Opportunities for monitoring and improving animal welfare using precision dairy monitoring technologies

Abstract Text: Technologies are changing the shape of the dairy industry across the globe. In fact, many of the technologies applied to the dairy industry are variations of base technologies used in larger industries such as the automobile or personal electronic industries. Undoubtedly, these technologies will continue to change the way that dairy animals are managed. This technological shift provides reasons for optimism for improvements in both cow and farmer well-being moving forward. Many industry changes are setting the stage for the rapid introduction of new technologies in the dairy industry. Dairy operations today are characterized by narrower profit margins than in the past, largely because of reduced governmental involvement in regulating agricultural commodity prices. The resulting competition growth has intensified the drive for efficiency resulting in increased emphasis on business and financial management. Furthermore, the decision making landscape for a dairy manager has changed dramatically with increased emphasis on consumer protection, continuous quality assurance, natural foods, pathogen-free food, zoonotic disease transmission, reduction of the use of medical treatments, and increased concern for the care of animals. Lastly, powers of human observation limit dairy producers’ ability to identify sick or lame cows or cows in heat. Precision dairy management may help remedy some of these problems. Precision dairy management is the use of automated, mechanized technologies toward refinement of dairy management processes, procedures, or information collection. Precision dairy management technologies provide tremendous opportunities for improvements in individual animal management on dairy farms. Although the technological “gadgets” may drive innovation, social and economic factors dictate technology adoption success.  These new monitoring tools provide new opportunities for monitoring animal welfare.  Lying behavior monitors help assess cow comfort.  Feeding and rumination technologies monitor nutrition and rumen health.  Image based technologies can provide insight into previously subjective measures like body condition score and locomotion score.  Adding temperature or milk monitors may help detect disease early reducing pain and production losses associated with disease.  Precision dairy monitoring technologies may help not only monitor animal welfare but also provide dairy producers with a new set of tools for changing animal welfare.

Keywords: precision dairy, technology, productivity, animal welfare