By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor
Detecting sick cattle can now be easier than ever, thanks to Merck Animal Health’s latest addition to its Allflex Livestock Intelligence lineup.
Merck’s SenseHub® Feedlot features electronic ear tags with an LED light, which illuminate when an animal’s behavioral and biometric data indicate it may need attention. Feedlot employees then have an additional visual clue the animal needs to be separated and assessed for signs of illness.
“SenseHub Feedlot offers those who manage and care for cattle an innovative new approach to detecting illness, including bovine respiratory disease (BRD),” Dr. Jason Nickell, director of insights and outcomes at Merck Animal Health, said. “Cattle’s defense mechanisms mean they often hide symptoms of illness, making it very challenging for even experienced pen riders to find sick animals. SenseHub Feedlot assists the pen rider by removing the guesswork. Animals can be pulled and treated more quickly and more accurately.”
The ear tag measures body temperature via an infrared thermistor and an accelerometer tracks activity. A set of machine learning algorithms identify animals that vary from herd baselines.
In addition to the illuminated ear tag, livestock owners and managers receive a daily pull list of animals identified for human assessment.
Research conducted at an Oklahoma feedlot showed considerable labor savings when using SenseHub Feedlot. Pen riders relying on visual observation to identify potentially sick or lame animals entered an average of 18 pens per day, compared with just 5.3 pens when using SenseHub Feedlot, a 71% reduction. BRD-related mortality was also lower in a 60-day study.
“The technology is like having another employee monitoring cattle 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even with ‘feedlot’ in the product name, the product also has application in backgrounding or stocker operations or cow-calf operations retaining calves,” Nickell said.
Other users of SenseHub Feedlot have reported lower treatment costs, less mortality overall, less retreatment and improvement treatment outcomes.
The ear tags, which are reusable, relay information to antennas, which have a range of up to two miles. A gateway collects, stores and transmits the data.
“This technology is another innovation from Merck Animal Health that enables cattle producers to monitor and gather real-time, actionable data to help them better care for and manage cattle,” Paul Koffman, Allflex Livestock Intelligence North America lead, said. “In times when labor supply is short, SenseHub Feedlot is even more helpful as it allows caretakers to more efficiently and accurately assess animal care needs, resulting in better outcomes for cattle and a positive impact to the bottom line for producers.”
SenseHub Feedlot currently has limited availability, with an expanded rollout planned for Summer 2022.
To view the entire Merck Animal Health Allflex Livestock Intelligence product lineup, visit the Allflex website. More information about SenseHub Feedlot will be available soon.