A pilot of a new automated on-farm monitoring system will be launched today at Fieldays 2021.
The technology was designed to provide farmers with an "intelligent eye" over the health of their herd, which allowed for early detection of conditions such as lameness.
Created by the makers of the world's first , Dunedin-based Iris Data Science, the technology was currently piloted on five dairy farms in the lower South Island with success – and the company said it hoped to extend this to around 50 farms.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) was contributing $40,000 to the project through its Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) fund.
"Our pilot farms are already seeing promising results, with farmers saying they are receiving valuable, accurate, and consistent information on the condition of their herds," Iris Data Science's co-founder and managing director Greg Peyroux said.