Detection of low frequency external electronic identification devices using commercial panel readers

The ability of a commercially available panel reader system to read International Standards Organization-compliant electronic identification devices under commercial dairy conditions was examined. Full duplex (FDX-B) and half-duplex (HDX) low frequency radio-frequency identification external ear tags were utilized. The study involved 498 Holstein cows in the final 6 wk of gestation. There were 516 total electronic identification devices (n = 334 HDX and n = 182 FDX-B). Eighteen FDX-B were replaced with HDX during the study due to repeated detection failure. There were 6,679 HDX and 3,401 FDX-B device detection attempts. There were 220 (2.2%) unsuccessful and 9,860 (97.8%) successful identification detection attempts. There were 9 unsuccessful detection attempts for HDX (6,670/6,679 = 99.9% successful detection attempts) and 211 unsuccessful detection attempts for FDX-B (3,190/3,401 = 93.8% successful detection attempts). These results demonstrate that this panel system can achieve high detection rates of HDX devices and meet the needs of the most demanding management applications. The FDX-B detection rate was not sufficient for the most demanding applications, requiring a high degree of detection by panel readers. The lower FDX-B rate may not be inherent in the device technology itself, but could be due to other factors, including the particular panel reader utilized or the tuning of the panel reader.