / General Manager Ahuwhenua, says seven of the organisation’s ten farms are using the collars, and they will be rolled out across the rest over the next 12 months. Animal health and welfare are a key element of the kaitiakitanga values PKW is committed to, so the cow collars are helping with that kaupapa.

After investigating market options and thorough trials, Allflex cow collars have been chosen, which collect data, including recording animal movements and walking distances, and general functions of each cow.

The collars and supporting IT system can send messages to farmers if a cow is in distress, amongst other benefits. Farm staff also get alerts on their phones if there is an issue, and workers can also check the computer in the cowshed first thing to see if any cows need to be monitored.

Shane says that at milking time, information from the collars can be set to automatically draft cows with potential issues out of the herd into a holding pen, so they can be checked over.

“The collar is only collecting the data – the power is in the software and the important farmer decision-making,” says Shane. “You can set the system up to tailor-make it to how you want it.”

The collars also help identify cows in heat or in labour, which means staff don’t have to spend as much time observing the animals during breeding season. “This in turn provides an opportunity to support the health and wellbeing of farm operators at a very, very busy time of the year when there is a lot going on,” says Shane.

Farm 5 contract milker Ricky Tito says the collars are invaluable and assist with work life balance. “We can trust those collars and that they are doing the right thing and they’ll do the job for you.

“The other big advantage is extra time off for us all. We have rosters more comparable to a townie’s roster.

“The back-up service is really good too – the call centre supporting the collars is excellent and runs 24/7.”