Precision Dairy Farming:The Next Dairy Marvel?
Jeffrey Bewley PhD PASJeffrey Bewley, PhD, PAS
15ème Carrefour des Productions Animales
What is Kentucky Famous For?What is Kentucky Famous For?
Kentucky Dairy Industry
90,000 dairy cows across 958 dairy farms90,000 dairy cows across 958 dairy farms
However You Say It!However You Say It!
Thank you very muchMerci beaucoup
Vielen Dank Dank u zeer
Technological MarvelsTechnological Marvels
• Tremendous technological progress in• Tremendous technological progress in dairy farming (i.e. genetics, nutrition,
)reproduction, disease control)
M d d i f h b• Modern dairy farms have been described as “technological marvels” (Philpot, 2003)
Th t “t h l i l l” i th• The next “technological marvel” in the dairy industry may be in Precision Dairy Farming
Changing Dairy LandscapeChanging Dairy Landscape
• Fewer, larger dairy operations
• Narrow profit margins
• Increased feed and labor costs
• Cows are managed by fewerCows are managed by fewer skilled workers
Consumer-Centric ApproachConsumer Centric Approach• Continuous quality assuranceContinuous quality assurance
• “Natural” or “organic” foodsNatural or organic foods
• Pathogen-free foodPathogen free food
• Zoonotic disease transmissionZoonotic disease transmission
• Reducing the use of medical treatmentsReducing the use of medical treatments
• Increased emphasis on animal well-beingIncreased emphasis on animal well-being
Information EraInformation Era
• Unlimited on-farm data storage• Unlimited on-farm data storage
• Faster computers allow for more• Faster computers allow for more sophisticated on-farm data mining
• Technologies adopted in larger industries (i.e. automobile or personal computing industries)personal computing industries) reduce costs for applications in
ll i d t ismaller industries
PDF: Key ElementsPDF: Key Elements• Using technologies to measure g g
physiological, behavioral, and production indicatorsp
• Supplement the observational ppactivities of skilled herdspersons
• Focus on health and performance at the cow levelthe cow level
• Optimize economic, social, andOptimize economic, social, and environmental farm performance
PDF: Key ElementsPDF: Key Elements
• Make more timely and informed decisions• Make more timely and informed decisions
• Minimize medication (namely antibiotics)• Minimize medication (namely antibiotics) through preventive health
• Precision Dairy Farming is inherently an interdisciplinary field incorporating conceptsinterdisciplinary field incorporating concepts of informatics, biostatistics, ethology, economics animal breeding animaleconomics, animal breeding, animal husbandry, animal nutrition and process engineeringengineering
Precision Dairy Practice M t L lManagement Levels
• Management by exception (i.e. low milk yield, activity)• Risk management (i.e. alerts on withhold cows)• Record keeping (i.e. breeding details, quality
assurance)Operational
assurance)
• Proactive management strategies (i.e. predicted calving, predicted heat)
• Intra-herd comparison (i.e. breaking herd into virtual groups)
Tacticalgroups)
• Long-term decision making and benchmarking (i.e. response to grain, achievement of cow performance targets, labor efficiency)Strategic
Adapted from Eastwood, 2008
PDF BenefitsPDF Benefits
• Increased efficiency• Increased efficiency• Reduced costs• Improved product quality
Mi i i d d i t l• Minimized adverse environmental impacts
• Improved animal health and well-being• Risk analysis and risk management• Risk analysis and risk management• More objective (less observer bias and
influence)
Ideal PDF TechnologyIdeal PDF Technology
E l i d l i bi l i l• Explains an underlying biological process• Can be translated to a meaningful action• Low-cost• Flexible robust reliable• Flexible, robust, reliable• Information readily available to farmer• Farmer involved as a co-developer at all stages
of development, not just beta-testing (Eastwood, 2008)
• Commercial demonstrations• Continuous improvement and feedback loops
PDF ExamplesPDF Examples• Precision (individual) feeding( ) g• Regular milk recording (yield and
t )components)• PedometersPedometers• Milk conductivity indicators• Automatic estrus detection• Body weight
T t• Temperature
Recent or Future TechnologiesRecent or Future Technologies
• Lying behaviorLying behavior• Ruminal pH• Heart rate• Global positioning systems• Global positioning systems• Feeding behavior• Blood analyses
R i i• Respiration rates • Rumination timeRumination time• Locomotion scoring using image analysis
AfiMilkAfiMilk
• Afilab milk anlayzer• Afilab-milk anlayzer– Fat, protein, lactose, SCC,
bloodblood
• Pedometer + (lying behavior)
• Fat protein ratios-ketosisFat protein ratios ketosis and SARA IDH t d t ti• Heat detection
• Mastitis detection• Calving time prediction
Milk measurementsMilk measurements• Progesterone
– Heat detection– Pregnancy detectionPregnancy detection
• LDH enzymeE l titi d t ti– Early mastitis detection
• BHBA– Indicator of subclinical ketosis
Urea• Urea– Protein status
Monitor Parameter Measured3-D acceleration/movement BehaviorElectromyogram Muscle activitySkin potential Vegetative-nervous reactionSkin resistance Vegetative-emotional reactionSkin temperature/Environmental temperature
Thermoregulationtemperature
Body Condition Scoringy g
• 100% of predicted BCS were within 0.50 points of actual BCS.• 93% were within 0.25 points of actual BCS.
Body Condition Scoring
BCS 2.50 BCS 3.50Predicted BCS 2.63Posterior Hook Angle 150.0°
Predicted BCS 3.32Posterior Hook Angle 172.1°
Hook Angle 116.6° Hook Angle 153.5°
IceTag Activity MonitorIceTag Activity Monitor• On-farm evaluation of lying time:On farm evaluation of lying time:
• Identification of cows requiring q gattention (lameness, illness, estrus)
• Assessment of facility• Assessment of facility functionality/cow comfort
• Research exploring lying time ×milk yield interaction
• Potential metric to assess animal well-beingg
Possible PDF TechnologiesPossible PDF Technologies• Stress levels (direct or indirect)Stress levels (direct or indirect)
• Pregnancy
• Environment gas levels (i.e. methane)
• Air born pathogen levels
• Pollutants
Z• Zoonoses
• Image analysis for anatomical• Image analysis for anatomical measurements
Genetic EvaluationsGenetic Evaluations
• Precision Dairy Farming technologies• Precision Dairy Farming technologies may provide information previously
funavailable for genetic evaluations
N i d t it (i f d i t k• New or improved traits (i.e. feed intake, lameness, BCS, heat tolerance, fertility)
• Improved data accuracy (i.e. yield, fat, t i SCC h lth t it )protein, SCC, health traits)
I l i f f ti t it ?• Image analysis for conformation traits?
Genetic EvaluationsGenetic Evaluations
• Could bull studs supplement• Could bull studs supplement technology costs in large progeny test h d i h f d t ?herds in exchange for data?
• Reduction in data collection costs• Reduction in data collection costs
• May be a new form of productMay be a new form of product differentiation
• More data, fewer erroneous measurementsmeasurements
GenomicsGenomics
• Precision Dairy Farming/genomic• Precision Dairy Farming/genomic synergies may lead to improvement in health traits
• For some traits, not yet able to account for genetic variationg
• But, need enough phenotypic data to , g p ypmatch the SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) data firstpolymorphisms) data first
Potential LimitationsPotential Limitations• Slow adoption ratesS o adopt o ates• Who pays for what?
A i l ID d• Animal ID read errors• Animal ID transfers• Equipment failure• Data transfer errors/bottlenecks• Data transfer errors/bottlenecks• Manufacturer differences• Sensor drift?• Quality controlQ y• Trait heritability limits
PDF Reality CheckPDF Reality Check• Maybe not be #1 priority for commercialMaybe not be #1 priority for commercial
dairy producers (yet)
• Many technologies are in infancy stage
• Not all technologies are good investments
• Economics must be examined
• Sociological factors must be considered
Purdue/Kentucky Investment ModelPurdue/Kentucky Investment Model
• Investment decisions for PDF technologiesFl ibl ti l b d t f ifi• Flexible, partial-budget, farm-specific
• Simulates dairy for 10 years• Simulates dairy for 10 years• Includes hundreds of random values• Measures benefits from
i t i d ti it i limprovements in productivity, animal health, and reproduction, p
• Models both biology and economics
Automatic BCS InvestmentAutomatic BCS Investment
• Benefits• Benefits– Reduced ketosis, milk fever, and metritis– Improved conception rate at first service– Improved efficiency from minimizing BCS p y g
loss• CostsCosts
– InvestmentV i bl– Variable costs
• Management levelg• 1000 simulations
Net Present Value (NPV) Si l ti R ltSimulation Results
13,40%
Positive NPV
Negative NPVNegative NPV
86,60%•Results from 1000 simulations•Positive NPV=“go” decision/make investment
Tornado Diagram for F t Aff ti N t P t V lFactors Affecting Net Present Value
NPV establishesestablishes
what the value of future
earnings from ea gs oa project is in
today's money.
BMPAF-Best Management Practice Adherence Factor
Reasons for Slow PDF AdoptionReasons for Slow PDF Adoption
Reason % #Not familiar with technologies that are available 54.89% 101Undesirable cost to benefit ratio 41.85% 77Too much information provided without knowing what to do with it 35.87% 66N t h ti t d t h l 30 43% 56Not enough time to spend on technology 30.43% 56Lack of perceived economic value 29.89% 55Too difficult or complex to use 28 80% 53Too difficult or complex to use 28.80% 53Poor technical support/training 28.26% 52Better alternatives/easier to accomplish manually 23 37% 43Better alternatives/easier to accomplish manually 23.37% 43Failure in fitting with farmer patterns of work 21.74% 40Fear of technology/computer illiteracy 21.20% 39gy p yNot reliable or flexible enough 17.93% 33
Russell and Bewley, 2009
Sociological FactorsSociological Factors
• Labor savings and potential quality of life• Labor savings and potential quality of life improvements affect investment decisions (Cantin 2008)(Cantin, 2008)
• Insufficient market research• Farmers overwhelmed by too many options
(Banhazi and Black, 2009)(Banhazi and Black, 2009)– Which technology should I adopt?– End up adopting those that are interesting
or where they have an expertise– Not necessarily the most profitable ones
Technology PitfallsTechnology Pitfalls• “Plug and play,” “Plug and pray,” or “Plug and g p y, g p y, g
pay”
• Technologies go to market too quickly
not fully-developed– not fully-developed
– software not user-friendly
• Developed independently without consideration f i t ti ith th t h l i dof integration with other technologies and
farmer work patterns
• Too many single measurement systems
Technology PitfallsTechnology Pitfalls
• Inappropriate process models• Inappropriate process models
• Lack of large-scale commercial field• Lack of large-scale commercial field trials and demonstrations
• Technology marketed without adequate interpretation of biological significanceinterpretation of biological significance of data
• Information provided with no clear ti laction plan
Australian Case StudyAustralian Case Study• R&D tends to focus on the device rather than
the management system within which the device will be used
• “Return on investment is only achieved th h b t i t i ththrough subsequent improvement in the farming system and it is here that people are k ”key”
• Not enough focus on farmer adaptation andNot enough focus on farmer adaptation and learning
N d f l d i f l• Need more formal and informal user networks Eastwood, 2008
ConclusionsConclusions
• New era in dairy management• New era in dairy management
• Exciting technologies available and in g gdevelopment
• Technologies may have considerable impact• Technologies may have considerable impact on genetic evaluations
• Investment profitability depends heavily on management after purchaseg p
• Adoption rates affected by sociological f t d t h l d l tfactors and technology development strategies
Any Questions?
Jeffrey Bewley, PhD, PAS407 W P Garrigus Building407 W.P. Garrigus BuildingLexington, KY 40546-0215
Phone: 859-257-7543Fax: [email protected]
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