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Data driven innovations for improved sustainability of ruminant productions systems

Data driven innovations for improved sustainability of ruminant productions systems

  • Livestock Improvement
  • 2022-2027
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Challenges

Scotland’s beef, sheep and dairy sectors are under pressure to improve the efficiency of production, health, and welfare, increase financial performance and reduce environmental impact. The dairy-beef sector is fragmented: production of cattle involves a series of supply chain players and limited data sharing occurs along this supply chain, resulting in sub-optimal performance of the sector.

Precision livestock farming (PLF) coupled with data-driven solutions are recognised as important tools in the future of Scotland’s agriculture. When exploited fully, PLF tools can

  • Aid farm-level management
  • improve animal health, welfare, and productivity,
  • Monitor or reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Improve traceability of livestock products

Whilst the argument for the adoption of technologies is often clear, the level of uptake has been poor, particularly across beef and sheep sectors. Our previous research and direct engagement with beef, sheep and dairy farmers and supply chain actors identified a lack of accessible information, data and clarity relating to commercially available PLF solutions as a key barrier to uptake. Currently, production and sustainability challenges are addressed by improvements in farm management and investment in isolated PLF solutions, achieving limited progress.

Data solutions which operate across entire supply chains offer enormous potential for improved sustainability. Currently, no system exists to integrate information sources within and between different elements of a supply chain. Recent advances in electronic identification (EID) for cattle (including ultra-high frequency technology), and data integration solutions (e.g., blockchain) can underpin research and development in this area. This is important to drive improvements in product quality and consistency, whilst optimising the efficiency of entire supply chains.

Questions

  • How should we develop a data-led livestock system?

Solutions

Through the development of an interactive tool for farmers, industry, and policymakers, this project aims to explore current and new digital innovations, key barriers to adoption and solutions, and provide a robust evidence base demonstrating benefits of integrated data use within beef, sheep and dairy systems.

 

Digital solutions for Scottish ruminant production systems

Building on our previous work, we are conducting a comprehensive review of globally available technologies, near-to-market developments, and horizon scanning of innovative solutions. Key considerations will include applicability to the diverse range of Scottish farming systems, ability to integrate with other on-farm data sources and tools, underpinning scientific evidence and cost-benefit analysis. There is a significant appetite from farmers for interactive tools to access information which can support on-farm decision-making. As a result, the outcomes of the review are being used to create an interactive tool and database.

 

Assessing integrated data and novel data analytics

Current data innovations for livestock generally focus on individual technology developments for a specific aspect of production. Significant opportunities for livestock improvement lie in the integration of data streams generated through simple on-farm data capture, PLF designed for livestock, and novel innovative solutions from other sectors. We are assessing the predictive ability of integrated data streams and different analytical methods for monitoring productivity, health, welfare, and efficiency. We are comparing different data analytical techniques to currently available and new datasets.

 

Inefficiencies and barriers to the adoption of data-driven solutions

We are identifying and understanding key inefficiencies at the individual farm-level and across supply chains, considering the variety of businesses that operate across ruminant sectors in Scotland. Significant investment in recent years has resulted in the development and commercialisation of numerous technologies and data-driven solutions that farmers can engage with. However, previous research has demonstrated that current uptake is poor, particularly across beef and sheep sectors. Using participatory research techniques, we are working with key stakeholders to understand the main inefficiencies and barriers to the adoption of digital solutions and how we can best overcome them.

 

Enhanced Efficiency savings for farms

Many digital innovations currently exist to monitor health, welfare, fertility, intake, and growth in ruminant systems. Limited information exists on the carbon and financial savings that can be achieved through the adoption of these. We are improving our understanding of the expected benefits of currently available and near-to-market technologies on carbon savings and finances after the introduction of technologies on-farm across all ruminant production systems.  

 

Applying Electronic Identification (EID) technology at the farm-level and across supply chains

We are exploring the opportunities and benefits associated with EID use across ruminant production systems (beef, cattle, and sheep) in Scotland and promoting its use in collaboration with ScotEID. For beef production systems, we are assessing the use of EID to improve traceability.

Low-frequency EID tags are commonly used in sheep systems (compulsory tagging) though are underutilised. Direct engagement with sheep farmers has highlighted a wider appetite for Ultra high-frequency technologies for improved farm management. We are working with ScotEID to test UHF systems in sheep. We are assessing the technical performance of UHF tagging and exploring the benefits of adopting voluntary UHF tagging.

For cattle, we are assessing the technical performance and demonstrating the benefits of combined UHF and LF technology. Compulsory tagging of cattle in the UK is anticipated for 2022. We are exploring the application of UHF technologies for cattle traceability in Scotland.

 

Enhanced Efficiency savings for supply chains

As of 2019, the UK dairy industry produced 0.5M low-value calves annually. Many of these calves enter the dairy-beef production cycle and move to rearing units that are different to place of birth. However, on entry to the rearing unit, there is limited calf health information available, and calves tend to be mixed with calves from various sources with different health statuses. Therefore, calves are exposed to new disease pathogens with the potential to impact future performance and welfare. In these low-value calf systems, mortality and disease are high. There is a growing evidence base for the cow-with-calf dairying system. Although economically valuable (depending on committed milk price and beef product premiums) and despite consumer demand for these high welfare alternative production systems, there is no committed route-to-market for calves from these systems. Through participatory research, we are exploring current supply and demand within Scottish supply chains for low-value and alternatively produced calves.

Our overall aim throughout is to deliver clear recommendations that will inform policy and disseminate key messages to the farming community.

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