The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

A.I.TAGS SMT formally launched its Internet Of Things and COGNEX Equipped Machine Vision-powered A.I.TAGS SMT™ Automated Dairy Cattle Estrus Detection and Automatic Sorting System in the United States at the World Dairy Expo (October 2-5, 2019). The launch provided opportunities for dairy operators and potential strategic partners to examine the revolutionary offering in detail, in person.

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM, invented by Dave Stampe, Sioux Falls South Dakota (patents pending) offers busy dairy farmers a completely automated method to identify and segregate only those animals ready for insemination. The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM reduces labor, eliminates unreliable “gut instinct” identification, improves breeding cycles, and lowers animal stress. The system has patents pending.

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM is powered by COGNEX Machine Vision Technology. When cows or heifers pass through the system the COGNEX equipment identifies a preset pattern (COGNEX pat-match) meaning the animal has been mounted multiple times, the drafting gate then opens automatically to sort that animal into a pen with other animals ready for insemination.

The COGNEX equipment does even more! It also identifies A.I.TAGS SMT DRAFTING TAGS. A tag manually attached by the herdsman when an animal needs to be auto drafted for a vet check. The system can auto draft those animals to a separate pen from those animals already sorted for breeding. The A.I.TAGS SMT SYSTEM works for the producers 365 days a year, not only for breeding!

“Most electronic heat detection systems require hours of training,” said and CEO David Stampe. “They rely on intrusive collars and unreliable batteries. What’s more, they ‘estimate’ mounting activity rather than rely on direct evidence of contact. Competing systems look fancy, but conception percentages are often much lower than dairy farmers were promised. Dairy businesses don’t need data, they need actions that deliver profits.” A.I.TAGS SMT SYSTEM is easy to use! It's the only Plug and Play heat detection and sorting system of is kind!

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM offers four distinct advantages:

Advantage #1: Labor Reduction

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM reduces labor by eliminating the need to identify dairy cows in estrus by sight. No matter what visual system is used, other systems rely on visual identification by humans. The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEMS requires no technical training. Simply apply the tags and watch the cows and heifers line up to be inseminated.

Advantage #2: Eliminate “Gut Instinct”

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM eliminates gut instinct by removing the human from the decision process; The COGNEX Machine Vision Technology NEVER makes a mistake! The instant COGNEX decision eliminates both false positives and false negatives. The A.I.TAGS SMT SYSTEM is also capable of expanding functions of the system in the future.

Advantage #3: Improved Breeding Cycles

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM improves breeding cycles by eliminating the chance that the dairy farmer will miss an insemination opportunity – even by a day. Each morning or evening, the farmer will find a pen of animals ready for service that are in the “12 Hour Rule” of breeding.

Advantage #4: Lower Animal Stress

The A.I.TAGS SMT™ SYSTEM reduces animal stress by reducing the frequency of handling and examination by humans. This reduces the chance of injury to both the animal and the farmer, especially inexperienced farm hands.

A.I.TAGS SMT is manufactured in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Proudly made in America!