Using RFID on Vet Check Day Craig Walter Valley Ag Software March 6, 2012
Potential Management Uses for Electronic ID in Dairy Herds Routine management tasks - examples Reproduction: Hormonal schemes, vet checks, estrus recording Posilac (BST) injections Fresh cow checks Wrong pen, pen inventories, & pen movements Vaccinations Locomotion scoring and foot trims Milk and other sample labeling
Current Vet Check Process Create printed list from herd management software or from paper records Lock up pen of cows to check Compare list of cows on paper to actual ear tag # to locate correct cow Record action taken on given cow Continue with current pen until finished, move to new pen until completely done Record results from sheets back into herd management program or other location at later time
Example Vet Check List from Dairy Comp 305
Current Vet Check Process Disadvantages Incorrect identification of selected cow Missing or hard to read ear tags Transposition of numbers when reading numbers Cows located in wrong pen Cows not locked up in order, which requires looking up and down pages or across multiple pages for current cow Hard to read hand writing for data entry time Paper reports get damaged during vet check process Lack of data at cow-side to make informed decision Data entry may still have to occur later at computer
Common Attempts at Data Recording
Advantages: Compliance, all cows have a time, date, method and pen stamp when scanned Accuracy, all cows are scanned, no visual reference is needed, cows are found by process of elimination not matter what pen she is in Speed, no time spent flipping pages of paper, trying to read ear tags or locate missing cows Ease, data is downloaded to handheld system, all cow data is available for reference, once entered, just need to synch back to Dairy Comp Efficient, multiple tasks can be combined to make one pass of cows in pen, less lock up time and stress on cows RFID on Vet Day
Example Handheld Wand Readers Examples shown have BlueTooth connections Destron Fearing (Digital Angel) AllFlex AgInfoLink
Example Handheld Wand Readers Agrident attached to Psion handheld Agrident with Bluetooth connections
Pocket CowCard Paired with Dairy Comp 305 Communicates via USB, network or wireless connections View individual cow cards or custom defined lists Verification of data entry occurs in Dairy Comp 305 Customization of PCC occurs in Dairy Comp 305, then sent to PCC Various hardware options are available Audio prompts can be used to identify target animals Various versions of the program are available
Vet List and Entry Cow side data entry Use with RFID to increase accuracy and efficiency Combine with synchronization program to reduce labor Scan a cow OR tap on a cow on the list OR tap the box, then enter a cow number. Select a Result from the left panel. Then select a remark from the right panel to add an optional remark. Tap Store to finish and move to next cow.
PCC Scan Data entry can be done with vet list, shot lists, hospital lists, vaccination lists, etc at cow side Reduces data entry time at Dairy Comp PC Cows in lockups can be processed faster and more accurately Allows use of RFID button that can also be used in milking parlor ID systems Scan date, time, pen and method are recorded and can be used for compliance checks Allows for combining tasks on one to-do-list Audio prompts allow user to not watch screen for desired cow(s) Allows pen number (location) verification at all times
Pocket CowCard for Android View in portrait or landscape Refresh wirelessly from anywhere Stay current at all times Event page Previous Lactation page Testday page Daily Milk Weight page Lactation page
Other Pocket CowCard Applications Pocket Tester has been developed to provide a means of efficiently recording milk weights in parlors where EID or visual tags are easily read. Pocket Breeder is designed to use the breeding grid option in PCC to promote easy cowside entry of breedings by the AI technician. Pocket Trimmer is designed to use a similar grid format to make the batch entry of foot trim or lame events at cowside more efficient.
Using RFID for Collecting Cow-Side Samples Pocket Cowcard (PCC) on a Psion can be used with both a RFID and Barcode Scanner to enable fast and accurate association of tissue or blood samples with a cow id when precoded sample containers are available. A sample field is created in DC305 to store the barcode number and then a command can be created in PCC to prompt for that value on all cows or a pre-determined list. Those values are then delivered back to DC305, where they can be printed, exported or emailed to the necessary end user.