OLDS, Alta. — Much of the information gained from animal feeding trials would likely not be possible without the computer technology that was first developed in Airdrie, Alta.
Growsafe Systems has evolved into an international company that helps researchers and producers track how much their animals eat and drink every second of every day. The millions of data points collected reveal which animals are gaining well and which ones may be ill because they are not eating or drinking.
“We are able to look at an animal becoming ill four days before they show symptoms,” said chief executive officer Alison Sunstrum.
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“The more data we collect, the more we learn and all the things we think we know, we don’t know,” she told a producer day sponsored by the Canadian Hereford Association.
Outwardly the system looks simple.
An animal’s electronic ear tag triggers sensors on the trough and its platform when it comes to eat or drink.
The information not only measures how much animals ate and assesses bite sizes but also catches behaviour that shows if individual animals were pushed away by others or if they were socializing at the trough but not eating. The data shows a feeding frenzy when the feed truck comes.
Developing software that could transmit useful data and building sturdy systems that would not be damaged in a pen were major challenges for the company to overcome.
As well, researchers had to figure out how to compress all the data that was collected.
Last year, the patented system won an international award from the Information Technology Association of Canada for the best technological innovation for a small to mid-sized business in the private sector.
The work continues as Growsafe works with purebred associations, feedlots and dairy operations that want to track health as well as feed and water intake. Most recently, it created programs for cow-calf and sheep operations that could result in monitoring feed intake on pastures.
The company is also focusing on finding ways to deliver medication to sick animals without human intervention.
The company installed the first commercial system at Olds College in 2001 and also worked on feed trials with Agriculture Canada researchers at Lacombe, Alta., and Lethbridge.
One hundred units are installed in Canada, the United States, Finland, Uruguay, Brazil and Australia. Some are for research purposes and others are on farms.
“Producers from around the world have come to Olds to see the system,” Sunstrum said.
