Livestock Engineering Machinery and Techniques for Cattle Husbandry

The trend of automation and sensor-based animal monitoring is continuing in dairy farming. In Europe, milking robots are common so far, mainly as single box systems. Automatic feeding systems are just in the market introduction phase. Using novel activity sensors, the activity behavior can be classified in the sub-activities lying, walking and standing. In combination with feeding/ruminating sensors a more comprehensive animal surveillance and also a better detection of estrus, calving and diseases is possible. Indoor positioning systems, the first are installed in practical farms, are aimed at the same direction.