A Low-Cost IoT-Based System to Monitor the Location of a Whole Herd

Animal location technologies have evolved considerably in the last 60 years. Nowadays, animal tracking solutions based on global positioning systems (GPS) are commercially available. However, existing devices have several constraints, mostly related to wireless data transmission and financial cost, which make impractical the monitorization of all the animals in a herd. The main objective of this work is to develop a low-cost solution to enable the monitorization of a whole herd. An IoT-based system, which requires some animals of the herd being fitted with GPS collars connected to a Sigfox network and the rest with low-cost Bluetooth tags, has been developed. Its performance has been tested in two commercial farms, raising sheep and beef cattle, through the monitorization of 50 females in each case. Several collar/tag ratios, which define the cost per animal of the solution, have been simulated. Results demonstrate that a low collar/tag ratio enable the monitorization of a whole sheep herd. A larger ratio is needed for beef cows because of their grazing behavior. Nevertheless, the optimal ratio depends on the purpose of location data. Large variability has been observed for the number of hourly and daily messages from collars and tags. The system effectiveness for the monitorization of all the animals in a herd has been certainly proved

Livestock Monitoring: Approaches, Challenges and Opportunities

This survey presents approaches and technologies for livestock identification, vital signs monitoring and location tracking. It first introduces the related concepts. Then, provides an analysis of existing solutions and highlights their strengths and limitations. Finally, it presents key challenges in the field, and discusses recent trends that must be factored in by researchers, implementers, and manufacturers towards future developments in the area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sensing solutions for improving the performance, health and wellbeing of small ruminants

Diversity of production systems and specific socio-economic barriers are key reasons explaining why the implementation of new technologies in small ruminants, despite being needed and beneficial for farmers, is harder than in other livestock species. There are, however, helpful peculiarities where small ruminants are concerned: the compulsory use of electronic identification created a unique scenario in Europe in which all small ruminant breeding stock became searchable by appropriate sensing solutions, and the largest small ruminant population in the world is located in Asia, close to the areas producing new technologies. Notwithstanding, only a few research initiatives and literature reviews have addressed the development of new technologies in small ruminants. This Research Reflection focuses on small ruminants (with emphasis on dairy goats and sheep) and reviews in a non-exhaustive way the basic concepts, the currently available sensor solutions and the structure and elements needed for the implementation of sensor-based husbandry decision support. Finally, some examples of results obtained using several sensor solutions adapted from large animals or newly developed for small ruminants are discussed. Significant room for improvement is recognized and a large number of multiple-sensor solutions are expected to be developed in the relatively near future

Monitoring cattle behavior and pasture use with GPS and GIS

Precision agriculture is already being used commercially to improve variability management in row crop agriculture. In the same way, understanding how spatial and temporal variability of animal, forage, soil and landscape features affect grazing behavior and forage utilization provides potential to modify pasture management, improve efficiency of utilization, and maximize profits. Recent advances in global positioning system (GPS) technology have allowed the development of lightweight GPS collar receivers suitable for monitoring animal position at 5-min intervals. The GPS data can be imported into a geographic information system (GIS) to assess animal behavior characteristics and pasture utilization. This paper describes application and use of GPS technology on intensively managed beef cattle, and implications for livestock behavior and management research on pasture

Monitoring cattle behavior and pasture use with GPS and GIS

Precision agriculture is already being used commercially to improve variability management in row crop agriculture. In the same way, understanding how spatial and temporal variability of animal, forage, soil and landscape features affect grazing behavior and forage utilization provides potential to modify pasture management, improve efficiency of utilization, and maximize profits. Recent advances in global positioning system (GPS) technology have allowed the development of lightweight GPS collar receivers suitable for monitoring animal position at 5-min intervals. The GPS data can be imported into a geographic information system (GIS) to assess animal behavior characteristics and pasture utilization. This paper describes application and use of GPS technology on intensively managed beef cattle, and implications for livestock behavior and management research on pasture

Proposing internet of things integration into deoxyribonucleic acid technology for combating stock theft in Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa

The ever-increasing stock theft in the selected areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province seems to be uncontrollable. Heavily reliance on the use of conventional methods, such as brand-marking and tattooing and legislative frameworks, like the Stock Theft Act (No. 57 of 1959) and Animal Identification Act (No. 6 of 2002) in attempting to quell this crime currently proved ineffective. In responding to this elusive scourge, the objective of this study was to propose Internet of Things (IoT) integration into Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology for combating stock theft in the selected areas of KZN Province. This qualitative study was guided by the descriptive and exploratory research designs, with approximately 49 participants purposively selected from various Anti-Stock theft stakeholders. The Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interview (KIIs) were adopted for data collections. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was also employed for data analysis. This study established that IoT allows livestock farmers to improve their livestock management through activity and movement-monitoring. Thus, the sought integration with DNA technology can adequately aid to evidence gathering relating and livestock identification by offering DNA characteristics. It is recommended that all Anti-Stock theft stakeholders should highly consider undergoing educational courses and other related trainings based on the effective use of IoT and DNA technology to physical match livestock ear notches and brands, as well as provide specific descriptions and verifications of their near real-time visibility in varying periods respectively

Agricultural Production System Based On IOT

Internet of things (IoT) is not a single word, but it has gathered billions of devices in the same lane. The Internet of things has given the lives of things. Machines have a sense now like a human. It works remotely as the program has been settled inside the chip. The system has become so smart and reliable. The Internet of things has brought out changes in most of the sectors of humankind. Meanwhile, agriculture is the main strength of a country. The more the production of agricultural products increased, the world will be more completeness from food shortage. The production of agriculture can be increased when the IoT system can be entirely implemented in the agricultural sector. Most of the approaches for IoT based agriculture have been reviewed in this paper. Related to IoT based agriculture, most of the architecture and methodology have been interpreted and have been critically analyzed based on previous related work of the researchers. This paper will be able to provide a complete idea with the architecture and methodology in the field of IoT based agriculture. Moreover, the challenges for agricultural IoT are discussed with the methods provided by the researche

Agricultural Production System Based On IOT

Internet of things (IoT) is not a single word, but it has gathered billions of devices in the same lane. The Internet of things has given the lives of things. Machines have a sense now like a human. It works remotely as the program has been settled inside the chip. The system has become so smart and reliable. The Internet of things has brought out changes in most of the sectors of humankind. Meanwhile, agriculture is the main strength of a country. The more the production of agricultural products increased, the world will be more completeness from food shortage. The production of agriculture can be increased when the IoT system can be entirely implemented in the agricultural sector. Most of the approaches for IoT based agriculture have been reviewed in this paper. Related to IoT based agriculture, most of the architecture and methodology have been interpreted and have been critically analyzed based on previous related work of the researchers. This paper will be able to provide a complete idea with the architecture and methodology in the field of IoT based agriculture. Moreover, the challenges for agricultural IoT are discussed with the methods provided by the researche

SheepIT, an E-Shepherd System for Weed Control in Vineyards: Experimental Results and Lessons Learned

Weed control in vineyards demands regular interventions that currently consist of the use of machinery, such as plows and brush-cutters, and the application of herbicides. These methods have several drawbacks, including cost, chemical pollution, and the emission of greenhouse gases. The use of animals to weed vineyards, usually ovines, is an ancestral, environmentally friendly, and sustainable practice that was abandoned because of the scarcity and cost of shepherds, which were essential for preventing animals from damaging the vines and grapes. The SheepIT project was developed to automate the role of human shepherds, by monitoring and conditioning the behaviour of grazing animals. Additionally, the data collected in real-time can be used for improving the efficiency of the whole process, e.g., by detecting abnormal situations such as health conditions or attacks and manage the weeding areas. This paper presents a comprehensive set of field-test results, obtained with the SheepIT infrastructure, addressing several dimensions, from the animals’ well-being and their impact on the cultures, to technical aspects, such as system autonomy. The results show that the core objectives of the project have been attained and that it is feasible to use this system, at an industrial scale, in vineyards.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio