FOCUS ON BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT . . .
that influence technology adoption include age,
education, learning style, goals, farm size, risk
preference, and use of the technology by peer
farmers and other family members. Previous
research also has demonstrated that producers
are less likely to adopt technologies that are difficult to use, alter daily routines, or require considerable interpretation of data. Some producers simply may be overwhelmed by the number
of options that are available.
Producers may be more likely to adopt a
technology that has potential to reduce
labor or improve
quality of life even if
PEDOMETERS can
that technology does
give you information
to make better mannot provide a measagment decisions, but
urable economic benthey haven’t been
efit.
Technologies
adopted by everyone.
that measure more
than one parameter
simultaneously or measure something
that has more than one potential use may have
more appeal to some producers.
Dairy farming 3.0
Precision dairy farming is here, so why aren’t we all embracing it?
by Jeffrey Bewley and Rebecca Russell
H
ISTORICALLY, dairy producers have
used experience and judgment to identify problem cows. While this skill is
invaluable and can never be fully replaced with technologies, sometimes we miss
things, partially due to our inability to see
internal physiological changes (like heart rate
and temperature) within the cow. Often, by the
time an animal exhibits clinical signs of stress
or illness, it is too late to make a difference. By
using new technologies, these physiological
responses can be identified allowing a dairy
manager the ability to intervene sooner. Even
for signs that we can observe, technologies
may help us monitor the dairy herd.
In our daily lives, we are surrounded by
technologies like personal computers, sophisticated gadgets in our vehicles, and “smart” cell
phones that can do things none of us would
have imagined 10 years ago. Many dairy producers already use some technologies like
these to help manage their dairy records, parlors, or field equipment.
Precision dairy farming is the use of technologies to measure physiological, behavioral,
and production indicators on individual animals to improve management strategies and
farm performance. Many precision dairy farming technologies, including daily milk yield
recording, milk component monitoring (for
example, fat, protein, and SCC), pedometers,
milk conductivity indicators, automatic estrus
detection monitors, and daily body weight
measurements already are being utilized by
dairy producers. Yet, we have only seen the
beginning of the introduction of sophisticated
technologies in monitoring dairy cows.
What if you could identify which cows were in
heat based on an analysis of her milk as it flows
through the pipeline? What if you could monitor
feed intake of individual cows? Each of these
scenarios may be possible in the next few years
as new technologies are developed and refined.
Other theoretical precision dairy farming
technologies have been proposed to measure
rumen pH and contractions, feeding behavior,
body condition score, animal positioning and
activity, locomotion, lying behavior, odor, progesterone, heart rate, and respiration rate.
The authors are with the University of Kentucky. Bewley is an
assistant professor in dairy systems management, and Russell
is an undergraduate research assistant.
Some of these technologies will measure
things that could be measured manually, while
others will measure things that would otherwise not have been possible to measure.
We aren’t all “techie” farmers
Despite widespread availability, adoption of
precision dairy farming technologies in the
dairy industry has been relatively slow thus
far. In a year like 2009, adoption of new technologies was the last thing that dairy producers had on their minds. So, it’s not surprising
that perceived economic returns from investing in a new technology likely are the
main factor influencing precision dairy farming technology adoption, based on our research
at the University of Kentucky.
Often, producers may underestimate the
value of these technologies because the costs of
disease and reduced reproductive performance
are not as easy to understand as simply looking at increases in milk production. Of course,
it is important to remember that purchasing a
technology that tells you something is wrong
doesn’t have an economic impact at all if the
information is not used.
Finally, some technologies are not good
investments because they don’t do what they
claim to do. Similarly, there is more risk involved in purchasing a technology that has
just been released because the technical shortcomings haven’t been worked out yet.
Characteristics of the primary decision maker
Factors influencing slow adoption rates of
precision dairy farming technologies
Factor
N
Not familiar with technologies
101
Undesirable cost-to-benefit ratio
77
Information overload
66
Not enough time to spend on technology 56
Lack of perceived economic value
55
Too difficult or complex to use
53
Poor technical support/training
52
Better manual alternatives
43
Doesn’t fit in work pattern
40
Fear of technology/computer illiteracy
39
33
Not reliable or flexible enough
Not useful/does not address a real need 27
Waiting for improvements
18
Lack of standardization
17
Poor farm integration
12
Compatibility issues
12
Percent
55
42
36
31
30
29
28
23
22
21
18
15
10
9
7
7
To help assess reasons for slow adoption
rates of precision dairy farming technologies,
we sent a survey to all licensed milk producers
in Kentucky (N=1,074). Of the surveys that
were returned, 229 were used for subsequent
analyses (21 percent). We asked producers to
identify what factors have contributed to these
modest rates. Surveys were categorized by
herd size, production system, operator age, and
production level. Among the 229 respondents,
average herd size was 83.0 ± 101.8 cows, and
average producer age was 50.9 ± 12.9 years.
Reasons for modest adoption rates of precision
dairy farming technologies and dairy systems
software are presented in the table.
The reasons selected by the highest percentage of respondents were (1) not being familiar
with technologies that are available (55 percent),
(2) undesirable cost to benefit ratios (42 percent),
and (3) too much information provided without
knowing what to do with it (36 percent). The
high percentage of producers who indicated they
were unfamiliar with available technologies indicates that marketing efforts may improve
technology adoption. Actual or perceived economic benefits appear to influence adoption
rates demonstrating the need for economic models and re-examination of product prices.
As herd size increased, the percentage of producers selecting “poor technical support/training” and “compatibility issues” increased which
may be reflective of past negative experiences.
Sometimes, product manufacturers may release
technologies before they are fully developed,
before the accompanying software is refined, or
without consideration of integration with other
technologies and farmer work patterns. In developing technologies, manufacturers should work
with end-users during development and after
product adoption to alleviate these customer
frustrations. Few significant differences were
observed among age groups, though the youngest producers were more likely to select “better
alternatives/easier to accomplish manually.”
Precision dairy farming will bring many new
opportunities for monitoring dairy animals.
There are many exciting technologies available
and others in development. These technologies
may change the way we manage our dairy businesses. Dairy producers are, and should be, cautiously optimistic about these new technologies.
Investment profitability varies by farm, by product, and depends heavily on how management is
changed after the technology is purchased.
Adoption of technologies likely will continue to
be slow as dairy producers and product manufacturers learn how to best implement these
technologies within normal work patterns.
May 25, 2010
HOARD’S DAIRYMAN
We asked our producers
377