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Beat the heat with smaXtec

Don’t let heat stress steal your profits and jeopardize herd health. smaXtec identifies the earliest internal changes before visible symptoms appear so you can act fast and protect your herd when it matters most.

Heat stress among cows: When temperature and humidity collide

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).

Heat stress curve in the smaXtec app on a smartphone

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 (±0.018°F), and thus recognizes the physiological effects of heat stress at an early stage.

Climate Sensor

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

Group Temperature 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 internal body temperature (±0.018°F), water intake and drinking frequency, rumination and activity of each individual cow. All these parameters are continuously monitored 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 barn climate 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%, common in moderate climates, mild heat stress begins for cows at an air temperature of 72°F, and performance losses can be expected from 75°F (2).

smaXtec provides key data to take immediate action if the THI increases. This readily available information helps optimize the use of cooling methods, like fans and sprinkler systems, in a targeted and energy-efficient manner.

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 of certain animal categories. In this way, rising outdoor temperatures and temperature increases due to vaccinations or feed changes are taken into account and included in the messages. The group allocation also makes it visible if, for example, lower-ranking animals are increasingly affected by heat stress because they are perhaps prevented from drinking sufficiently by higher-ranking animals. The group temperature metric thus 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. On hot days, it is crucial to monitor water intake to detect heat stress early and respond quickly.

A cow drinking water in the barn.

Heat stress is no small issue

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

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 estrus 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)

Stay ahead of heat stress 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.