Suppose your Alta COW WATCH herd monitoring system indicates that a cow is in heat or has a health condition. Then, of course, your first question is going to be: where do I find that cow? Wouldn't it be convenient and efficient if you could rely on the fact that all cows that need attention are already in the separation pen for immediate insemination or treatment?
Nedap, the developer of our Alta COW WATCH activity monitoring system, has released a new SmartSort gate that takes valuable insights from Alta COW WATCH and allows you to do just that. Coupled with Alta COW WATCH, it features one recognition point with an unmatched degree of accuracy, few moving parts to reduce cow stress, low maintenance and high-capacity operation. Based on specific goals, you can decide which cows need to be separated or routed and the location to where they need to be sent.
While there are many sort gate options available, it's important to note that they are not all created equally and for you to consider a few key features when making a selection. Martin van Middelkoop, Market Solution Manager at Nedap, takes us through the development of the SmartSort and reveals some important things to look out for when buying.
“The biggest advantage of a sorting gate is obviously the time savings for the farm workers and for the cows” shares Martin van Middelkoop, Market Solution Manager at Nedap. Together with his team, he has worked on perfecting the SmartSort in recent years. “A sorting gate is also safer and more hygienic than walking among the cows to cherry pick individuals needing attention. But you have no use for a sorting gate if you cannot be fully confident that all the cows on the selection list are actually sorted,” he points to the frustration of dairy farmers with bad experiences in the past. “From the starting point of excellence in reliability, we developed the SmartSort.”
“Our other sort gate wasn’t to our satisfaction, but the Nedap sort gate has been a great experience for us,” notes Deric Wolf, Alfalawn Farm Herd Manager. “We’ve seen results in overall cow comfort. The system has been a lot easier on the cows and on us.”
Van Middelkoop explains how the system works and the choices Nedap made in doing so. “The SmartSort recognizes the cow based on RFID recognition in the neck tags. If the cow is listed, the gate – thanks to superfast data transfer – opens instantly and with free passage towards the separation area.”
Unlike other systems, the SmartSort does not need auxiliary sensors for cow recognition. This makes sorting faster. In systems with auxiliary sensors, the cow often has to wait before a second gate opens, which causes agitation. “In the SmartSort, there is one recognition point, few moving parts and free cow traffic. So no stress for the cow, low maintenance and high capacity,” Van Middelkoop explains.
“If you’re not looking at new technology and new ways of keeping up with the industry, pretty soon you’re behind,” says Dave Styer, co-owner of Alfalawn Farm, Menomonie, Wisconsin. “With the SmartSort system, we’ve been able to reach much higher accuracy than with our previous system. One of the unique things about this system is that it’s a continuous flow sort gate. It doesn’t stop the cows like our previous sort gate, so our throughput is very good. We’re very happy with the SmartSort sort gate and supporting technology.”
Another difference from existing sorting systems is the easy installation, as the SmartSort is already largely pre-assembled and factory-tested for operation. “We deliberately chose this to minimize the risk of errors and malfunctions and to make it easier for the installer,” Van Middelkoop explains. “Many things like the distance from the antenna to the gate are very precise. If that deviates by just an inch, it can result in malfunctions or unreliable selections. This annoys the dairy farmer and costs the service engineer a lot of time and money. We prevent this because the SmartSort is already assembled at these crucial points in Nedap’s workshop. That can’t go wrong in assembly and gives 99.9% reliability in practice.”
In the SmartSort, there is one recognition point, few moving parts and free cow traffic. No stress for the cow, low maintenance and high capacity.
The reliability of the SmartSort is also evidenced by the extensive testing phase on dairy farms. The SmartSort was tested on mid size farms as well as farms with many thousands of cows in a conventional parlor setting, as well as on farms with a grazing system and seasonal calving cycle. “On the latter type of farms, flawless selection is very important,” Van Middelkoop explains. “Those cows pass through the milking parlor and sorting gate twice a day and spend the rest of the time in the pasture far away from the farm. If you then miss a cow in heat, it is very difficult to inseminate her in time. That can lead to culling if she does not get pregnant within the desired time frame.”
“Having the sort gate helps us work with the cows we need without disrupting the rest of the herd. It just streamlines the whole system,” says Pagel’s Ponderosa Herd Manager Chris Szydel. “The rest of the herd can go back to their pens, eat, drink, walk around, lie down and be a cow. The system does a great job of identifying cows that need attention on a day-to-day basis.”
You have many choices for sorting systems, but it's important that you select a system that truly performs for your dairy. SmartSort, coupled with Alta COW WATCH technology, was built with the dairy farmer in mind, focusing on performance, ease of use, and reliability. It is the sort gate solution that you can trust.
In addition to all of these unique features and benefits, there is one thing that makes it something special: the partnership you gain with Alta when you use it.
Speak to your trusted Alta advisor or reach out to us here to see how Alta COW WATCH and SmartSort gates can improve efficiencies for you.