Afimilk Ltd., an Israel-based provider of dairy farm management solutions, acquired Silent Herdsman, a UK-based developer of a neck-collar monitoring system used to detect estrus and health problems in dairy cows. 

"Silent Herdsman complements Afimilk's popular AfiAct II product line with unique functionality and powerful features based on new technology," says Yuval Rachmilevitz, chief executive officer of Afimilk.

Silent Herdsman is a patented, neck-mounted cow monitoring system, developed with Scottish government support, that detects estrus and health problems based on cow activity, rumination and eating patterns. Data is transmitted wirelessly from the collar via a base station to a central computer on the farm that issues alerts for changes indicating estrus or illness. Alerts are also sent via the cloud to smartphones and tablets.

AfiAct II is a leg-mounted cow monitoring system that detects estrus and various disorders based on activity and resting behavior. Like Silent Herdsman, it issues alerts in real time to a local computer as well as smartphones and tablets.

"The Silent Herdsman neck-collar monitoring system will help Afimilk customers make more money, save time and keep their herds healthy," Rachmilevitz says.