IRELAND – MSD Animal Health Ireland has unveiled its latest offering, the SenseHub solution in a bit to revolutionize dairy farming practices.
The integrated system introduces the SenseHub In-Line Somatic Cell Count (SCC) Sensor and the SenseHub In-Line Milkplus Sensor to enhance the existing SenseHub Ecosystem.
This expansion enables dairy farmers to gain additional insights into milk quality, including critical data such as milk yield, butterfat, protein, lactose, blood, and conductivity.
According to the company, the SenseHub solution, when combined with drafting solutions, promises a fully connected farm experience.
MSD asserted that this holistic dairy system not only delivers substantial cost and labor savings but also contributes to enhancing milk quality and overall udder health.
The unveiling event featured Jack O’Connor, the ruminant business unit director at MSD Animal Health, emphasizing the significance of data-driven decisions in addressing the challenges faced by Irish dairy farmers.
O’Connor highlighted the farmer-centric design of SenseHub, stressing the importance of having all data centralized through the SenseHub app.
He emphasized that the technology empowers farmers to make informed, data-driven decisions at an individual cow level rather than just at the herd level.
“The integration of SenseHub In-Line Milkplus Sensor and SenseHub In-Line SCC Sensor allows for instant visibility into milk trends for individual cows and the entire herd,” he said.
“The SenseHub In-Line Milkplus Sensor monitors various critical milk parameters, providing farmers with real-time insights to identify trends and make timely interventions.”
On the other hand, he noted that the SenseHub In-Line SCC Sensor automates somatic cell counts for individual cows during milking, offering clear and reliable results in under two minutes.
This enables farmers to identify high SCC cases promptly and take swift action to protect milk quality, herd health, and profits.
The system employs a simple traffic light system at each milking point, allowing for early detection and timely control procedures while minimizing unnecessary interactions.
“Compatible with all milking parlours, the SenseHub solution can be integrated with neck collars or ultra-lightweight ear tags to relay information back to a central controller. The system further integrates with the Allflex drafting gate, facilitating the automatic separation of cows in need of attention.”
Cara Sheridan, the ruminant integration technical manager at MSD, expressed excitement about operating in the data-driven space.
She emphasized how the SenseHub dairy systems provide actionable insights in real-time, allowing for the collection of data from every single milking and every cow.
Although not yet approved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), components of the system are undergoing the approval process.
Jack O’Connor clarified that while the system does not replace milk recording in the short term, it provides farmers with valuable information to enhance milk quality on their farms.
The cost of the SenseHub Milkplus system is estimated to be in the range of €900 to €1,300 per unit, while the SCC sensor is priced slightly higher, ranging from €1,500 to €1,800 per unit due to variations in milking parlors.
