**5.1 Health tracking devices**

Digital animal health tracking devices are getting attention now a days as they help farmers in tracking, monitoring and managing animal's health, nutrition, behavior, pregnancy, milking frequency, milk production anomaly and activity level in real-time. These smart animal wearing gadgets can be implanted in the cattle's ears, tail, legs, neck or any part of the body. For tracking the health and early diagnosis of medical condition in dairy animals, GPS-enabled digital chips have been implanted widely in India. A huge database will be generated if these devices are used efficiently. Accuracy in such data will guide in formulating strong and concrete policies for welfare of both human and animals.

#### **5.2 Heat detection systems**

Detection of heat is very important aspect of management for performing timely AI with successful animal conception. **Heat Detection System** is heat management software which monitors the cow's activity for the whole day, predicting heat on the basis of unrest and hyperactivity along with other features to check milk flow, conductivity for suspected mastitis. It has obvious advantage over visual heat detection which is based on observation, behavior and miss heats or false negatives leading to huge economic losses. Further, these gadgets help the farmers for fertility management to get the target of a 'calf at foot every year'.

### **5.3 Robotic milking machines**

Innovation of robotic milking machines is useful in eliminating the pressure on physical labor and maintaining a hygienic milking process with remarkable improvement in milk production. These machines have cups with sensors that can be attached individually to cows' teats. The sensors play important role in detecting readiness of teats for milking and also identify impurities, color and quality of milk. Milk not fitted for human consumption, is diverted to a separate container. The machines automatically clean and sanitize the teats once the task is over. Few models of low-cost, non-electric milking machines are also developed considering locality and need of dairy farms. Innovation of mobile milk collection unit installed with Robotic milking machines and bulk coolers will introduce a way to produce clean and quality milk from small and marginal farms.

#### **5.4 Waste disposal and management**

Scientific disposal of excreta (Dung, Urine), other organic waste (aborted fetuses, dead calf/animals, placenta) demands utmost attention. Presently, there is not a clear cut policy for dung and carcass disposal. In majority of Asian countries, both these are disposed in open, which is a serious concern from zoonotic and infectious diseases point of view. Electric incinerator and community biogas plants can provide the tangible solution.

Technology of dung cleaning robot or manure robot is available for barn cleaning and scrapping the dung in slatted floors beneath the barn. Recently Manure eating robot has been launched for cow garden cleaning that cleans the barn/cow gardens.

#### **5.5 Digital farm management**

Completion of farm management includes accounting, finance, labor management and supply chain management. Dairy farm management softwares are the innovative tools available in markets for atomizing and digitalizing end-to-end production and operations activities. It provides a holistic view for entire farm activities, manage records, generate reports and detect inefficiencies; assuring profitable dairy farming.

#### **6. Health care innovations**

Reduction in milk production is the first sign of animal discomfort and illness; whereas getting back to this production is one of the major challenge and costly affair for small as well as marginal farmer. Also there is reduction in per lactation as well as life time production of that animal. Any kind of disease treatment compels

to use antibiotics. This part is of a global conversation about antibiotic resistance, which is a serious public concern shared by animal and human health experts. So, it's always better to prevent the occurrence of diseases rather to treat. This could be possible only through application of healthcare management innovations.
