Role of Technology in Dairy farming

May 28, 2023

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Role of Technology in Dairy farming

Dr. V. K. Varun, Dr. M.V.jithin, Dr Ajeet Kr singh, Dr. Jeny K. John

Assistant Professor

Department of Veterinary clinical Complex, COVAS, SVPUAT, Meerut, UP

Indian dairy industry has overcome numerous challenges and undergone significant transformation over the years. The journey from being a milk deficit country in 1950’s to becoming the world’s largest milk producer has been exemplary. Milk production has grown considerably at 4.7% CAGR1 since the white revolution of the 1970s, making India the world’s largest producer of milk with annual production of 198.4 million MT (2019-20) and contributing to 21% share in global milk production. The huge domestic demand for milk has absorbed most of the “white revolution driven growth” in milk production, with negligible and erratic surplus available for exports. Consequently, India contributes less than 1% to global dairy exports.

Total bovine population in India has increased by 52% from 198.7 million in 1951 to 302.3 million in 2019. This has been possible due to multiple initiatives and support provided by the Government for improving animal healthcare facilities, upgrading breeding centers and focus on feed/fodder production over the years. Owing to this huge bovine stock, India has managed to attain numero uno position in milk production. However, the full potential of Indian milch herd in terms of productivity remains unattained. To meet the growing demand for milk and milk products, it has become inevitable to focus on increasing productivity levels of cattle and buffaloes as well as to increase the ratio of productive animals in the overall bovine population. This necessitates a strong developmental focus on dairy livestock healthcare, feeding systems and breeding systems in India. Management of all these aspects will play a pivotal role to achieve higher milk production in future.

Despite the exponential growth of dairy industry, the domestic dairy sector faces various challenges across the value chain – such as poor milk quality, low yield, lack of infrastructure and fragmented production. As independent India turns 75, focus needs to continue tackling these challenges to make the dairy industry future ready. With the advent of various technologies and digitalization, it has become imperative for the dairy industry to utilize these advancements for resilient and long-term growth of the sector. Last year covid outbreak has further led to emphasis on use of technology and digitalization for tackling supply chain challenges.

Application of digital technology will play an important role in achieving high growth by enabling increase in productivity, transparency, traceability across the dairy value chain. Digitalization could be a key differentiator in future for successful dairy operations enabling the farmers as well as dairy processors in better record keeping, traceability, quality, reduced processing losses and efficient logistics. Key digital interventions for tackling existing challenges in dairy farm management, farmer payments, supply chain monitoring, production planning and reach to end consumers need to be disseminated and adopted on a larger scale for development an efficient and future ready value chain. Following are the some key precision technologies which are used in dairy farming

Robotic Milking: One of the biggest, most recognizable advancements in the dairy industry is robotic milking. Robotic milking machines not only handle the whole milking process automatically, but also gather data to help dairy producers make important decisions for the handling and dairy cattle nutrition of each cow in their system. They measure milk production on a per-cow basis and can measure the grain concentrate each cow is ingesting so you can see the impact it has on their milk production. Robotic milking machines also have automatic sorting functions so that if a cow is dry, they will be sorted out. If they are having cow hoof problems or any other health-related issues, you can program the machine to sort them out for treatment or to receive special dairy cattle nutrition requirements.
Rumination Collars: A rumination collar uses a microphone to measure a dairy cow’s rumination to help ensure a smooth transition period. Changes in rumination can be an early sign of calving diseases, negative impacts of recent ration changes, cow comfort, etc. Knowing normal rumination patterns for your specific dairy cow can help mitigate the effects of manageable stressors, such as heat stress. The data can be used to help dairy producers treat those cows and minimize any negative impacts.

Rumen Bolus: A rumen bolus measures rumen temperature and pH levels to help identify any systemic infections that need to be treated. If a rumen bolus tells a dairy producer that a cow’s pH is dropping, it is a sign that a total mix ration (TMR) isn’t mixed thoroughly, sorting is taking place, or a ration change is having negative impacts. This can help a producer make appropriate changes to their dairy cattle nutrition program.
Parlor Monitoring: Parlor monitoring systems measure daily milk flow per cow, and there are some systems that can measure components like daily milk fat and daily milk protein and can even address milk quality by measuring somatic cells. If a cow’s milk production starts slowing down, the parlor monitoring system can send you an alert so you can get eyes on that specific cow and provide treatment or make necessary changes to its dairy cattle nutrition.
Thermal Imaging Technology: The use of thermal imaging is very recent technology used in animal husbandry practices. Inflammation is a key sign of injury and illness in cows – and the thing about inflammation is that it produces heat. By using thermal imaging we can quickly identify these heat spots, making it easy to identify developing health issues before they begin to cause problems for your cows. And because early detection is the key to fast and effective treatment, thermal imaging can be great for your bottom line too. Many farmers are already using thermal imaging to detect issues such as mastitis, lameness, bluetongue and bumblefoot.
Wearable Monitors: Wearable technology such as FitBit has blossomed over the last five years. But humans aren’t the only ones that can benefit. There is now a selection of wearable devices – such as Cowlar and Stellapps– available for cow kind too. All of them designed to monitor cow health, behaviour and performance – whether it’s steps per day, rumination or the amount of food consumed. With all the data sent to the cloud for you to access anytime, anywhere. But the real benefits for farmers come from being able to monitor health and the oestrus cycle. Imagine, for example, receiving a smart phone or email alert when one of your cows enters heat. or becomes pregnant. or develops the early symptoms of a disease or infection. It allows you to take the guesswork out of health and welfare management and act decisively, based on what’s actually happening with your herd.