Precision dairy monitoring (PDM) involves the use of technologies to measure physiological, behavioral, and production indicators on individual animals to detect events of interest. Heat, disease, and calving detection are common applications, although heat detection is the most tested and used. Many PDMs are commercially available and are being used in research and on farms. Precision dairy monitoring technologies can be placed on or in the cow, but many technologies are now available in the parlor, in robots, and in an exit or feed alley. Until recently, most PDMs worked with 3-axis accelerometers with different algorithms applied, but advanced imaging is now becoming more commonly used also. A common question from researchers and producers alike is “what is the best technology available?” The top technologies are ones that improve 1) farm efficiency; 2) farm economics; 3) decision making; 4) animal welfare; and 5) producer happiness. Precision dairy monitoring technologies need to be a solution to a problem, not a solution searching for an application, which sometimes occurs particularly when non-agricultural companies start jumping into this market. They also cannot be another problem for a producer to add to their already-full plate. These technologies provide copious amounts of information, which can sometimes be overwhelming. The best PDMs process data and present information in an accurate and easy to understand manner. The producers gaining the most benefit from PDMs are the ones implementing them as part of their everyday standard operating practices and are using 3 of their most important sense to understand the data: common sense, cow sense, and business sense. Implementing PDMs onto a farm is an enormous and potentially expensive decision. As this part of the industry continues to progress, the potential for PDMs are endless. Sound university research and producer feedback are imperative to ensuring that PDMs continue to head in the right direction. This presentation will be aimed at helping weed through the currently available research, discuss current and potential future applications, and explain PDM adoption through the Theory of Diffusion.