P.E.I.'s Atlantic Veterinary College is looking for 20 dairy farms to help with a study into technology that purifies water for dairy cows.
The U.S.-based Silver Bullet Water Treatment Company hired the college to conduct the study.
The study will be run as a clinical trial over two time periods. Herds will be randomly selected to either be left with their current watering system or be equipped with the Silver Bullet system.
The AVC team will measure water consumption and assess the impact on cow-level productivity. The study will also measure udder health and bacteria levels in water systems at the Maritime Quality Milk laboratory at the AVC.
Greg Keefe is professor of dairy health management at AVC.
"The technology's proven in other industries, but they have fairly minimal but promising data within the dairy industry," he said.
"For the dairy producers, it's a technology that doesn't require any chemical inputs so if we can improve productivity for the cows and health for the cows with this minimally invasive technology, that's a positive."
The study should take about six months.
The Silver Bullet system processes the source of drinking water for dairy cattle to prevent bacterial growth without the addition of toxic chemicals.
The AVC study will include 20 dairy herds, representing approximately 1,200 cows.