Israeli dairy farm management solutions firm, Afimilk, announced it has acquired Glasgow, Scotland-based Silent Herdsman for an undisclosed amount. VC-backed Silent Herdsman is the developer of a dairy cow monitoring system in the form of a neck collar that can detect when an animal goes into estrus in addition to detecting a variety of health problems that might need attention based on a cow’s activity, rumination, and eating habits.

 

The acquisition of Silent Herdsman will significantly expand Afimilk’s cow monitoring capabilities. The company, which services dairy farms with farm management software and milk analysis in 50 countries, already produces the AfiAct II – a leg mounted cow monitoring system that detects estrus and possible problems based on activity and resting patterns.

 

Detection of estrus is particularly crucial to the successful running of a dairy operation as it determines the regular breeding of the herd for maximum milk output, while early detection of health issues can reduce cow death, culling rates, and capital expenditures in the longer term. The Silent Herdsman collects pertinent data which is wirelessly transmitted via a base station to a central computer on the dairy farm, or to a smart phone or tablet, that provide real time alerts indicating changes in a cow’s health or estrus status.

 

"Silent Herdsman complements Afimilk's popular AfiAct II product line with unique functionality and powerful features based on new technology," said Afimilk CEO Yuval Rachmilevitz in a company statement, adding that systems are highly accurate and scalable, leading to a favorable integration.