Modern technologies such as robotic milking, the addition of concentrates at the concentrate feeder, automatic feeding of calves and others are increasingly being used on farms that keep dairy cows and produce milk for the market. More and more farms are opting to use a variety of sensors as tools to improve management in their herds. Sensors, usually attached to the individual animal, either as pedometers on the legs, collars, or sensors in the ears, provide a large amount of different data that must be converted into useful information for breeders using appropriate computer equipment and algorithms. Modern breeding objectives also include data collected via sensors on individual animals. These data form the basis for evaluating and improving animal health and welfare, and improve milk quality, reproduction, longevity, and lifetime production. Newer sensors also allow monitoring of the occurrence of heat stress (the microclimate in the barn), greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental parameters. The use of sensors on farms is becoming increasingly important and is becoming an important tool for improving management, labour efficiency, grower income, and most importantly, animal health and welfare.
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