Smart Farming Week is an annual celebration that highlights the advancements in the agricultural sector. The primary objective of this event is to encourage farmers to explore and prioritize the use of technology, tools, and practices that can enhance their farming methods. The focus is on ensuring that innovation today leads to an efficient, productive, and sustainable tomorrow.
In recent times, numerous farms have experienced a concerning decrease in milk production and feed intake, coupled with an increase in standing time among their cows. Consultation with expert professionals revealed a rapid decline in rumination across various herds, leading to a critical and puzzling situation that required urgent attention.
Wearable technology has gained substantial popularity, replacing the emergency-call commercials of the past. From professional athletes to individuals within local communities, the use of wearables has become widespread. These devices, which encompass a variety of body-worn mechanisms, such as patches and smart watches, aim to monitor and manage our daily activities and health.
The rapid expansion of wearable technology has led to the development of advanced biosensors, providing users with detailed insights into their physical well-being. Similarly, researchers within the dairy industry have begun integrating these innovations into their practices. They are creating customized wearable devices equipped with biosensors tailored for the dairy sector. With these devices, farmers can continuously monitor various biometrics of their cattle, such as rumination, activity levels, rest and bunk time, water intake, temperature, GPS location in the pen, and even stress hormone levels.
A study at Cornell University has proposed the use of rumination as a cost-effective alternative to invasive blood testing. This method could effectively identify subclinical milk fever, leading to targeted treatment and the prevention of secondary transition cow diseases, ultimately boosting milk production.
Having real-time access to the health data of animals enables farmers and veterinarians to intervene and combat diseases at an early stage. In a recent case, wearable technology facilitated the identification of a critical issue that had negatively impacted several dairies. With the help of wearable devices, changes in the intake, feeding time, and rumination rates of the cows were closely monitored, leading to the successful identification of the source of the problem. This highlights the crucial role of biometrics in the future of agriculture.
For more information on smart farming and agricultural technology, please refer to the following articles:
1. Digester Success: It’s All in the Details
2. Uniting Technology with the Youngest Herd Members on Your Farm
3. He Started Out as a Milker Nearly 30 Years Ago. Now, He’s the Manager and a Leader in Technology at Wisconsin’s Largest Family-Owned Dairy
4. Facility Focus: 4 Tips to Manage Ventilation During the Off-Season
5. Beef-on-Dairy: Why Feedlots Crave This Important Information
+ There are no comments
Add yours