Since January 2025, the Tri-State Dairy Exchange team has been hosting live monthly webinars on the last Wednesday of each month from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Sessions have focused on current dairy research and program updates, including interviews, presentations, and roundtable discussions. All recorded sessions are available to watch on the UVM Extension Northwest Crops & Soils YouTube Channel.
Wearable Animal Health Monitoring Technology Parts 1 & 2
In January and February, the Tri-State Dairy Team facilitated the first two parts of a three-part webinar series on wearable animal health monitoring technology. Wearable animal health monitoring systems help farmers improve herd health, support reproduction, and optimize labor efficiency by tracking and reporting body temperature, water intake, rumination, signs of calving, early disease detection, and more. During the webinar series, representatives from companies offering livestock monitoring systems educated attendees on what options are available in the market. Guest speakers included Joe Gilbert, Account Manager for smaXtec, Inc, Rebecca Colgan, Northeast Customer Service Success Specialist for Merck Animal Health, and Tara Bohner, USA CowManager Performance Specialist. Continue reading to learn more about each of these systems.
Watch On-Farm Wearable Technologies Parts 1 and 2
smaXtec
The smaXtec system utilizes a bolus, administered to cows and heifers much like a magnet, to measure internal body temperature, water intake and drinking cycles, rumination activity, and rumen pH. These data are automatically read by a base station and then analyzed using artificial intelligence and algorithms. Producers can then access herd data by navigating the program dashboard on their smartphone app or PC. Metrics for which producers want to be notified can be personalized by adjusting the program settings. The smaXtec program alerts for early detection of mastitis, milk fever, and ketosis, as well as calving, lameness, and identification of the ideal breeding window for reproductive management. The bolus is guaranteed for the life of the cow. The system integrates with multiple existing platforms, and individual farm scenario return on investment analyses are available directly from their sales support team.
Sensehub Dairy
Merck Animal Health’s SenseHub® Dairy system utilizes an ear tag or collar to help identify the breeding window, detect health events for early treatment, and track rumination and production for each cow. It builds a baseline for individual animals and integrates with herd software, sorting gates, and milking systems. The ear tag system can include LED lights to help identify and find individual cows in the barn. The platform provides daily management and health index reports for nine different cow states. It also allows users to create custom group health reports and 7-day averages. The ear tag system can be used from birth.
CowManager
The CowManager system utilizes an ear tag sensor and solar router to monitor 7 aspects of cow health. The versatility of the ear tag sensor allows for individual animal tracking beginning at birth and for the lifetime of the animal. The tags are easy to install and do not need to be adjusted as the animal grows. This allows the unique opportunity to understand rumen development early in life and through eating and rumination tracking as well as early detection of respiratory illness and other stressors during transitions like weaning and pen moves. This system also offers a built in LED light in the ear tag and a Find My Cow Flash feature for locating individual flagged animals within a pen (check out this video). This brings a new level of labor efficiency to easily finding calves and cows that need extra attention or management. The CowManager system integrates with a wide range of existing herd management platforms (which can be searched on their website), with some offering two-way interfaces that enable more advanced data management.
To learn more about these systems and to access the full recordings of these webinars and all other webinars in this series, click here. View the webinar series flyer for more details by clicking here.
2026 Tri-State Dairy Exchange: Advancing Dairy Systems Through Technology
Join the team of Dairy Extension Professionals from UMaine, UNH, and UVM for live monthly webinars on the last Wednesday of each month from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. In 2026, webinars focus on a different topic each quarter. Learn about innovative technology in the dairy sector, extension and industry research, and programs happening in the tri-state region. Enjoy interviews, panels, presentations, discussions, and more! The first three sessions of the year highlight wearable animal health monitoring technology.
What's Next?
The March session will feature Dr. Claira Seely, Assistant Professor of Dairy Management at the University of New Hampshire, for a practical discussion on how to get more value from wearable health monitoring system data. Dr. Seely’s research focuses on integrating dairy cow biology with precision technologies to enhance cow health, well-being, and productivity. View the webinar event flyer here and register now for March 25th, 2026.