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Avoid heat stress with smaXtec

Heat stress is an enormous burden for dairy cows and has a significant impact on productivity and animal health. With smaXtec, you can accurately detect heat stress and take immediate action to help protect your cows.

Heat stress among cows: When temperature and humidity become a burden

Temperatures above 16°C near the upper limit of a cow’s comfort zone. Cows react sensitively to rising temperatures and humidity but the point at which heat stress occurs depends on the combination of various factors. In fact heat stress can occur at moderate temperatures, especially if the humidity is high – with major consequences on health and milk yield (2).

With smaXtec, you can detect heat stress because the system measures the internal body temperature of all cows and records the external climate conditions with the smaXtec Climate Sensor.

Heat stress curve

smaXtec measures heat stress on 3 levels

smaXtec Bolus

The smaXtec bolus continuously measures important health parameters in the reticulum, such as internal body temperature (± 0.01°C), and thus recognizes the physiological effects of heat stress at an early stage.

Climate Sensor

The smaXtec Climate Sensor measures external factors that promote heat stress, such as ambient temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure in the barn. The THI (temperature-humidity index) is calculated automatically.

Temperature group metric

The system also uses the group temperature metric to detect changes at the group level, enabling even more targeted intervention.

Detect heat stress with precise data from the inside

The smaXtec Bolus measures inner body temperature (± 0.01°C), water intake and drinking frequency, rumination, and activity of each individual cow. All these parameters are monitored continuously and enable early detection of heat stress. The system reliably detects heat stress symptoms such as:

  • Increased body temperature
  • Increased water intake
  • Reduced rumination
  • Increased activity

Keep an eye on the farm with the Climate Sensor

The smaXtec Climate Sensor SX.2.1 measures ambient temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure and automatically calculates the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) from the data. The THI is an indicator of heat stress and is calculated from the ambient temperature and relative humidity factors. At values above 72, heat stress begins for the cows (2).

Climate Sensor

THI ≥

72
Initial heat stress
78
Significant heat exposure
82
Severe heat stress
Heat Stress

At a humidity of 70%, which is common in temperate latitudes, mild heat stress begins for cows at an air temperature of 22°C, and performance losses can be expected from 24°C (2).

If the THI is increased and there is a risk of heat stress, smaXtec provides information so that immediate action can be taken.

The example shows the rising THI (green curve) and several heat stress alarms that the farmer received from smaXtec.

Manage each animal group individually

To make the individual temperature reports even more accurate, smaXtec also calculates the group temperature. This way, rising outdoor temperatures and temperature increases due to vaccinations or feed changes are taken into account and included in the alerts. The group allocation also makes it visible if, for example, lower-ranking animals are increasingly affected by heat stress because they are prevented from drinking sufficiently by higher-ranking animals. The group metric temperature enables even more targeted intervention in case of heat stress.

smaXtec TruDrinking™

Know how much every cow drinks

Using the artificial-intelligence-supported TruDrinking® application, smaXtec is the only system that provides reliable information about the amount of water consumed and the drinking cycles of each individual cow. This gives you an early indicator of milk production, allows them to treat sick cows even faster, and optimise water supply. Especially on hot days, it’s essential to track water intake to detect early signs of heat stress and act fast. The result: a more stable milk yield, optimised management, and healthier animals that are fully supplied with water.

cows drinking water on pasture.

Heat stress is no small issue!

If dairy cows suffer from heat stress, this not only has a massive negative impact on animal welfare, but also on milk yield, fertility, and animal health.

Decrease in feed intake

Increased risk of ketosis in high-performance animals (3)

Lack of water

Despite sufficient supply, cows drink too little in hot weather (3)

Drop in milk yield

By 16 - 30% (3)

Reduced fertility

Cows do not show clear signs of oestrus and pregnancy rate decreases (3)

More frequent cases of illness

such as mastitis, laminitis, and rumen acidosis with prolonged heat (3)

Death

In the case of very severe heat stress, serious problems can occur. In the worst case this includes death. (1)

Keep a cool head with smaXtec!

Only smaXtec continuously and precisely measures all the important internal and external factors for detecting heat stress, giving you the opportunity to recognize the problem at an early stage and react accordingly.