Cows

Dung-powered tractor drives down agricultural emissions

Loz Blain — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 08:27:31 GMT

New Holland Agriculture has announced a new tractor designed to run on fuel created on-site using cow manure. The T7 Methane Power LNG offers the same power and torque as a diesel tractor, but it's part of a system that can greatly reduce emissions.

Category: Energy, Engineering

Tags: Methane, Agriculture, Biogas, Cows

"Smart ranches" of the future may harness power from animal movement

Nick Lavars — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 06:01:06 GMT

If you’re a farmer with a herd of hundreds of cows, keeping tabs on their whereabouts and wellbeing can be challenging work, but we’ve seen how sensor tags might one day ease the burden. New research has taken this concept in an interesting, self-sustaining direction, demonstrating how smartwatch-style sensors strapped to cow ankles and necks can power themselves through the animals’ movements.

Category: Good Thinking, Technology

Tags: Farming, Agriculture, Animals, Cows

Smart ear tag may save ranchers time and money

Ben Coxworth — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 23:01:39 GMT

Australian cattle stations (aka ranches) can be thousands of square kilometres in area, so checking on all the cows is a huge task. With that in mind, the CSIRO national science agency has teamed up with agtech startup Ceres Tag to develop an ear tag that not only tracks the animals' whereabouts, but also detects unusual activity.

Category: Wearables, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Farming, Agriculture, CSIRO, Tracking, New Atlas Audio, Cows

First cold-pressed cow's milk on sale in Australia

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 15:26:21 GMT

Before we drink cow's milk, it is routinely pasteurized and homogenized to make it safe and consistent. Australian outfit Made by Cow says that this eliminates much of its goodness and flavor, so has created a new cold press method that makes it safe to drink much closer to its fresh state.

Category: Good Thinking, Technology

Tags: Farming, Beverages, Processing, Cows

Lely Astronaut A4 milking robot lets cows milk themselves

David Szondy — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:07:26 GMT

If cow milking recalls a bucolic image of a farmer strolling out to the barn with a bucket and stool, then the 21st century will be a disappointment to those raised on James Herriot stories. A case in point is the Astronaut 4 from Dutch agricultural firm Lely. With this robotic milker, the farmer needn't come any closer to the action than a readout on a smartphone, leaving the cows to get on with the milking themselves.

Category: Good Thinking, Technology

Tags: Agriculture, Food, Robotic, Cows

Cows check in for meals using electronic ear tags

Ben Coxworth — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:47:50 GMT

With diseases such as Foot and Mouth, TB, and of course Mad Cow still presenting a danger to cattle, it's of the utmost importance that farmers monitor the health of their animals, and immediately proceed to isolate any that might be showing symptoms. If you have a herd of over 500 cows, however, keeping track of individuals can be rather tricky. That's why scientists at England's Newcastle University have developed electronic ears tags, that they're trying out on a herd of test cattle.

Category: Good Thinking, Technology

Tags: Farming, Agriculture, RFID, Animals, Pedometer, Newcastle University, Cows