The Halo system, developed by TagIT, utilises probes, traps and sensors at strategic spots in the milking plant to measure the volume, temperature and flow of milk and wash water going through the plant.
Measurements are taken at 10-minute intervals and uploaded to a cloud server through mobile data, with information compiled into reports then either sent back to the farmer as a text message or email or posted to the internet.
Technical development manager Russell Gibbs says it gives opportunity to fix problems before they turn into grades.
“All farmers know they lose milk either through mistakes or by accident,” says Gibbs. “We’re trying to let them know what’s happening close to the source so they don’t have to deal with grades.”
Some of the things the Halo mik monitoring system can detect include thermodurics and warm milk says Gibb. Messages are passed to farmers for whatever action they deem fit.
“We’re not prescriptive in what we do; we just give them the information,” Gibbs explains. “We don’t ask the farmer to change what he’s doing, we just say ‘do what you normally do and we’ll give them the data’.”
While the system has been available for just nine months and is on about nine farms now, Gibbs says it has been in development for the last two and a half years and is bringing good results. Farmers are very happy with the technology,” he says.
Tel. 07 823 3660
www.gea-farmtechnologies.co.nz
