Data sharing initiative wins national award for saving farmers time
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
CellSense is an automated in-line sensor providing farmers with a live somatic cell count (SCC) result within two minutes of cupping the cow. The new CellSense Connected app sends the SCC results straight to farmers’ smart devices. Data is presented in an easy-to-use format on the farmers’ devices (phones and tablets), allowing them to assign a SCC result to a cow during milking.
This means farmers can view reports at their convenience and use them to aid dry off decisions. A flashing light system in the milking shed is an optional extra that alerts farmers to which cows in the herd have a high SCC.
Paul Whiston, LIC Automation’s chief executive says it heard from farmers they wanted an affordable solution enabling better mastitis management.
‘Until now, a herd identification system had to be fitted in the shed so the data from the sensors could be stored. CellSense Connected means no herd identification system is needed. It puts the farmer in control of what is and isn’t recorded.”
The app has been designed for farmers who run smaller operations and are looking for a cost-effective way manage mastitis. LIC Automation have found through on-farm trials that farmers are mainly concerned with the cows that have a high SCC level and tend to record only the outliers in their herd.
CellSense Connected integrates to LIC Automation’s Protrack, allowing farmers to schedule drafts from the app. It is suitable for both Herringbone and Rotary sheds and connects to other LIC Automation products.
