Innovation Award for Calving Detection System

A calving detection system won the top award for innovation at the Great Yorkshire Show today.

The BoviAid Calving Detection System, developed by Edward and Catriona Penty of Aldborough over the last eight years, was one of a host of new products vying for the White Rose What’s Next innovation award.

The system incorporates sensors in a patch which is attached with animal-approved glue to a cow’s back. The patch communicates via a ceiling hub to alert farmers, via a app on a smart phone, when cows go into labour, improving general welfare and reducing the time and labour needed to monitor the cows.

The system has been developed by the Pentys with both efficiency and welfare in mind. The sensors can be fitted up to three weeks before the due calving date and work by detecting when a cow’s movements change to suggest she is in labour. After receiving the alert, the farmer can choose whether to watch, intervene or call the vet, or prepare the area for calving.

After calving, the patch is removed, the sensor recharged and then reused. For large herds, upt to 1,000 sensors can run off a single ceiling hub.

Edward Penty said he had not lost a single calf since installing the system on his own farm where he breeds Limousin cattle. The system is already in use across the north, with herd sizes ranging from 60 to 270, but the Pentys plan to target farmers across the world, particularly those with large herds.

Charles Mills, Show Director, said: “Technology has a huge role to play both in tackling the need to cut emissions and reduce the carbon footprints of farms but also in ensuring the highest levels of animal welfare and efficiency. This award is an excellent way of demonstrating new ideas to the farmers who can benefit from adopting them.”

The Great Yorkshire Show has become a four-day event after a raft of changes were implemented at the 2021 show due to Covid 19 regulations.

Tickets for the show have now sold out. Tickets will not be available on the gate. The opening times are 8am to 6pm on all four days. To see what is happening on which day, go to: https://greatyorkshireshow.co.uk/whats-on/

White Rose winner BoviAid Ltd
L-R Catriona Penty, Colin Hainstock, Andrew Pearcy and Edward Penty.

EDITOR’S NOTES

• The Great Yorkshire Show is England’s premier agricultural event, organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS), a registered charity supporting rural Yorkshire.
• YAS supports and promotes the farming industry through health care, business, education and scientific research.
• The Society is supported by its family of businesses including Fodder, Yorkshire Event Centre, Pavilions of Harrogate and the Harrogate Caravan Park as well as events Great Yorkshire Show and Springtime Live.
• Businesses and events held at the Great Yorkshire Showground in 2019 contributed £73.7 million to the economy.

CONTACT

Jo Francisco
PR Manager
Direct Line: 01423 546215 | Mobile: 07954 007414
Email: jof@yas.co.uk

Sara Lamper Press officer
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Email: sara@saralamper.co.uk