DAC 2021_12

33 www.drivesncontrols.com November/December 2021 CONTROLS. HMIs AND SOFTWARE n Technology helps herds to have healthy hooves L ameness among cows is a major problem for dairy farmers. For a 100- cow herd, the problem can cost several thousands of pounds per year. Across the UK dairy industry as whole, the financial impact of lameness is estimated to be more than £100m every year. The lameness is caused by bacteria picked up by the cows’hoofs and can restrict the animals’mobility, cause them pain and result in behavioural changes. These impacts – which can result in a reduced milk production, decreased fertility, an increased need for medical treatment and hoof trimming, and higher labour costs – are a major concern for the dairy industry. One way to help reduce and hopefully prevent hoof infections and lameness, is to give the cows regular foot baths. Lancashire-based Hoofcount has developed a range of automated footbathmachines suitable for farms of all sizes. The footbaths are optimised to reduce water and chemical usage, thus cutting running costs. They are easy to maintain and have a built-in cleaning system that is activated after a preset number of cows have passed through. It takes less than three minutes to complete the cleaning process using a pair of chemical pumps. Hoofcount, a small family firm that understands the needs of farmers and their animals, has been more than doubling its output each year and now produces around 300 footbaths a year. It ships them to more than 16 countries, including Canada, Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Data from Hoofcount’s customers has demonstrated that the footbaths can indeed reduce lameness, resulting in savings of up to £8,000 per 100 cows per year. The company has recently enhanced the capabilities of its footbaths to gather data that will help farmers to make better informed decisions, helping them to tackle lameness more effectively and to become more operationally efficient. “When we first introduced footbaths in the UK in 2012, we were already ahead of the game because they were quite new,”recalls Hoofcount’s founder, Anthony Marsh.“But, with the rapid advancements in technology, we’ve reached a point where we need to go that extra mile and be revolutionary again. “Simply put, we have transformed our footbath into a pioneering piece of equipment that will eventually help cattle farmers in making data-driven decisions.” Hoofcount’s smart controller allows farmers to monitor and change the footbath settings from a mobile device, as well as sending them notifications about the system’s operation. The controller is based on Siemens’Logo intelligent logic modules which control of the key footbath mechanisms, such as the chemical and water pumps, as well as animal feed controls. The controllers allow Hoofcount to track the cows that go through its footbaths and to provide valuable data on the cattle, which can be shown on an HMI screen. The baths can be controlled remotely and can feed data to the cloud for analytical purposes. Lee Fletcher, business development manager at Siemens Digital Industries, points out that the control technologies Hoofcount is using are scalable and could be connected to IoT devices.“The possibilities are endless,”he says.“Smart controls will allow farmers to monitor and control the footbath via an app, regardless of location.” While Hoofcount’s standard footbath is designed for herds of up to 200 cows, it can also be used with robot systems for farms with larger herds. “Hoofcount is certainly well-positioned to continue market leadership and to assist cattle farmers to grow their business, while ensuring farm animals’health is a top priority,” says Marsh. n A technology that washes cows feet automatically to prevent them from becoming lame has had an upgrade that will allow farmers to gather data about their herds to help them to operate more efficiently. The upgrade uses intelligent logic modules that will allow the footbaths to be connected to the IoT. A cow passes through a footbath that cleans it hooves and helps to prevent lameness. Farmers can now monitor the performance of their footbaths on mobile devices (inset).