Built from a deep understanding of how dairy farms operate every day, the new technology delivers precise, real-time insights at both the cow and shed level. The system monitors individual cows per quarter liner, identifying early warnings for mastitis and monitoring milking equipment and operator performance on quality and efficiency.

A New Layer of Actionable Insights with an Early Warning for Mastitis

Measuring conductivity, vacuum, temperature, milk yield, and milk flow speed just a few centimeters below each teat provides highly accurate early warnings for mastitis. This level of measurement creates a full layer of new actionable insights.

Early warnings are surfaced via a flashing red light on the transparent sensor, automated voice on the screen in the cow shed, or through the app.

CowManager research continues to show that earlier mastitis detection remains one of the top priorities for dairy farmers across many parts of the world. Farmers increasingly recognise the significant long-term impact mastitis can have on a cow’s lifetime milk production, making investment in early warning and timely intervention highly valuable.

Cow Shed Monitoring

In addition to cow-level insights, the CowManager Milk Sensor will provide greater visibility into cow shed performance. Irregularities in the milking process, such as overmilking and suboptimal milk flow, can be identified at the individual cow level.

These issues may contribute to mastitis, reduced udder health, and milk quality. The Milk Sensor also enables farmers to evaluate milking performance from both a quality and production perspective.

Expanding the Connected CowManager Platform

The Milk Sensor further strengthens CowManager’s connected herd management platform by combining insights with existing real-time monitoring for health, fertility, nutrition, transition, and youngstock.

Together with technologies such as the CowManager Draft Gate and cow locating tools, the system allows farmers to manage proactively, improve animal health, and keep daily operations moving forward with greater confidence and efficiency.

“At CowManager, innovation starts with understanding what farmers truly need on the farm,” says Gerard Griffioen, founder of CowManager.

“We work closely with dairy farmers around the world every day, and that perspective continues to shape what we build. Our goal is not simply to add more technology, but to build solutions that move dairy operations forward. This new Milk Sensor expands what farmers can see, understand, and act on during milking, giving them greater control over herd performance and daily operations. The results we are already seeing in early on-farm trials confirm the impact this technology can have. We are introducing the Milk Sensor with two modules: Mastitis and Shed. We plan to expand the platform with additional modules built on the same sensor technology, creating even more opportunities for farmers to strengthen herd performance and daily farm management.”

The Milk Sensor is designed for simple installation and ease of use, featuring a wireless, low-maintenance setup compatible with a wide range of milking system brands. CowManager officially introduces the system later in 2026, with wider availability planned for 2027.

Questions?

• Media Contact: CowManager
• Jemma Brooking, Area Marketing Manager Oceania
• Email: j.brooking@cowmanager.com

CowManager’s Koen van Meurs and Gerard Griffioen with the Milk Sensor.

“Thanks to the Milk Sensor, farmers can stay one step ahead of udder health issues,” says Gerard Griffioen, dairy farmer and founder of CowManager. Mastitis not only affects milk production and animal health, it also affects profit. That is why preventing it is vital.

“When I was visiting one of our customers who milks about 125,000 cows, I saw his struggle with mastitis and the accuracy of his milk data. Cows were left unidentified and for them, no milk production data was available. And at the same time there was a wealth of data from other cows – but unreliable,” Griffioen recalls.

That’s how the idea for the Milk Sensor came about.

“Our Milk Sensor was developed in collaboration with dairy farmers,” says Koen van Meurs, Head of Product Development, enthusiastically.

Because the Milk Sensor measures at the teat level and CowManager has an extensive global network of large-scale dairy farms, a significant amount of data has been collected in a short amount of time.

Comparing our results with milk analyses from the lab was a big part of the development process and vital for ensuring maximum reliability. Artificial Intelligence, in combination with CowManager’s many years of experience with algorithms and large-scale data, resulted in a smart, advanced and reliable dashboard.

Five indicators in one Milk Sensor

The Milk Sensor currently has five indicators: temperature, conductivity, milk volume, milk flow and the vacuum level.

“The Milk Sensor is positioned very close to the udder to ensure reliable data. Milk quality has also been taken into account: the sensor ensures a clean, unobstructed milk flow. The system can be fully customised. Installation is quick and easy: cut the tube beneath the milk cup, slide the transparent sensor into place and reattach the tubes on either side of the sensor. This works with virtually any brand and type of milk cup in the cow shed,” Gerard explains.

CowManager’s Milk Sensor is available to all dairy farmers who have a CowManager ear sensor or who wish to purchase one. In the future, the Milk Sensor can also be upgraded with cow identification.

Left: CowManager Milk Sensor. Right: The Milk Sensor in action during milking.

Early detection and prediction of mastitis

Helping to detect and even predict mastitis is one of the Milk Sensor’s main features. Continuous monitoring of the milking process has a positive effect on teat health and can prevent risk factors for mastitis such as teat tip calluses.

The Milk Sensor can also play a key role in producing milk with a low somatic cell count. Gerard and Koen are looking even further ahead.

“This preventive approach has a positive impact on animal welfare. It will help reduce culling due to high cell counts or mastitis problems,” the men predict. “This ultimately results in a longer lifespan for the cows,” Gerard explains.

Performance of each unit at a glance

Another main feature of the Milk Sensor is to analyse the milking process down to the level of individual milk cups.

“The proper functioning of a cow shed is essential for preventing udder problems. Blind milking, air in the milk or a low flushing temperature aren’t visible, but they can pose a huge risk when it comes to mastitis or a high bacterial count,” Koen explains.

The Milk Sensor monitors this and helps detect mastitis. The Milk Sensor also ensures continuity throughout the milking process when multiple milkers are involved. Any differences between milking staff or milking sessions will immediately become visible.

“The combination of the ear and Milk Sensor and the accompanying sorting gate offers unprecedented possibilities,” says Gerard about the entire CowManager ecosystem. The Milk Sensor is a key component of the overall package.

But, according to Koen and Gerard, that’s not all. “This is just the first step. Eventually, the Milk Sensor will be able to measure even more parameters in both the milk and the cow shed,” Koen reveals.

What Makes DA Hard to Spot

A displaced abomasum occurs after a period of subtle changes at first. Affected cows may eat less, ruminate less, and produce less milk.

An abomasum is not easily visible on external examination. Only trained veterinarians are usually able to detect it. You can recognise displaced abomasum using several clinical indicators, such as:

• An increased heart rate
• Cold ears
• Poor rumen fill
• Loose or watery manure
• An abnormal ‘ping’ when you tap the abdomen
• Positive fluid-splashing sounds

DA often appears within less than 30 DIM, when cows are already under metabolic stress and your team’s focus is split among fresh cow checks, feeding, and milking routines.

A displaced abomasum doesn’t occur spontaneously. Often a cow first shows other signs, like an infection.

That’s where technology makes the difference.

How Continuous Monitoring Changes the Game

CowManager’s Health solution turns early detection from guesswork into data-driven insight. Instead of waiting for visible symptoms, the system continuously tracks eating, rumination, and activity patterns. These behavioural indicators are the first to change when a cow’s abomasum begins to displace.

Both ketosis (decreased appetite, lower milk production) and a displaced abomasum can have similar early signs, and it is common for a cow to have both conditions simultaneously.

During ketosis, a slight and gradual decline in rumination and feeding activity is typically observed. In contrast, a displaced abomasum is characterised by a sudden and marked reduction in both parameters.

Spotting Those Early Warning Signs

For example, a healthy fresh cow should steadily increase her eating time after calving. If the Health solution shows a consistent drop instead, it’s an early warning sign.

The same goes for rumination — one of the most reliable indicators of digestive comfort. A sudden decline can point to displaced abomasum or related metabolic issues such as ketosis.

CowManager’s real-time alerts help you act fast and prevent health issues before they escalate. Instead of reacting to DA cases after production loss or veterinary treatment, you can intervene at the first signs of trouble — saving time, money, and improving animal welfare.

Support Your Transition Cows Proactively

A good dry period is crucial for preventing health abnormalities under 30 DIM. Rumen fill should remain at an adequate level throughout the dry period, to avoid pre-partum ketosis and lower feed intake postpartum.

Most displaced abomasum cases occur around calving, when a cow’s energy balance shifts dramatically. CowManager’s Transition solution complements the Health solution by helping you manage this critical period more effectively.

It monitors each cow’s recovery after calving, showing whether she’s adapting well or struggling with feed intake. That makes it easier to fine-tune nutrition, adjust management for high-risk cows, and prevent metabolic problems before they cascade into a DA case.

The Nutrition solution sends an alert whenever a decline in both rumination and eating time for dry cows is detected, which gives users a chance to adjust management to avoid low feed intakes. This has huge impact on a cow’s welfare during dry period and postpartum.

When you can see how each cow transitions in real time, your team doesn’t have to rely solely on daily pen checks or milk data. You get a complete picture of her health and recovery — exactly when it matters most.

Detect, Act and Prevent

Displaced abomasum doesn’t have to be a production-draining surprise. With CowManager’s Health, Transition and Nutrition solutions you gain early, actionable insights into every cow’s health status.

Parameters like low feed intake and transition alerts give you the opportunity to dive deeper in dry cow management. That means fewer missed cases, faster interventions, and a smoother transition period for your herd.

Healthy cows produce more milk, breed back faster, and stay in the herd longer. Preventing DA isn’t just about treating disease — it’s about protecting performance.

CowManager can help you detect cow diseases so you can act early — keeping your herd healthy and your performance high.

Temperature as Health Indicator

Temperature is one of the most widely recognised indicators of health in animals. When a cow experiences stress, illness, or metabolic challenges, changes in a cow’s body temperature may occur as part of the body’s natural response. The ear is one of the first places in the body where these changes are noticeable.

When a cow’s body temperature rises, it usually means the immune system responds to stress, infection, inflammation, or heat. The body increases temperature to help support immune activity, which can lead to reduced feed intake, lower milk production, and lethargy.

When a cow’s body temperature drops, it often indicates that the cow is struggling to maintain normal body functions. This can happen during severe illnesses, metabolic disorders, or after calving, when blood flow shifts from the cow’s ear toward vital organs and the body tries to conserve energy.

Cow Body Temperature in Dairy Herd Monitoring

Modern cow monitoring systems often track behavioural indicators such as eating behaviour, rumination patterns, activity and inactivity.

Adding temperature monitoring, specifically ear temperature, to this data can strengthen the overall understanding of herd health. When farmers have access to multiple indicators, they can better interpret what is happening within the herd and respond quickly when conditions change.

For dairy farmers managing large herds, it can be difficult to detect subtle health changes through observation alone. Monitoring technologies that track indicators such as activity, rumination, and temperature trends can provide valuable insights that support early intervention.

Cow Ear Temperature

Tracking a cow’s temperature alongside behavioural indicators contributes to a more complete picture of cow health. Continuous monitoring helps farmers detect changes sooner and respond more effectively.

The CowManager system measures ear temperature specifically, making cow monitoring much more accurate and actionable with early alerts.

Whenever a cow develops an infection, blood flow in the ears shifts toward vital organs. By monitoring ear temperature, this change can be detected early, potentially preventing more serious issues for both you and the cow later on.

Supporting Better Herd Management

Cow monitoring innovations continue to change how dairy farms manage animals. Monitoring technologies allow farmers to move from reactive management to proactive herd care.

It may seem tooling makes herd management more complex, but systems that provide reliable data are an important part of driving herd management forward.

With real-time data, herd management teams can make more informed decisions about herd health, reproduction, and overall management.

Cow Tags Tracking Animal Health

With CowManager ear sensors, they track the herd’s ear temperature, rumination and eating time, activity and behaviour. According to Paul, it’s been a life changer for animal health.

He says: “It’s a real simple app on my phone, on my desktop in the cow shed, or at home. I have alerts come through, like health alerts for sick cows or suspicious cows. You’re picking up something that’s wrong with the cow a lot earlier than you would without the tech. We can intervene a lot earlier.”

It allows the Koopals to reduce the use of antibiotics, which they consider a huge plus.

Paul: “Because we’re picking up sick animals before they’re actually sick, before they know they’re sick, you can make calls on what you’re treating them with. Sometimes it’s just a case of giving them an anti-inflammatory and then they’re back to normal within a day. Whereas if you didn’t have that tech and you didn’t know she was sick until she was sick, you might need to use more antibiotics.”

Better Results Thanks to Tech

Animal health isn’t the only benefit of using the CowManager system. According to Vet Plus vet Kyle Kannan, it’s just scratching the surface.

He says: “There’s also a ton of animal health related to nutrition. Like, how well we feed cows. That has a massive impact on the health of a herd, the health of an individual animal. That information is all coming through as well. And then on top of that, there’s fertility. Which is a key driver of profitability and an integral part of the farm business.”

Paul agrees and shares how the high-tech cow tags have helped him during mating.

“In the cow shed it saves us a lot of time and a lot of labour. Our milkings during mating have become a lot quicker because we’re not having to check tail paint, we’re not having to jump up and check every single cow that comes through.

Because we’re doing AI all the way through our mating, we can use a lot more of the short gestation semen on our herd. The cows that have been given that semen are calving 12 to 13 days earlier, so that’s more days in milk for us on farm. We’re able to actually have more cows in calf as well.”

“And”, he adds, “Because we’ve got CowManager picking up cows that are on heat, we don’t use bulls anymore on farm. That’s been quite a health and safety benefit.”

Unveiling New Data for Vets

Kyle emphasises that cow tag technology isn’t just valuable for farmers – it’s a high-tech treasure chest for vets, too.

“We’re getting information that we’ve never been able to directly measure. You can’t see if your cows are full, or how much they’ve eaten. They look reasonably content, but now we’re getting live data pieces that say, ‘that cow is definitely content’, at a herd level. Now we can jump into our phone and onto our computer screen and actually put some solid information around that.”

Kyle continues: “As vets, we see the more retrospective data that comes through. There was a large scale of information that we just didn’t know, and we weren’t able to collect. An example of that would be between calving and mating.

So, as soon as a cow calves, how fast is she having her first heat? Obviously, we don’t whip tail paint on immediately as soon as they calf, so we don’t know and we don’t measure that as a thing.

Veterinarian Kyle Kannan (left) and dairy farmer Paul Koopal (right).

The first year Paul and Sarah got CowManager, we were able to look at that, and they were actually behind target for what we call the days to first heat; how fast the cows recover from calving. We were able to find a data point that we would never have seen before and then make changes to impact that data point. We managed to improve it.“

He concludes: “At our reviews we’re able to look at the data, have a look at all the different things coming out of it. It’s basically a set of whole brand-new metrics that we’re able to use now in New Zealand that we probably never been able to. It’s quite a cool frontier that we’re currently in.”

Closing the Loop

From a personal side of things, Paul really enjoys the 24/7 aspect of the CowManager cow tags.

“It allows me to get off farm, because I know someone is looking after my cows, through mating, 24/7”, he says.

He elaborates: “I never used to take any time off during mating period and now I’ll literally just come back from a holiday for four days. It’s brilliant, because I know all those cows are still getting their cycling and are still getting picked up by the system.”

Kyle reckons this is just the beginning – as a vet he’s excited about what CowManager will bring to the future of cow monitoring and farm management.

“This isn’t static technology, it’s bloody on the roll. It’s going to be really cool to see what’s coming in the next couple of years. The Milk Sensor is another thing CowManager are rolling in real soon and that’s basically going to close the loop. All the repro stuff that we’re doing is fantastic, but at the end of the day, milk is the product that we want.”

Why BRD is Such a Problem

For farmers, BRD isn’t just an animal health issue; it’s an economic one. Calves that battle pneumonia often struggle to catch up in growth, which means they won’t perform as well later in life. This is why bovine respiratory disease prevention matters so much.

Cows have a relatively limited lung capacity in proportion to their body weight. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain good lung health throughout their life. Issues like BRD translate into lower milk yields, higher veterinarian bills and in some cases, calf mortality.

How Cow Monitoring Technology Helps

Relying on visual checks for BRD can be a tricky business. Coughing, nasal discharge, or falling behind compared to the rest of the herd can be signs of BRD. But calves and cows, prey animals by nature, are experts at hiding weaknesses. This makes it harder to spot bovine respiratory disease symptoms.

That’s where cow monitoring technology makes a real difference. By keeping track of activity and behaviour around the clock, these systems can identify early warning signs that would otherwise be missed.

For example, opting for an ultrasound at an early state can detect budding pneumonia. Something that sometimes occurs when calves and cows receive health alerts and nothing comes out of the clinical examination.

Monitor Herd Health with CowManager

A great example of a BRD prevention tool is CowManager’s Youngstock Monitor, designed specifically to track calf health. The system collects detailed data on ear temperature, eating and rumination time, behavior and activity and flags anything unusual. When a calf shows changes that could indicate the bovine respiratory disease complex, the system alerts the farmer early, giving time to act before the disease becomes severe.

This approach supports earlier bovine respiratory disease treatment, which improves recovery rates, reduces antibiotic use, and ultimately lowers mortality. Healthier calves grow into healthier, more productive cows – and that protects your bottom line.

The CowManager system enables farmers to keep an eye on their herd’s entire life cycle, monitoring them from calf to cow with just one ear sensor. Comparing groups, diving into the data and making sure their herd gets everything they need.

When calves become cows, CowManager’s Health Module continues to track their health, ensuring a lifetime of monitoring.

Keeping BRD from Being Damaging

Monitoring is powerful, but it works best alongside strong everyday management. Good bovine respiratory disease prevention practices include ensuring calves get enough colostrum, reducing stress during weaning and transport, maintaining proper ventilation, keep group changes at a minimum and manage them well, and following vaccination programs.

When these are combined with technology like CowManager’s Health monitor, it’s the best defense against BRD.

Protecting calves from bovine respiratory disease isn’t just better for animal welfare – it’s better for your business.

One Story, Many Farms

No matter where a farm is located, cost is always part of the conversation. In Ireland, dairy farmer Sean Corby put it plainly: “Like all farmers, I’d like tools to be cheaper – but CowManager is a fantastic product and working very well here so far.”

That balance between investment and results is familiar everywhere. Farmers weigh every decision carefully, and value becomes clear only when a system proves itself over time.

For Canadian farmer Lynn Moore, that proof came through years of use. “I believe I’ve had CowManager since 2015 and I couldn’t be happier. It’s an excellent product; keep it up!”

Sticking with a system for nearly a decade isn’t about features on paper. It’s about consistency, trust, and knowing the system supports better decisions year after year.

From Tool to Partnership

With the right results and support, a tool becomes a partnership.

For many farmers, confidence in technology grows step by step. In the United States, farmer Ryan Carbaugh from Waterside Farm described how results in one part of the operation led to broader adoption.

“I enjoy CowManager. It really works. We started using it on our heifers and had instant success: heifers bred on first and second services. We’re now experimenting with it in our tie stall barn and pasture setup. Seeing those results made me jump in.”

That’s how technology earns its place on a farm. Not through promises, but by delivering results where it matters most.

For others, the value goes beyond performance alone. Catching issues early can make the difference between a small intervention and a serious setback – for both cows and farmers.

In Germany, animal welfare is a top priority for farmer Uwe Petzold: “We’re very satisfied. From an animal welfare point of view, I think the system should be mandatory. We were able to treat cows before major problems occurred.”

Why These Stories Matter

Real experiences – positive, critical, and practical – help set realistic expectations and support better decisions on-farm.

As this new year gets underway, these voices reflect what dairy farming truly looks like: constant decisions, tight margins, and a clear focus on tools and services that help keep cows healthier and farms running more efficiently.

Why Colostrum for Calves Is Essential

Calves are born without antibodies, making them highly vulnerable to infections. Cow colostrum, packed with immunoglobulins (IgG), provides the essential antibodies that act as a first line of defence for the newborn. This colostrum helps protect the calf from disease while its own immune system develops.

The first 12 hours after birth are critical for antibody absorption, as the calf’s gut is still open to absorb these antibodies directly into the bloodstream. After this window, absorption decreases significantly and closes completely within 24 hours.

Timely, adequate feeding of high-quality colostrum is crucial for giving the calf the best start in life, as literature indicates that calves receiving proper colostrum develop a better-functioning gastrointestinal tract.

Track Cow Health

The quality of colostrum for calves is directly linked to the health of the mother cow. A healthy, stress-free cow is more likely to produce high-quality colostrum, which is vital for the calf’s immunity and growth.

While CowManager doesn’t monitor colostrum quality directly, it does help identify when issues arise during a cow’s dry period. Together with advisors, you can investigate potential causes, such as social housing, to ensure cows produce the best colostrum possible.

Transition & Heat Stress

CowManager’s monitoring system provides valuable insights during critical stages such as the transition phase. Through alerts for heat stress, illness, or transition challenges, you can take early action to prevent these factors from affecting colostrum production.

For example:

• Transition period challenges, such as disease or inadequate nutrition, can lower antibody content.
• Heat stress can decrease colostrum quality.

By addressing these issues early, you help ensure your cows stay healthy and your calves receive the high-quality colostrum they need for a strong start.

By using CowManager to monitor and optimise cow health, and by acting on the alerts to improve your management, you indirectly help ensure that calves receive the best possible colostrum to start their lives strong.

Set Your Calves Up for Success

Colostrum for calves is a critical part of their early development and long-term productivity. Your efforts during those first hours make all the difference. To give your calves the best possible start, it’s essential to ensure that cows produce the highest quality colostrum, and that begins with monitoring and supporting their health.

By using CowManager to track cow health, you can make informed decisions and intervene early when needed, ensuring your cows are in top condition to produce the best colostrum for their calves.

Optimise your calf health and give your future dairy cows the best start.