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Precision Dairy Farming:The Next Dairy Marvel?

Jeffrey Bewley PhD PASJeffrey Bewley, PhD, PAS

15me 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 simulationsPositive 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: 859-257-7537jbewley@uky.edu