October 15, 2013
Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu Kyushu Systems Limited
Fujitsu to Rollout Global Sales of "GYUHO" SaaS
New cloud service from the Akisai food and agricultural cloud series will streamline livestock husbandry, promote bovine health maintenance
Tokyo, October 15, 2013 — Fujitsu Limited today announced the global rollout of GYUHO SaaS(1), a FUJITSU Intelligent Society Solution Akisai food and agricultural cloud service. GYUHO SaaS, developed by Fujitsu Kyushu Systems Limited and Comtec Inc., supports the detection of bovine estrus to enhance the efficiency of animal husbandry.
In Japan, 40,000 head of cattle have been entered into the GYUHO SaaS system that makes use of bovine behavioral characteristics, specifically the fact that cows walk more when in estrus, thereby enabling ranchers to encourage mating when the pedometers they are wearing detect increased walking. This, in turn, makes it possible to breed with greater insemination success rates.
This service has been in operation at farms throughout Japan - in Hokkaido, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa - since 2012. Following field trials in South Korea, the service launched commercially there in March 2013, and it is currently in use at three cattle farms in the country.
GYUHO SaaS is slated to begin field trials in Europe and Australia during 2013 and early 2014. Going forward, Fujitsu aims to further expand its deployment and have the service cover 500,000 cattle over the next three years to support livestock breeding and bovine health maintenance worldwide.
Given the recent spike in the price of livestock feed, the emergence of cheaper imported beef, and other issues, cattle ranchers are finding themselves beset by an increasingly difficult market environment, making efficient operations more important than ever. For livestock breeders in particular, the ability to accurately ascertain when cattle are in estrus and receptive to mating is indispensable for increasing productivity. This is extremely difficult for ranchers, especially when they are dealing with a high number of cattle or need to assess breeding receptivity in the middle of the night.
GYUHO SaaS utilizes a pedometer to track bovine activity, specifically the fact that cows walk more when in estrus. The system compiles this pedometer data in the cloud via the Internet, and then analyzes it at a datacenter to detect signs of estrus and automatically notify the rancher. Without creating any additional work for the rancher, this reduces the likelihood that signs of estrus will be overlooked, increasing the rate of successful mating and improving ranch efficiency.
GYUHO SaaS is currently in use in Hokkaido (one farm), Kumamoto (one farm), Miyazaki (two breeding centers), Kagoshima (four farms), and Okinawa (six farms). On average it has produced one fertilization per 1.58 mating attempts, compared with a typical figure of one fertilization per 2 to 2.5 attempts, representing a significant improvement in mating efficiency.
With the addition of GYUHO SaaS to the Akisai food and agricultural cloud series, Fujitsu looks forward to wide-ranging international sales starting with Europe and Australia, in addition to Japan. GYUHO SaaS marks Akisai food and agricultural cloud's first foray into international markets, and through its deployment, Fujitsu hopes to help enable a future in which food is abundant, safe, and reliably available.
About GYUHO SaaS
With GYUHO SaaS, pedometers are attached to female cows, and each cow's step counts are periodically collected and analyzed in Fujitsu's cloud. Over the Internet, ranchers can view graphs displaying cow behavior in one-hour increments, and data on behavior indicative of estrus are automatically sent to a pre-registered e-mail address that can be viewed over a mobile phone or other device, so that breeding opportunities are not overlooked. The system can also be used to preselect the sex of calves. Based on past results, calves' sex can be selected, with approximately70% accuracy, by timing the breeding to before or after the optimal timing of insemination, which is about 16 hours following the start of estrus. This system can be used in all aspects of livestock raising, including pasturing and industrial farming, and can function on a global scale.
Sales Target
Fujitsu aims to put GYUHO SaaS to use on 500,000 cows (100,000 in Japan, 400,000 outside of Japan) over the next three years.
Pricing in Japan
Equipment operating charges
| Product |
Price (excl. tax) |
Remarks |
| Receiver |
660,000 JPY |
|
| Dipole antenna |
25,000 JPY |
|
| Pedometer |
35,000 JPY |
Attached at ranch. Charges for attachment equipment not included. |
| Installation fee |
By individual estimate |
One installation charge per site |
Service charges
| Product |
Monthly Price (excl. tax) |
Remarks |
| Service usage charge |
1,000 JPY/month |
Service fee per pedometer |
| Operational support |
By individual estimate |
Support charge for operations |
| Deployment assistance |
By individual estimate |
Deployment setup, operational training |
| Connection charges |
- |
Assumes customer-provided Internet |
Glossary and Notes
- 1 GYUHO:
- The Japanese word "GYUHO" is comprised of two characters – the first being 'cow', the second being 'step' or 'walk'.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 170,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.4 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.
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