Cattle Eye, a livestock-monitoring platform that can help detect lameness in cows, was crowned the winner of the Royal Dairy Innovation Award at the recent Dairy Tech event.
Cattle Eye, based in Northern Ireland, is an autonomous livestock welfare-and-performance-monitoring product, meaning no hardware or devices need to be attached to the cow.
It can be used to detect locomotion deviations, which are highly correlated to lameness in dairy cows. The product is thought to be the first to undergo successful academic validation by a leading UK university.
The Dairy Tech award was presented to a company exhibiting at the show with a practical product or service, which has the most significant innovation for the future of dairying.
Lameness detection
Competition judge and Royal Association Of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) council member, Tim Downes said they chose Cattle Eye due to the early and accurate lameness-detection in cows.
"Cattle Eye supports farmers' observations, is cheap to install and doesn't require any collars.
"It has the potential to help farmers tackle lameness early in their herds. They are also working towards a body condition score element," he added.
Runners-up
The two runners up were DigiFarm Data Tool and DeLaval Flow Responsive Milking.
DigiFarm Data Tool is a web-based solution for VetPartners vets in the UK, vet staff and farm clients, which integrates clinical and farm-management records.
DigiFarm brings together milk records and health data to create unique reports that both vets and farmers can use.
DeLaval Flow Responsive Milking uses actual milk flow to adjust milking parameters like vacuum and pulsation to create a more efficient milk-flow profile.
