Statement of need
Understanding and measurement is integral to effective management decisions – ‘if you don’t understand it and can’t measure it, you can’t manage it well’. In dairy farming, timely, accurate and objective measurement of all resources, from soil and water to feed, animals and milk production and composition, added to sound understanding, would allow for more accurate, timely and efficient management of those resources. Optimising the conversion of feed to milk (FCE) is based firstly on knowing (and measuring) a systems current FCE, and then understanding where improvements can be made.
Increased water productivity and nutrient use efficiency would benefit from accurate and timely understanding of plant available water and nutrient loads, respectively. Inherent in capturing the value of this capability to measure/monitor is an irrefutable need to interpret the measurements and be able to adjust accordingly. Some aspects of the farm system, such as milk production and gross composition, are already routinely measured, but use of such information often doesn’t extend to individual cow management and often the data is not fully interrogated to benefit. Sound economic decisions on feed production (and on feeding) rely on estimates of the value of the marginal return from extra production in relation to the marginal costs. Pasture parameters, such as pasture production and pasture intake, fundamentals for diet formulation are not routinely measured even when tools and techniques are available. The amount of supplements delivered in the dairy often differs from what the farmer believes is being delivered. Wastage occurs in relation to pasture utilisation and in supplementary feeding systems (the difference between what is offered and what is consumed), but it is inherently difficult to measure. If appropriate measurements are not part of routine farm management then marginal analysis is at best a guess. This logic possibly explains the major reasons for excessive use of fertiliser by many farmers and the debates about responses in milk protein and fat production to extra supplement.
‘Precision dairying’ is a commonly used, but often poorly defined objective. Technologies for precision farming allow for rapid and/or ‘real-time’ monitoring of all resources on a farm (soil, water, plant, animal, milk) to enable better and more timely management (operational, tactical and strategic) of those resources. In some instances this lends itself to automation of routine procedures. Increased profitability is usually the key desired outcome for precision technologies, but other outcomes are improved Natural Resource Management impacts (e.g. soil and water management), social (e.g. labour efficiencies and lifestyle) benefits, and animal health and welfare benefits.
Technology growth is often cited as a key driver of total factor productivity.
Rationale
The over-riding rationale for this priority is that measurement and evaluation of marginal responses is integral to productivity gains (more profitable dairying). Any capacity to quantify or measure using technologies must offer greater accuracy and/or timeliness, and in order to be of value must be able to be interpreted and used within the farming system.
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The core components to this priority area are:
› Identification of the components of the farming systems that, if they were able to be measured and interpreted using technologies, would offer the most potential benefit to a farm business. Based on that value proposition, consideration of the technological solutions that could be applied to that issue.
› Consideration of how technologies interact with people, and usually require data interpretation (including modeling), systems integration, and support in order to capture value.
Specific opportunities include:
› Measuring pasture production (biomass, utilisation and nutritive characteristics) for improved operational, tactical and strategic pasture allocation, renovation, more efficient input of water and nutrients resulting in increased pasture and animal productivity.
› Measuring daily pasture consumption to assist pasture and animal management, ration formulation, and calculation of FCE.
› Monitoring the rumen for key parameters (e.g. pH, retention time) to maintain an optimal rumen environment for FCE and animal health.
› Quantitative measurement of land management units across the farm to enable management (tactical and strategic) to be tailored more specifically.
› Monitoring soil, water and forages for more efficient use of inputs (water, nutrients) leading to sustainable improvements in production per unit of land.
› Integrating data flows into models and decision support systems to create both ‘real-time’ and predictive knowledge to aid farmer decisions. There is a range of Development and Extension opportunities for existing technologies that have not seen extensive adoption on farm. This warrants an understanding of the constraints to adoption (technological as well as social), to not only aid value capture for those opportunities, but to inform how new technologies are best developed and supported. The commercial implications of developing new technologies, and the likely need for systems integration and ongoing support, will necessitate close ties with the private sector. Public investment may be better placed in understanding the value proposition of technological solutions, systems fit, and how to support adoption and value capture in industry.
Existing investment activities & key past investments
Objective measurement of pasture has been identified as a key opportunity to increase pasture consumption. This has included:
› Satellite remote sensing (UM12970 ‘Pastures from Space’, see Attachment 3) which established a technical accuracy similar to rising plate meters. More recently the on-farm ‘usability’ of the technology as a data delivery mechanism was evaluated; and provided insight into what sort of ‘technological package’ will be required for different farmers to make satellite delivery a potential commercial product.
› Bike-mounted technologies have been evaluated in a range of projects (e.g. US 10957: Development of a more relevant forage base for the dairy industry in warm temperate regions of Australia, US13009 Future Dairy, DAV12955 Feed2Milk Case study farms) all evaluating the technical accuracy of the technology.
These technologies are at various stages of development in New Zealand and overseas, offering opportunities to leverage off investment elsewhere.
Rumen probes for measuring key rumen parameters, such as pH, have been evaluated (e.g. US13009 Future Dairy), but as yet have not been found to be reliable and robust in a commercial farm setting.
Irrigation technologies, including soil moisture monitoring have been embedded in projects such as UT13190 Beyond 2012, and the economics of sub- surface drip irrigation evaluated in DAV12624 Modelling Dairy Farming Systems.
Animal tracking, quantifying and monitoring animal behavior, and virtual animal control has been extensively developed in other cattle industries by CSIRO.
There are a diverse range of investments in private industry and other RDCs that would have direct potential applicability to the Dairy Industry.
The Future Dairy team (University of Sydney) are exploring different ways to improve estimates of dry matter intake by combining modelling with more detailed information of the cow (daily milk production, automatic LW, potentially auto BCS, etc).
Priorities for further investment, including outcomes sought
No project concepts have been developed at either of the ‘experts’ workshops due to insufficient time. However it was clear that key systems parameters that need near real-time measurement are (1) pasture biomass and pasture and total feed intake. These are critical drivers for improved pasture allocation, pasture production and animal productivity (via optimizing FCE); (2) measuring rumen function (including retention rates, pH) remains of interest for optimizing FCE and animal health.
The integration of real-time data flows with predictive simulations is seen as important for informed decision making and risk management.
Three priority areas are suggested to determine how better to invest in this area, to identify next generation technologies of interest, and to understand how to capture
the value of new and existing technologies on farm:
› E1. Foresighting to determine priority technological solutions across different farm systems
– This priority indicates there is uncertainty as to which technological solutions offer the greatest potential for benefit across different farm systems, and what is required to bring those technologies to market. For any given application on farm, there may be different technologies that can be utilised, each potentially at different stages of conceptualization or commercialization. This priority is focused on looking across next generation technologies and their potential fit and value in farming systems.
› E2. Understanding how to broker effective
partnerships within the commercial sector in order to provide on-going support for technologies on-farm.
– The commercial implications of developing new technologies, and the likely need for systems integration and ongoing support, will necessitate close ties with the private sector.
› E3. Market research to understand views of farmers and service providers on the potential use of technology within their farm system, and drivers of adoption to enable industry to capture value from existing and future technologies.
– There is a range of Development and Extension opportunities for existing technologies that have not seen extensive adoption on farm. An understanding of the constraints to adoption (technological as well as social), would not only aid value capture for those opportunities, but also inform how new technologies are best developed and supported.
The outcomes for research priority area E are: Table 8. Outcome timeframe
Short (< 5 years)
E1: Identification, prioritization and investment in next generation technologies with greatest potential value for industry
E2: Effective partnerships across the public and private sectors established that enable enhanced support for the capturing of value for new technologies on farm. E3: Improved route to market strategies for existing technologies to enable on farm capture of industry value.
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Medium (5–10 years)
E1, E2, E3: Development and implementation of new and existing technologies supported from conception through to adaptation on farm to capture their full value in industry.
Long (> 10 years)
E1, E2, E3: More effective tactical and strategic management decisions through timely, accurate and objective measurement of farm resources.
Capabilities available and required
Capabilities required in technological innovation are broadly available across many livestock and potentially human, computing, manufacturing industries. The major plant and animal science capabilities, and
particularly farming systems expertise, required in testing technologies in research or on-farm are available to the industry. Market research could be conducted by social research groups in the University of Melbourne and/or DPIV, or by engaging commercial providers. There are no foreseeable capability gaps, particularly when effective partnerships can be developed with the private sector and other industries.
Route to market considerations
The immediate need in this area is understanding route to market considerations and impediments to effective use of existing technologies that have been deployed on farms. Development / design of market research projects in this area requires not only social science expertise, but inputs from farmers with an interest or who have used/ purchased technologies, service providers and discipline scientists working in the field to which the technology applies.