Smart Collars Enhance Predictive Capabilities in Dairy Farming

Innogando, a company known for its technological advancements in agriculture, is set to enhance its smart collars used in dairy cattle monitoring. The new development will see these collars integrated with a predictive model, allowing them not only to monitor behavioral indicators but also to predict critical events on dairy farms. This advancement is part of a global project with a total investment of €523,628.57.

The Brazilian participation in this project is coordinated by Professors Frederico M. C. Vieira and Fernando R. Skonieski from the Federal University of Technology Paraná (UTFPR), Campus Dois Vizinhos. The project's Brazilian side is supported by a funding of R$650,000 from the Araucária Foundation. This funding will be used for scholarships for master's, doctoral, and international doctoral programs, as well as to acquire necessary equipment and materials for the project's implementation.

The smart collar system, named SmartCalving, marks a shift in dairy farming from mere data recording to anticipating critical events that can impact productivity, animal management, and welfare. The data collected will include behavioral information and details related to the peripartum period, which will be validated under production conditions in Brazil.

The initiative also underscores UTFPR's process of internationalization and highlights the Campus Dois Vizinhos' leading role in applied research related to sustainable animal production and precision technologies in agribusiness. According to the researchers, the project's approval is a significant step forward.

There is an expectation that the tool will eventually be made available to Brazilian dairy farms through the platform and smart collars used by the partner company, thereby expanding the access of producers to advanced solutions for herd monitoring and management.