5 tech products launching at Dairy-Tech 2021

The Dairy-Tech event will run online this year because of Covid-19. Taking place from 3-17 February, the event will showcase some of the latest innovations and new technology in the industry.

Below, we take a look at some of the highlights.

Soil carbon check

NRM is launching Carboncheck, a package which enables farmers to monitor, record and benchmark carbon levels within their soils.

The report provides details on traditional measures such as organic matter, but combines information from a number of different carbon measurements, total nitrogen and the C:N ratio.

This is then combined with a soil bulk density measurement to calculate organic carbon stock in tonnes per hectare.

It also measures active carbon – the readily available portion of soil carbon that provides the food source for soil microbes.

This provides a means to quickly measure the effects of different soil management approaches.

For more information on Carboncheck, contact Rory Geldard on rory.geldard@nrm.uk.com or 07917 064591

Farmfit bolus

Farmfit is a health monitoring bolus for calves that provides live alerts and notifications of core body temperature straight to your phone via the Farmfit app.

Features include:

• Battery life 18 months
• Barcode enabled for easy phone scanning
• Replaces the need for a rumen magnet
• Recommended to be given at three days of age
• 80-150 feet range​​​ depending on facility layout​
• Collects stored bolus data every hour​​​
• Also collects ambient temperature and humidity, and calculates temperature heat index
• Alerts to fever that lasts four hours or longer​
• Treatment logs and history​
• Calves can be viewed by group to determine the spread of illness.

Farmfit will be available early in 2021. For more information visit stfarmfit.com

Cowmanager launches new module 

Cowmanager has launched a nutrition module as part of its precision monitoring package.

Its ear sensors monitor rumination and eating based on the activity and ear temperature of cows.

The smart algorithm within the new module provides timely alerts for heat stress, feed intake, group health issues and transition problems, at an individual and group level.

For more information, visit the CowManager website.

Lely manure separator

Lely is launching a new barn system that separate manure and urine, enabling farmers to reduce purchased fertiliser and ammonia emissions by up to 70%.

Called Sphere, the system results in three individual fertilisers: nitrogen in the discharge water produced by the N-Capture; phosphate and organic nitrogen in the solid fraction; and potassium in the fraction in the pit.

The slatted floor in the building is closed with separation strips that have small holes, allowing urine to flow into the underground storage tank but leaving the manure on the slats.

The slurry collector cleans the floors and dumps the manure into a sealed pit.

The Lely Sphere ventilating unit, housed outside the barn, creates a negative pressure in the pit, sucking air in through the small holes in the slat strips.

This air passes through a filter which captures ammonia with acidified water to create circular fertiliser which is stored in a silo. 

Development of the Sphere system began five years ago. Systems have been operational since 2017 and are now running on test farms.

For further information, contact Lely marketing manager Savina Chani on 07775 511277

Hoofcount control box

Farmers can now use Hoofcount’s automatic foot-bath remotely, thanks to the addition of a new control box.  

The function links users direct to the web-based control centre using the farm computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

This regulates and monitors performance as well as remotely controlling various features, including enabling users to:

• Update control box settings
• Predict chemical usage
• Send alerts when chemical is running low
• Provide real-time information such as the number of cows using the foot-bath.

The system also allows a Hoofcount engineer to log in and resolve any issues without a visit to farm.

The new function is offered on all new Hoofcount foot-baths – Standard, Excel and Robot, and can be retrofitted to existing units.

For further details, contact Hoofcount on 01995 603028.