28 Jan 1986 Computerised livestock recording system produced by Kellogg Unit

Software to link scales and other electronic devices into a computerized livestock recording system has been produced by the Kellogg Farm Management Unit at Lincoln College and is presently being offered for general sale.

Known as the Electronic Device Interface - or EDI for short, the software program has already been used successfully with electronic scales.

But EDI has also been designed to work with ultrasonic backfat measurers and ear tag sensors.

EDI is used with the computerized livestock recording system LRS, released earlier by the Kellogg unit.

LRS can store all relevant information about stock on a farm, creating individual files for each animal and giving all required details.

EDI further sophisticates the livestock recording system by passing information direct from an electronic device to a computer.

Until now information on weights, ear tags and backfat has had to be keyboarded into the computer.

Now, using electronic scales, the weight can be recorded on LRS as the animal passes over the weighing machine.

Another method is to store weights in the scale for entering later into LRS.

The first method in which the scales and the computer are linked on the spot, is called online ; the second is called uploading.

Information online goes direct on to the LHS database in the computer ; with uploading the information is entered from the scales memory into LRS.

Electronic scales used by the Kellogg unit in field trials carry 1600 weights  in memory.

Mr Stephen Kennedy, of the Kellogg unit, who developed the EDI program, said uploading was used when having a computer in the field was not practicable.

The program had been tried on only three makes of scales so far, but he was confident this would work with all electronic scales, he said.

He had used Wormald Warp 4 scales in field work at the Lincoln College animal science laboratory.

Mr Kennedy said the the EDI program, which sold at $195, was already attracting inquiries from within New Zealand and from Australia.

Further information from Mr Stephen Kennedy, Kellogg Farm Management Unit, Lincoln College