Automated collection of heat stress data in livestock: new technologies and opportunities

Heat stress is a major source of economic losses in the US livestock industry. Estimated annual losses top $369 million in the beef cattle industry alone. A variety of technologies have been developed to monitor body temperature in an attempt to manage its detrimental effects on production. Ear tags that measure body temperature, intra-vaginal thermosensors and additional technologies have been used to automate the process of detecting heat stress. These automated technologies allow researchers to generate data on an unprecedented scale over time. These data can be integrated with omics data to identify biomarkers, used to generate genetic predictions of heat tolerance, or to develop nutritional or management strategies to reduce the burden of heat stress. It may also be interesting to consider how these technologies might be used in sentinel animals to monitor and manage heat stress in commercial production systems. Strategies to use these technologies and examples of research that utilize these heat stress monitoring technologies will be presented.