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Revolution in the cowshed

Modern technologies have long found their way into farms. Learn, how Telekom started out a revolution in the cowshed.

A cow as a mobile customer of Deutsche Telekom – is there such a thing? Yes. She doesn't have an actual cell phone, but she can send text messages. This is made possible by a machine-to-machine (M2M) solution from Deutsche Telekom, which connects cow and farmer. This is a glimpse into the future of dairy farming.

Milking cows, mowing meadows, feeding calves – being a farmer is hard work. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Especially rutting season and the time immediately before birth are frequently causing the farmer sleepless nights. But thanks to M2M technologies, this doesn't need to be the case anymore. M2M, that's automatic exchange of data between technical devices – in this case between the radio chips in the collars of the cattle and the farmer's mobile phone.

The cows wear collars equipped with special sensors that measure the animals' vital data and recognize signals typical of cows in heat. For example, when the cow is ready to mate, she moves her head in a special pattern. All the information is sent by mobile every 30 minutes to a central server that constantly analyzes the data. If the data collector recognizes a conspicuous pattern, the farmer receives a message on his cell phone that his cow is in heat. This means the farmer no longer runs the risk of missing this important moment.

48 hours before the birth, the cow’s body temperature changes.

The moment a calf is born can also be monitored in real time. 48 hours before the birth, the cow's temperature changes. A thermometer with an integrated SIM card measures this change. The farmer is informed about it by text message. He always knows in good time when the calf is on its way.

  • Moo!
  • Peekaboo!
  • Munch!
  • Ask me a
    question!

Ask the cow...

You have a new message
from the cow

Another question for the cow
Sending message... Waiting for answer...
  • Are you the only cow who writes text messages?
    No. Cows from more than 5,000 farms across Europe can do this too.
  • What do you write in your text messages?
    I give plenty of notice, for example, when I need help giving birth. This means my farmer can sleep easy at night while I'm pregnant.
  • Nice collar, what is it used for?
    When I'm in heat, I keep shaking my head. This is recognized by my collar, which sends a text message to my farmer. It also records other vital signs.
  • Since when have you been able to write text messages?
    Since 2012.

More than 5,000 farms across Europe have already been equipped with this M2M technology by Deutsche Telekom. This mobile text messaging system has the economic benefit of increasing the reproductive rate of the herd. At the same time, it frees up the farmers.

Thanks to the M2M technology, they can keep an eye on their charges at all times, thereby avoiding emergencies and no longer having to hang around in the cowshed for nights on end.