Animal groups must be set up and used effectively in order to make the most of your Active Tag solution on a beef farming operation.
Using groups
Grouping animals correctly in Datamars Livestock is essential for the performance of the animal heat and health monitoring algorithm.
Animals should be assigned to groups in Datamars Livestock which match physical animal groups on the farm. For example, animals grazing together in one paddock should be in the same group in Datamars Livestock, rather than being grouped by breeding status or age.
When groups are created, they must be defined with Purpose set to Beef so that the beef heat algorithm is used. If this is not set, the default Dairy algorithm will be used:
The importance of accurate grouping
Active Tag monitors individual animal behaviour and compares it with group behaviour to help identify changes which could indicate a heat or health issue.
If groups in Datamars Livestock do not reflect the physical groupings on the farm, accurate comparisons cannot be made.
By keeping groups accurate:
Individual animals will be compared to others with the same management conditions.
Behavioural changes are interpreted within the context of the group.
Group activity trends reflect what is happening on the farm.
Keeping groups up-to-date
Whenever animals are moved between paddocks, breeding groups or other physical groups on the farm, the group should be updated in Datamars Livestock:
📝 Whenever a group movement occurs, there is a temporary suppression of heat and healt alerts to account for behavioural changes associated with the change of environment and group hierarchy. For this reason, we recommend observing animals closely during this period.
💡To help with the suppression of heat movements, we recommend creating a custom rule in the health action lists to include or exclude animals which have recently moved. For more information, see Using an 'in heat' action list.
Using automatic group movements
Use automatic group movements to help keep groups up to date.
Using automatic group movements allows you to:
Set a Default Group to which all new animals will be automatically added.
Set a Default Milking group. For beef operations this can be used for animals which have recently calved. When a calving event is recorded, animals will automatically move to this group.
Set a Default Dry group. For beef operations, this can be used for calves which have been weaned. When a dry-off event is recorded, calves will automatically move to this group.
📝 It is still important that the groups used for automatic group movements reflect physical animal groups on the farm. e.g. calves in the Default Dry group in Datamars Livestock must also be physically grouped together on the farm, i.e. not with their mothers.
See also