Researchers see potential in fitness technology

International researchers believe the use of real-time fitness-tracking technology on sheep could revolutionise the livestock industry.

The Department of Agriculture and Food, in Western Australia (Dafwa), has been running trials to see if ActiGraphic movement sensors, used widely by humans for health reasons and which are already being used in a similar capacity in the cattle industry, could have a place in the sheep sector.

According to Dafwa sheep production research officer Beth Paganani, the application of movement sensors to sheep could have ‘enormous’ benefits to producers.

Ms Paganani said bluetooth and dam pedigree application sensors could be immediately applicable, but the real potential lies in gathering data on the number of steps a sheep takes each day, the amount of time it spends grazing and when it visits water points, as that could provide key efficiency data.

She said she completed trials for Dafwa to prove movement sensors could be used to assess which lamb belongs to which ewe, without setting foot on the farm, during lambing time – resulting in a 99% rate of accuracy.

But Ms Paganani also said, at the moment, the sensors being trialled are for human use and are not of a size or cost viable to the sheep industry.

They are about the size of a bike light and are attached to the sheep by a dog collar.

While Dafwa said there was still a lot to be ironed out in terms of the future commercial scale use of sensors on farms, the benefits to the sheep industry could include significant cost savings – most notably in terms of reduced labour and veterinary fees.

Local farmers said continued developments in the use of sensors on tagged sheep could be a ‘game-changer’, particularly in terms of the ability to remotely monitor the maternal capabilities of each ewe out at pasture.