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The Use of Sensing Technologies to Monitor and Track the Behavior of Cows on a Commercial Dairy Farm

I. Draganova, I. Yule, M. Stevenson

Massey University

New Zealand farmers are facing rapidly increasing pressure to reduce nutrient losses from their farming enterprises to the environment caused by grazing ruminants. Research suggests that the major source of nutrient loss is animal excreta, which for N relates to cattle urine in particular. Most models used to describe N cycling and predict loss assume homogeneous distribution of urine patches across the paddock. This study aims to provide base line knowledge of how dairy cows distribute urine, by using sensor technologies to investigate the patterns of excreta distribution in dairy cows under commercial conditions. The study took place on a commercial dairy farm, No 4 Dairy Farm, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand during early autumn in March 2009. Thirty cows in late lactation, balanced for milking order and age, in a herd of 180, were fitted with global positioning system (GPS) collars, and urine sensors for seven consecutive days. The herd was milked twice a day and rotationally grazed, without supplements. Cows were rotated through 12 paddocks of ~1.1 ha. The majority of urine (85% of total) was deposited on pasture with only 10% of total captured in the holding yard and milking shed. Kernel density estimates indicated that urine patch distribution was inhomogeneous, thus some areas within paddock were likely to receive higher N loads than the average for the paddock. Moderate correlations between the time spent in a location and urine patch density provided preliminary evidence that the time spent in a particular location was the main factor affecting the density of urine patches. Substantial variation in results between paddocks suggested that paddock characteristics did not play a major role in determining urine distribution patterns in this study. It is concluded that a suitable methodology was developed to observe and track the behaviour of dairy cows managed on pasture under commercial conditions using precision and sensor technologies.

Keyword: tracking, nutrient distribution, spatially enabled livestock management.

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