Rugged Devices Help Dairies Keep Data Reliably at Their Fingertips

Background

VAS is the global market leader in connected farm management systems. For 40 years, VAS’ software and information solutions have helped collect and connect a farm’s data – including feed management records.

On average, 60% of a dairy’s cost of production is tied to feed. VAS’ FeedWatch software allows farmers to monitor feed usage, animal intakes, and costs in one place to maximize their most expensive input to ensure efficiency and profitability.

Challenges

Dairies operate seven days a week, 365 days a year, regardless of extreme temperatures or other harsh weather conditions. Therefore, farmers operating VAS’ FeedWatch need rugged devices that offer speed, durability, reliability, and various communications capabilities in extreme environments.

Solution

The RuggON MT7000 7″ mobile data terminal and the RuggON PA501 10.1″ fully rugged tablet are the perfect fit for farms using FeedWatch and its complementary transaction management product, WeighComp. Every unit is customized to a dairy farm’s specific requirements.

The MT7000 rugged terminal is mounted inside of the tractor and is uniquely situated to handle the harsh weather conditions farmers operate in. The device can handle temperatures ranging from -22 °F to +140°F and humid environments.

Another significant advantage of the MT7000 is its pass-through capability. VAS’ rugged computing solution requires an external power source to power the radio antennas the software solution uses for communication purposes.

The PA501 rugged tablet used for VAS’ transaction management software is mounted inside a scale house for use at platform scales. The unit’s ability to withstand harsh environments (wide-temperature range, wet conditions, dirt, etc.) is a huge benefit, as many scale houses are not temperature controlled. The unit’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB options also provide users with multiple communications capabilities.

Results

With RuggON, durability meets reliability. As a result, farmers can count on RuggON equipment and devices when they need it most. As a bonus, RuggON also offers a drop ship delivery program ensuring the fully-configured rugged devices are in the farmer’s hands as quickly as possible

The RuggON MT7000 rugged terminal and PA501 fully ruggedized tablet provide dairy farmers, using VAS software, the reliability and durability they need and transform how dairy farmers feed the world 365 days a year.

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