Rumen bolus-sensors unlock next level of animal health insights

The winner of this year’s ifac Best Newcomer Award was Moonsyst International Ltd.

The Moonsyst smart rumen monitoring system is a market-ready internet of things (IoT) health, reproduction and sustainability solution for dairy and beef cattle.

It consists of an electronic rumen bolus-sensor and a cloud-based data processing application, with an associated mobile app. The bolus-sensor is swallowed by the animal, where it sinks to the bottom of the rumen/stomach and settles in the reticulum, for the remainder of the animal’s life.

The bolus-sensor is capable of multiple physiological and chemical data monitoring, eg temperature, pH level, rumen and body activity. The bolus-sensor has an expected life span/battery life of more than six years.

The system can alert farmers of oestrus/heat, calving, abnormal water intake, fever and other health-related anomalies.

Moonsyst has initiated this new development for monitoring the animal’s rumen activity, through finetuning the activity sensor/accelerometer within the bolus-sensor, that will provide further insights into the animal’s health.

Growth

The global livestock monitoring market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.85% from 2020 to 2027 to reach US$11.57bn by 2027.

In 2021, Moonsyst will focus heavily on establishing a strong Irish customer base, as well as exploring global opportunities through resellers and affiliates in different regions.

Award

For the past three years, ifac has partnered with Enterprise Ireland on the Best Newcomer Award. The awards give the winning company 12 months of complementary consultancy services with access to the full range of skills and expertise within ifac.

David Leydon, head of food and agribusiness in ifac, told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We’re very much looking forward to supporting the Moonsyst team this coming year. Their technology is part of the drive towards individualised animal care which has a very big future.”