Research and Development of Automatic Monitoring System for Livestock Farms

Abstract

In this study we have developed an automatic monitoring system based on wireless communication networks in both dairy and pig farms to replace traditional manual data collection of the environmental conditions and manual controls of fans and water control valves in livestock farms to solve the man-power shortage problem for livestock farming. Firstly, sensors for detecting temperature, humidity, illumination, wind speed and the control circuit and communication system were installed. The monitoring programs were subsequently designed to transmit the data back to the user interface display of the office through RFU-400 wireless communication modules, and the data collected from the farm environment have been stored in a database for data analysis. Finally, the fans and water spray valves have been automatically activated duly to improve the temperature and humidity of the livestock farms. We analyzed the data collected from the sensors with regard to the lactation yields for dairy cows, and suggested optimized environmental parameters for dairy cows to increase their appetite and lactation yield, or increase the feed conversion rate of the pigs. We expect the process and results of this study can result in helpful reference to livestock farming, and help to achieve the best economic benefits in raising cattle, pigs and so forth.