Smarter Ranching Starts Here: Wearable Tech for Breeding Season and Animal Health
Wearables in the human health space have been popular for years to aid in tracking movement, heart rate, sleep, temperature and other biometrics to improve overall health and signal illness. In the cattle industry, this technology started in feedlots and dairies to aid in estrus and illness detection but is making its way to ranches.
Andrew Uden – CEO of HerdDogg says, “We are finally to the point where wearables are becoming cost-effective enough and getting enough range to be effective on ranches.”
HerdDogg creates a wearable for cattle that tracks total activity, ear temperature and accelerometer data. This animal behavior data can be used by ranchers to detect estrus or illness in individual animals earlier than the human eye. Additional features include turning lights on for specific tags to easily find the cows you are looking for and allowing your veterinarian or nutritionist to access your dashboard. HerdDogg focuses on using long-range Bluetooth to make this technology effective for ranchers and is easily accessible from cell phones.
“It’s pretty basic just like any smartwatch or FitBit that measures your activity and temperature. We just take it a step further by also comparing individual animals to herd data,” says Andrew.
In a feedlot setting, HerdDogg can aid in detecting Illness two to three days early. They are still collecting data on this in a pasture setting but can already detect enough changes in individuals or the herd to flag that something is wrong. “This data can show you have an issue with your herd, so you can check them early and show up prepared to potentially treat one or multiple animals,” says Andrew.
Having this capability can help ranchers know which pastures to spend more or less time in, treat illness sooner and be more effective with treatments and re-treatments based on animal activity.
In addition to detecting illness sooner, HerdDogg also helps ranchers detect when females are cycling or missed a cycle. This feature helps ranchers have a better idea of conception rate prior to pregnancy checking and creates opportunities for more informed management decisions around pulling bulls, marketing late-breds, selling opens or even weaning early in drought scenarios.
Andrew says, “We aren’t telling people how to run their cows. We just collect the data and give them new insights about their herd.”
For producers who utilize artificial insemination, wearables save time and labor by heat detecting for you. The lights on the tags also make it easy to sort out the cows or heifers ready to breed and offer very accurate estrus windows for timed breedings.
Wearables offer a broad range of benefits to ranchers, but like any technology that doesn’t mean they are for everyone. “Ranchers need to ask themselves does my team understand technology and am I going to use it as a lifetime tool for this animal before investing in the product,” says Andrew.
Wearables don’t have to be a standalone investment. They can fit into the broader pictures of ag technology on ranches. It is expected they’ll connect with and play a part in traceability, water monitoring and virtual fencing in the future.
Wearable technology and companies such as HerdDogg make coming back to the ranch even more exciting for younger generations. “We know the value of using technology to our advantage instead of viewing it as a burden,” says Andrew.
The HerdDogg tag and team ultimately serves as an extra set of eyes to help ranchers make more informed management decisions.
Learn more about HerdDogg at the following link: https://bit.ly/3EjuUAm
