This blog post is based on the 21st Practice Abstract from the second batch of Farmtopia Practice Abstracts.
Heat stress is a recurring challenge for cattle farmers, particularly during hot summer periods. When temperatures rise, cows may eat less, produce less milk and gain weight more slowly. Yet many precision livestock technologies designed to monitor and respond to heat stress remain too expensive for small and medium-sized farms.
Farmtopia’s Sustainable Innovation Pilot 7 (SIP7) explored how affordable digital technology can make real-time animal welfare monitoring accessible to farms with around 10 to 60 cattle.
A practical solution for smaller farms
Developed by ANAMOB and SmartRDI, the SIP7 solution combines three main components:
- Smart ear tags that continuously measure temperature and humidity at animal level.
- A central control box that determines when cooling is needed based on the local Thermal-Humidity Index.
- An automated sprinkler system that sprays water only at the feeding front, avoiding the sleeping area.
Farmers can monitor the system through a mobile application available in their local language. The application provides real-time information about animal welfare, allows farmers to configure the system and sends notifications when action is needed.
The system was deliberately designed to remain affordable. Hardware costs around €1,250 as a one-time investment, while seasonal software costs approximately €500. This puts the solution substantially below the cost of many industrial precision-livestock systems.
Monitoring cows at individual-animal level
The solution was piloted over two production cycles on two Romanian farms keeping the Băltata Românească dual-purpose breed.
Compared with three-year historical baselines from 2021–2023, one of the farms recorded:
- 9.4% higher daily milk production per animal
- 6.1% higher daily meat production per animal
- 11.9% improvement in the net profitability trajectory
The second farm also maintained productivity gains per animal during the two hot seasons. A documented restructuring of the herd affected the milking group during one of the years, but individual-animal monitoring still provided evidence that productivity could be tracked at animal level.
The pilot also combined continuous temperature and humidity measurements with automated sprinkler activation according to Thermal-Humidity Index thresholds. Farmers observed calmer feeding behaviour and less panting during hot periods, while also reporting improvements in milk quality.
These results come from the pilot farms and comparisons with their historical baselines, so they should be understood as pilot evidence rather than a controlled experiment proving that all changes were caused by the technology alone.
Designed around the realities of small farms
A key feature of SIP7 is its focus on practical use. The system does not require advanced digital skills, and the mobile application uses clear notifications in the farmer’s local language.
The ear tags are lightweight, non-invasive and can be reused across seasons. The sprinklers are limited to five minutes per hour and are positioned so that the sleeping area remains dry.
The model can also work through shared infrastructure. Neighbouring farms, cooperatives or Digital Innovation Hubs could share gateways, cloud services and maintenance, reducing the cost for individual farms.
Seasonal software costs also mean that farmers pay for the service during the period when heat-stress monitoring and cooling are most relevant.
What can farmers take from the pilot?
For small and medium-sized cattle farms considering digital welfare monitoring, SIP7 highlights several practical points:
-Start with the main welfare problem. Heat stress can have direct effects on feeding, productivity and animal behaviour, making it a useful area for targeted monitoring.
-Choose technology that fits the farm. A solution designed for 10–60 animals can be more appropriate than a complex industrial system designed for much larger operations.
-Use animal-level data where possible. Individual monitoring can help farmers identify changes in animal condition and productivity rather than relying only on herd-level observations.
-Keep the system simple. Local-language interfaces, automated notifications and minimal manual intervention can make digital tools easier to use in everyday farm management.
-Consider shared infrastructure. Cooperatives and neighbouring farms can potentially reduce costs by sharing gateways, cloud services and maintenance.
Making precision livestock farming more accessible
SIP7 demonstrates how precision livestock technology can be adapted to the scale and resources of smaller farms. By combining low-cost sensors, automated cooling and a simple mobile interface, the system aims to provide farmers with timely information about animal welfare without requiring the investment associated with large industrial livestock operations.
For farms facing increasingly hot summers, affordable monitoring and targeted cooling could provide a practical way to respond to heat stress while keeping the technology manageable and economically realistic.
Based on Farmtopia Practice Abstract 21
Official title: An Affordable IoT-Based Animal Welfare Monitoring System for Small and Medium-Sized Dairy Farms (SIP7)
Publisher: ANAMOB & SmartRDI
Authors: Viorel Marin (ANAMOB); Radu Marin (SmartRDI)
Contact: radu.marin88@gmail.com ; vmarin@anamob.ro