The Barometer Online

Issue date: 5/7/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Brock Ameele Ankle bracelets on cows at the OSU Dairy Center (background) will track information about each cow, including distance traveled, comfort, health and milk production. The tracking system cost more than $100,000 and was donated to OSU.

New research possibilities are now available for the OSU Dairy Center thanks to a new system that will measure overall health of cows.

The new system consists of ankle bracelets that function as a pedometer. The pedometer will measure how active the cow is, noting if she is standing or lying down.

The system will also function as an identification device where any information about the cow, including milk production, can be seen.

When the cows are attached to the milking machines at the center, the pedometers will interact with antennas close by. The antennas will identify the cow in the parlor and download information about the milk produced. They will also download activity and behavioral data from the pedometers and send the data to a computer where the information can be read or graphed for analyzing.

"[The pedometer] is a management-based tool to monitor animal health and comfort," said Ben Krahn, the Dairy Center manager.

"We're setting up the system to do all kinds of research related to cow comfort and health," said Aurora Villarroel, an OSU extension veterinarian who is conducting the research.

"[This system] has been a dream of mine for years," Villarroel said.

The system, made by Israel's SAE Afikim, has taken the center three years to obtain Thanks to $100,000 of equipment donated from Afikim, the system can finally be put to use.

"Without Villarroel and her relationship with Afikim, it never would have happened," Krahn said.

As of now, researchers are already able to test different factors affecting milk production. They will also be able to tell when a cow is in heat by reading her increased activity levels from the pedometer.

The new system will give researchers live data, allowing them to interpret a cow's behavior without having to be there or without having to film them.

"Cows are very sensitive to change," Krahn said. "They are creatures of habit."

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