Innovations that keep cows cool, more easily vaccinate pullets, automate calf information and manage a mite won Eurotier’s gold innovation awards.
The large livestock show runs from Nov. 12 to 15 in Hannover, Germany and attracts exhibitors and attendees from around the world.
Innovation awards for the event were announced before the show and 25 products won gold or silver awards.
Read Also
BinSentry sensors reduce feed-bin outages
BinSentry sensors mean fewer feed bin outages and more efficient deliver for feed mills.
The last time Eurotier announced awards they were more focused on sustainability and methane reduction. These awards saw more winners based on automation and data collection from the 214 submissions.
Gold winners
Agri Advance Technologies – Vaccybot
The Vaccybot helps automate breast vaccination for pullets. Vaccination is usually done manually using needles, which carries risk to poultry and people.
Agri Advanced Technologies developed a system that uses a 3D stereoscopic NIR camera and a real image colour camera to evaluate animals as they pass suspended and targets a position for injection of up to six different vaccines in milliseconds.
A robotic arm with six options administers the vaccine.
Cow-Welfare – Flex Air Stall
Heat stress is a common challenge for farms around the world, including Canada, where many farms use some sort of cooling whether that’s using cross ventilation or sprinklers at the front of stalls or misters.
Cow-Welfare’s Flex Air Stall delivers cool air directly to the animal level with air that flows from the headrail in the stall.
The goal is to create a microclimate at the stall levels for each cow, versus larger air movement with fans.
Forster-Technik – CalfGPT
Lots of technology is moving to the calf level as sensors and automated feeders record more data.
CalfGPT tries to automate the input and output of that data making it more accessible for farmers.
Based on OpenAI’s artificial intelligence tools, CalfGPT allows a farmer to ask questions about the situation of individual calves using a voice connection. The system will reply with answers about that individual calf.
A farmer can add information directly to the system by voice as well. A hands-free system with an in-ear headphone can make the system easier to manage as the user has both hands free to work with animals.
MIK International – Cold plasma mite trap
Red mites are a problem in poultry barns especially for laying hens.
The blood-sucking mite reduces the productivity of poultry and is a vector for diseases, like salmonella.
Treatment is usually an antiparasitic of some sort, but MIK International, in cooperation with the German Federal Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry and HAWK University has created a cold plasma mite trap. It attracts the mites and they are killed by an electric discharge. The result is reduced need for other antiparasitic agents on the farm.
Silver awards
Agri Advanced Technologies – Eggytizer
The eggytizer from Agri Advanced Technologies uses electron beam sterilisation technology (eBeam) to disinfect the hatching eggs. This form of sterilization with accelerated electrons enables deeper penetration into the eggshell than conventional treatments involving UV or ozone.
ASBO – FlexiPigFloor
The FlexiPigFloor helps retrofits of pig barns by providing ways to adapt the holes in slatted floors to meet new requirements and regulations.
ATX Suisse – Heat conduction function for nursing pigs
Temperature stability is key to the survival rate of nursing piglets. The company’s Thermonest has a curtain system that keeps the area warm through conduction.
Aufratech – Exon Dual and Exon Mini
A wearable exoskeleton helps make pressure washing easier on people. The system reduces physical stress. The whip of the washing wand is managed by the torso of the operator.
Betebe – Straw express
The Betebe straw express automatically removes the string on bales of straw, meaning more than one bale at a time can be sent into the system, creating greater efficiency.
Big Dutchman – BioTag+
The BioTag+, developed in cooperation with BioCV is made to bring the value of locomotion scoring and other data monitoring common in cattle farms to pigs. The smaller ear tag helps to measure noises and can identify when farrowing is imminent.
Big Dutchman – MultiVacc
The MultiVacc helps to automate the vaccination of pullets and can apply four breast vaccinations and one wing vaccination.
Big Dutchman – Sharky430
The Sharky 430 is the first automated washing robot developed specifically for poultry barns.
CowManager – Youngstock
The Youngstock system by CowManager is part of the evolution towards more data recorded for calves. Health monitoring can help by reducing antibiotic use early and helping to manage disease early in life.
Hiko -Easyfill bucket
The Easyfill bucket has a hole in the lid which enables farms to put milk directly into a bucket for a calf without opening the lid.
Gummiwerk Kraiburg Elastik – Espaflex
The Espaflex changes the slope on slatted floors so urine is more quickly moved into the storage below, which should help reduce methane emissions and improve hoof health.
MSD Tiergesundheit – SenseHub Dairy Youngstock
SenseHub is another new data recording device for calves, which monitors the calves during the first 12 months of their lives and gives alerts to farmers when the algorithm says there’s a discrepancy in the calf’s movements.
Nooyen Manufacturing B.V. – Lowered heated piglet nest
The Nooyen piglet nest has a depression that helps reduce the risk of crushing losses after farrowing.
Omegga One
Omegga has improved the technology for detecting the sex of laying chicks in the egg and recognizes the sex of the chicken up to the seventh day of incubation.
MS Schippers – HyCare Digital
This system combines traditional rodent management with digital surveillance. Alerts are sent to a farmers’ phone with actions to be taken to increase rodent control.
Siloking – heavy-duty magnet
Many total mixed ration mixers have magnets, but Siloking has designed one that is removable for easy cleaning, which makes it safer for
SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz – Atmowell with urease inhibitor
Developed in conjunction with Betebe, this product applies a urease inhibitor, which reduces manure smell and methane production, using technology that applies it to floors in cattle barns.
Spinder Dairy Housing Concepts
This gate on a rail helps farms where groups of cows are moved in dairy farms. This means that group sizes can be changed easily and with great flexibility.
Urban – SipControl
Urban added sensors to its automated feeders to measure the way that calves are drinking, which can help identify when they are ill. Number of swallows, volume per swallow and suckling strength are all recorded.
Weidemann – Follow me function
The Follow me function means an operator can command the Hoftrac to follow along to the next job, reducing the number of times an operator climbs on and off the machine.
