A study was commissioned by DairyNZ, a dairy industry good organisation in New Zealand, to identify some of the key challenges and opportunities in the precision dairy space. In New Zealand there has been an increasing research focus on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT)  for precision dairy systems in recent years, and this study focussed on issues for farmers and the performance of technology on-farm. A range of dairy farmers, researchers and service providers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview method. Interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed for qualitative analysis. An open coding process was used to identify main themes across the case studies.

The information gathered from the precision dairying community provided insights which were used to identify areas of future research and development. While the technology has significant potential benefits for an industry with larger farms, scarce labour and increasing management complexity, there are a number of issues around technology and management adaption, the level of ICT skills and engagement. There was also uncertainty around  how to unlock the benefits as well as problems associated with staff-technology interactions and limited backup and service level from the service sector. The analysis identified eight key questions concerning farmer expectations and experiences with precision dairy technology, along with the role of service providers, and factors involved in successful and unsuccessful adoption. These questions were used to propose a research agenda based around five themes aimed at driving a coordinated precision dairy research program. These themes were:

                Where does precision dairy technology fit in New Zealand Dairy Systems?

                Are the NZ dairy farmers ready to adopt new technologies?

                How do we build trust and confidence in new technologies while managing expectations?

                Can we clearly identify service sector roles around precision dairying?

                Where does industry engagement meet private delivery in precision dairy farming?