Herd replenishment: Digital Tools for Cattle Breeding
Research, Digitalization |
Modern dairy farms increasingly use digital technologies such as milking robots, feeding systems and automatic heat or lameness detection. A lot of data is collected in the process. In the research project "Calf and Heifer Net" (CNH), researchers from the TUM Chair of Agricultural Systems Engineering have now developed a prototype for a digital tool that brings together various data that is important for cattle selection during remounting. "Our aim with CNH is to provide farmers with a reliable data basis for remounting decisions. All cows are evaluated uniformly and the farmer's decision is made easier," says project manager Fredrik Regler from the Chair of Agricultural Systems Engineering. Information from colostrum and milk intake as well as weight development and disease history are also included. In the future, a program like this could support farmers in their operational decisions.
Comprehensive data support the decision
Numerous data from different phases of life are included in the assessment. These include:
- Colostrum supply: Manual recording of intake in liters, intake time in hours after birth, quality in Brix
- Milk intake: Automatic measurement of milk quantity, suckling speed (in ml/min) and the impact activity on the teat (in mG/min) by milk collection station
- Weight development: Manual recording of birth weight and weight at transition from individual to group housing and at weaning, regular automated weight recording until first insemination with front hoof scales in the milk and concentrate collection station
- Disease history: recording of movement activity using a collar sensor; if disease is suspected, additional manual recording and evaluation of changes to the muzzle, eyes, ear position, manure consistency and breathing using an app
All this data flows together in the prototype. The tool was tested in a research project on three dairy farms in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg. "The first functional tests show that the system works when all the data is available. The next steps are optimization, error corrections and adaptation to everyday farm life, away from the experimental barns," says Regler.
The project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag. The Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE) was responsible for the project as part of the program to promote innovation.
Publication
Regler, F.; Bernhardt, H. Standardized Decision-Making for the Selection of Calf and Heifer Rearing Using a Digital Evaluation System. Agriculture 2024, 14, 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020272