The simple method uses an electronic circuit in an adhesive patch to replace tail paint and manual drafting in the shed.
The patch is activated once pressure is applied and cows are automatically sorted at the gate for mating.
The system can be used in any shed and farming system.
Robbie Van Der Poel operates a dairy farm with 400 cows at Otorohanga and was the first to test the technology.
“I like the simplicity of the patches, anyone can use this in a way that minimises labour – we now have one less labour unit in the cowshed,” Van Der Poel says.
“You can do the whole herd in one milking ready to send out the next day and it’s a one-off cost.”
Milking technology company DeLaval, which has launched HeatGate, with Estroscan, says automated heat detection can improve submission and in-calf rates.
“We’re focused on the technology that farmers need to lift their profitability and manage the health of their animals without increases in labour requirements,” DeLaval herd management solution manager Peter Wilson said.
“We’ve seen about 231 more days in milk on our test farm as a result of automating heat detection alone,” Wilson says.
“In our first mating we had a 7% increase in our three-week in-calf rate so that basically means more cows in calf earlier, more days in milk, more money in my pocket,” Van Der Poel says.
DeLaval HeatGate works with a hand-held operator, a standalone fixture on any gate without requiring a connection to a central data management system or in conjunction with a DeLaval sortgate.
“Before HeatGate we were using a traditional tail paint system, how I was taught. Now the cows are automatically drafted out and they’re there waiting for me to deal with after milking,” Van Der Poel says.
