Dairy farmer Tony Louters in California’s Central Valley equips his cows with high-tech collars containing sensors and WiFi instead of traditional bells. The Merck-developed collars function as early-warning systems, detecting health problems before symptoms appear. Louters says the technology saved one cow and hundreds of dollars in lost milk after his computer alerted him to behavioral changes at sunrise. “It’s the closest we can get to talking to the cows,” Louters told the New York Times. The livestock-monitoring market exceeds $5 billion, with Merck’s collars tracking 20% of America’s dairy cows at $3 monthly per animal. The collars monitor chewing patterns, location, and feeding habits, sending data to algorithms that alert farmers to irregularities. Annie Vannurden operates a 5,000-cow South Dakota dairy using the technology. The collars can boost milk production up to 10%. (Story URL)
