School embraces latest technology to monitor calving
27/11/2017
New technology has heralded the recent addition of newborn calves into the James Sheahan Catholic High School's agricultural program.
New technology has heralded the recent addition of newborn calves into the James Sheahan Catholic High School's agricultural program.The monitoring technology called Moo Call monitored the calving and sent contact updates about the birth via text message and email to staff and students. The school was able to follow the whole process in real time.
Moo Call was developed in Ireland and works by connecting to the tail of the cow to measure contractions during labour, which usually occurs early in the morning when the school is empty.
Sarah Eyb who teaches the agriculture course at the school shared that it was a significant relief to know that the system is there allowing teachers to go home and not worry about leaving the animals unattended.
The Moo Call system was able to relay the birthing activity and send alerts if there where any problems requiring staff to attend the labour. All going well students will be updated on their iPads and can expect to arrive and meet a healthy new baby calf in the morning.
The importance of introducing the technology at an educational level is not lost on the creators of the Moo Call who have checked in with the School to inquire about its integration into the curriculum, and it's performance in Australian conditions.
This article originally appeared in the Central Western daily.
