Precision Ag On The Dairy

Precision agriculture, a concept more Ag producers and more citizens are becoming aware of.  What they may not realize, though, is that the method and approach to crop production goes beyond traditional row crops and specialty crops.  Livestock producers, particularly in the dairy sector, also implement precision ag technologies and strategies. 

“Really, there are two types of robotic milking; breeding technology and decision support," noted USDA research economist Johnathan McFadden. 

And a recent USDA study looks at what precision dairy looks like on the barn level and where it is being used. 

Have you heard of cover crops, no-till, the four R's in farm field nutrient application?  All examples of precision agriculture, using pinpoint measurements, inputs, techniques, and technologies designed to conserve resources and improve both productivity and profitability. 

“When people think about precision agriculture, a lot of times they do think about crops and particularly field crops,” McFadden said. 

Precision Ag Not Just For Field Work

Yet, precision Ag innovation and practices are also found in livestock operations.  A recent study conducted by McFadden and ERS colleagues focuses on precision ag specifically among the dairy sector. Drivers behind the increase of precision dairy application include; 

“We have this sort of linkage between consolidation, size economies, and greater output, greater productivity overall in the dairy sector afforded by these types of technologies,” McFadden said. 

So what tech tools are available in the dairy grower's toolbox regarding precision agriculture. 

“We have three different general beans of precision dairy technologies, so milking technologies, breeding technologies, and then data and decision support technologies.” 

Yes, there are robotic milking systems, but also in play is non-robotic milking technologies, such as, 

“A computerized milking system or milking units with automatic takeoffs,” said McFadden. 

Examples of breeding technologies include: 

“Embryo transfer in a sexed semen, which is being increasingly used in the beef on dairy trend, and artificial insemination, which is an earlier technology, although still embeds a certain level of precision nonetheless,” McFadden said. 

And in the realm of data decision support within precision dairy; 

“Those would be things as relatively low-tech as individual cow production records, all the way up to things like computerized feed delivery, as well as nutritionist-designed diets,” said McFadden. 

Precision Ag Usage Has Increased Over the Past 20 Years

The ERS Precision Dairy Study covered an over two-decade period starting in the year 2000.  As expected, such technologies have steadily increased across the dairy sector. For the last year measured, in 2021. 

“At least 90% of milk production came from farms using individual cow production records, nutritionist designed feed, or breeding technologies like artificial insemination and MPRE transplant,” McFadden said. 

Yet an important concept in precision Ag, regardless of practiced at farm or dairy level, and reflected in the precision dairy study. 

“Adoption of combinations of technologies,” McFadden stressed. ��“Some of that's because the technologies come automatically bundled or there are just other economic incentives whereby the farmer would want to sort of use them in combination. By and large, we found that many farmers are using breeding technologies plus some other type of group of technologies.” 

Size And Location Matter

Also, adoption of precision dairy tech and robotic milking varied based on additional factors. 

“Adoption by herd size and adoption by region, we analyzed both of those in depth in the report.” 

So by adoption of region... 

“That are using all three technology types, milking data and breeding, we find that adoption tends to be highest in an area called the fruitful rim,” McFadden pointed out. 

A region of the southwest from California to Texas, followed by a stretch of the southern Atlantic coast and southeast. Herd size also determined the use of robotic milking. 

“Adoption tends to be most concentrated in the size class of around 150 to 499 head of cows,” McFadden said. 

Due to optimal economic factors for that size of dairy herd. McFadden notes the data source for this study, USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey, ARMS, is based on research of dairy trends in five-year increments starting in the year 2000. So the latest ARMS survey for, and data associated with, dairy producers and specific topic focuses such as precision dairy, well that's scheduled to come up sometime later this year. 

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