Special Data Logger for Agricultural Studies

Case study Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART Research Institute

The Swiss Agroscope Research Institute belongs to the Federal Office for Agriculture and, in the agricultural research it is the driving force for sustainable development in the agricultural, food and environmental sectors. Agroscope develops scientific and technical bases for agricultural and environmental policy decisions and the enforcement of legislation.

On behalf of and in cooperation with the Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ATR Research Institute, MSR technologies have already been used for various studies, see also: Animal monitoring, monitoring of breathing, walking, standing, lying and sleeping behaviour

Automatic measurement of the chewing movement in ruminants with the aid of a pressure sensor

The following summary is taken from the publication “Agricultural Research Switzerland 2 (2): 60-65, 2011, Authors: Franz Nydegger, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART Research Institute, CH-8356 Ettenhausen, Lorenz Gygax, Centre for proper housing of ruminants and pigs, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART Research Institute, CH-8356 Ettenhausen, Wendelin K. Egli, MSR Electronics GmbH, CH-8472 Seuzach

The rumination activity is considered an important, non-invasive measurable parameter for the early detection of metabolic disorders in ruminants. Conventional rumination sensors show drawbacks especially when used in the stable area. The newly developed ART rumination sensor contains a noseband sensor consisting of a liquid-filled tube and pressure sensor, a data logger and software for analysis. The data are transferred to the PC via a USB interface. Due to learning files the R-based software allocates the individual jaw movements to the activities <> <> and <>. The validation has shown that the devices are reliable and that the conformance of the optical evaluation with the automatic evaluation is very high. The ART rumination sensor is suitable for research and advisory purposes.