Smart Ear Tags Help Cattle Producers Monitor the Herd

Iowa cattle producer Justin Robbins needed assistance keeping an eye on his cattle herd and decided to let technology help monitor for critical moments: when they're in heat, when they calve and when they're sick.

"We needed something to help with time management and efficiency," Robbins says. "Our labor force right now is mostly myself and my wife, Lacey. She has a full-time job, and I'm also farming, but we don't want to lose focus on our cow herd either."

Since the Robbinses have so many irons in the fire, they decided to look for technology to assist them, which led them to the SenseHub Cow Calf system. They purchased the system at CattleCon 2025, in San Antonio, and within a few weeks, a box was on their steps. They inserted the ear tags in all spring-calving cows and set up the antenna. The Robbinses calve their cows in a hoop building, keep them at the barn until they have been artificially inseminated and then send the cows to pasture.

"There's definitely a learning curve to the technology. Learning what all the alerts mean and making sure the data is in the program to get the most out of it makes a big difference," he says.

The Robbinses originally were going to take the tags out of the spring-calving cows and put them in the fall herd, but decided to leave them in place to collect data all year. "I do believe we got more cows bred this year than in the past because of this technology," Justin says.

Progressive Farmer identified three companies providing estrous detection ear-tag technology systems to cattle producers across the United States and, in some cases, around the world. All have similar features and software, with varying equipment needs. Each company says it's willing to work with producers to see what works best on their operations.

Following is a Q&A with the companies. Responses were supplied by each and were edited for clarity.

WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL NAME OF YOUR PRODUCT?

Merck: SenseHub Cow Calf

701x: The 701x xTpro

Ceres: Ceres Tag

WHAT SPECIAL FEATURES DOES YOUR SYSTEM HAVE?

Merck: SenseHub Cow Calf is a 24/7 behavior-monitoring solution that helps cow/calf producers using artificial insemination (AI) and/or embryo transfer (ET) to more accurately detect estrus and pinpoint ideal insemination windows. SenseHub Cow Calf will also identify health outliers for earlier treatment, protecting the cow's productivity. Using built-in accelerometer technology for monitoring, the SenseHub Cow Calf system detects changes in the animal's behavior and turns them into actionable insights related to reproduction and health. There are two main types of tags:

-- Starter Tag: helps monitor reproduction with insights like heat detection, anestrus, irregular heat, suspected abortion, pregnancy probability and expected calving dates.

-- Premium Tag: includes everything in Starter, plus health monitoring and custom reporting tailored to your operation.

One of the most popular reports provides insights into estrus timing and intensity. Producers that use ET in their herds utilize this report to assist them with staging and transfer decisions.

701x: The xTpro is fully functional anywhere within the United States. It can communicate via Bluetooth, cellular signal and satellite. In any given moment, the tag can make the decision to use the most appropriate and accessible signal to share information. The xTpro is a year-round bull- and cow-management solution. The tags provide push alerts to a cellphone about highly important moments with the cattle. Those alerts include individual health concerns, low activity levels, GPS location, bull mounting, estrus and calving alerts, calf extended time from dam alerts, out-of-fence notifications and more.

The second tag is the xTlite. It is a Bluetooth-enabled electronic identification (EID) device allowing a producer access to easy and passive data. It is designed as a calf tag that meshes with the xTpro tag in the pasture. This is patented technology by 701x.

Additionally, when the two tags are paired together in a cow/calf pair (cow wearing an xTpro and calf with an xTlite tag applied at or near birth), the calf's information is shared to satellite or cellular through the cow's tag. The cow's tag becomes a mobile satellite station. When users consider the much-reduced cost of the xTlite tag, this meshing approach greatly lessens the per-animal cost of total 24/7 awareness.

Ceres: Ceres Tag is the world's first direct-to-satellite cattle intelligence platform with IP68 waterproof, solar-powered ear tags, combining scientifically verified cattle phenotype algorithms and GPS services. This enables cattle producers to choose for and manage more efficient cattle with better data -- including pasture feed intake, estrus alerts and calving alerts -- to any number of the verified software partners with no base stations or towers required.

WHAT EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED FOR USE?

Merck: The SenseHub system works off an antenna placed at a central location. The antenna connects to a cellular gateway that sends information to the cloud for algorithm analysis. The antenna requires power and internet; however, there are options available to help meet those needs. Producers can install the equipment themselves or have it installed by Merck support technicians, who also service the system.

701x: All that is needed for the 701x system is the tag, a smartphone and an ear-tagger. Whether you buy one tag or 1,001 tags, put the cow or bull in the chute, and install the xTpro tag. Scan a QR code to sync to the system. The bull walks out of the chute, and his tag is fully activated. It's the same scenario if you jump out of the utility to tag a calf. Moments after the calf is tagged, it is permanently documented in the system, and the tag works. The 701x ecosystem is approachable, scalable and built to suit each ranch.

Ceres: The ear tag and the program are all that are needed for the Ceres system.

ARE SOFTWARE UPDATES INCLUDED WITH THE SYSTEM?

Merck: Software updates are included. These are done in the background and uploaded, as needed.

701x: Software updates are included. It was a founding principle at 701x that the xTpro tag's embedded software had to be updated in the pasture. The integrated herd-management systems are also frequently updated to keep up with the customer's needs. And, these are simply part of the package with no charge associated with the updates.

Ceres: Software updates are included.

WHAT IS THE BATTERY LIFE/GENERAL LIFE OF THE EAR TAGS?

Merck: We expect the batteries to last approximately five years. The tags have a four- or five-year warranty depending on which plan is purchased, and battery life is covered under the terms of this warranty.

701x: The xTpro tag is solar charging. So, battery life isn't a direct concern. 701x is constantly innovating, refining and improving the products. As such, our xTpro tags continue to last longer and longer in the pasture. We warranty our products for the first year. Our most recent xTpro model was released in late 2025. To date, we have less than a 1% failure rate on the latest model of the xTpro tag.

Where the xTpro tag is designed to be reassigned to other animals, if needed, the xTlite is a one-time-use tag. It is designed with a battery life approaching three years. The retention and durability of the xTlite tag has been on par with a traditional EID. Its battery life allows for use throughout the lifespan of a terminal beef animal -- from ranch, through the feedlot, to the packer.

Ceres: The tags have an exact 36-month operational lifespan after the producer activates them.

HOW BIG OF AN AREA CAN BE COVERED BY YOUR SYSTEM?

Merck: The antenna range is like a big egg shape. It can reach up to a quarter of a mile to the front of the controller and approximately 300 feet to each side and the back. The tags themselves hold 24 hours of data. The tags need to come within the antenna range a minimum of twice per day during the breeding season so that the data can be uploaded to the cloud. Therefore, antennas are generally positioned to cover main thoroughfare areas to the cattle's water source, feedbunks, mineral tubs, hay rings, etc., to capture that data.

701x: Our system works anywhere in the U.S. Our solution isn't limited by your ranch size or herd numbers. Whether you run 25 cows or 2,500 cows, the system meets you and your team where you are. Additionally, the 701x system is available in certain international markets.

Ceres: Limitless, the devices work on 42 different species in 44 countries around the world.

WHAT IS THE COST OF YOUR SYSTEM?

Merck: Cost varies based on tag type, quantity and payment plan. On average, SenseHub Cow Calf is $56 per cow per year. The tags can be reused multiple times, which can help reduce the per-head average cost. We offer two purchase models: a one-time purchase of tags and equipment or a monthly subscription.

To provide the most accurate estimate of cost, the next step is a call with a SenseHub Cow Calf specialist, who can complete a site analysis on Google Earth to determine the exact equipment needs for the operation.

701x: The xTpro tag costs $100 and has a $75-per-year data service plan. The xTlite tag is $20 each.

Ceres: The GEN6 device is $40 per tag and carries a $4.99-per-tag per-month subscription for the 36-month active life of the device, and devices are always sold and activated in boxes of 10. So, retail price is $400 per box of 10 and a $49.99 per-box per-month subscription for the 36-month active life.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

-- Merck: https://www.merck-animal-health-usa.com/…

-- 701x: https://www.701x.com/…

-- Ceres: https://cerestag.com/…

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-- Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

-- Follow Jennifer on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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