P.PSH.1313 - Romani Pastoral Bull Tracking 2021
A tipping point for the price of animal monitoring Smart Tags and the value proposition for improved mustering and management is likely to become clear with advancements in technology and scale.
| Project start date: | 06 June 2021 |
| Project end date: | 14 October 2022 |
| Publication date: | 24 April 2024 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grass-fed Cattle |
| Relevant regions: | National |
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Summary
The investment goal is to increase productivity from bull herds (and business profitability) through the deployment of individual animal monitoring smart tag technology to enable reduced labour costs, increased utilisation of bulls, increased longevity of bull working life and reduced cost of infrastructure damage.
This report provides analysis and summary of the work done by AGTech360 during the Romani Pastoral Bull Tracking 2021 project. This project was conducted across two locations; Romani Pastoral cattle stations (Windy and Warrah) near Quirindi NSW and the Four Post farm in Taroom QLD.
Objectives
The main objectives of this project were to assess the benefits the AGTech360 system brings to a producer by observing the effects on the following sections:
• tracking Bull performance and movement
• treatment and animal traits record keeping e.g weight gain
• improvement of genetics through decision-making based on quality data recordings
• having a single platform for farm information
• paddock utilisation and management.
Key findings
• All hardware and software were successfully set up and training was given
• All devices worked as expected however some went into sleep mode under extreme weather events
• Device failure rate was greater on bulls than cows
• Animal behavioural tendencies were observed (hiding under tree cover, gathering around water bodies, clustering in small groups, etc…)
• Alarms triggered were by animals escaping the property, entering incorrect paddocks, etc…
• Comprehensive reports on weight gains were seen
Benefits to industry
• reduced cost of manpower required in mustering
• reduced the loss of product from real time early warning of theft or sickness
• better decision making due to historical data records for paddock optimisation, weight gains and fertility
MLA action
A strategic portfolio of ag-tech investments options to ground truth is likely to de-risk adoption for Australian livestock producers.
Future research
• Improve the intelligent alert system based on the movement characteristics of the animal to more clearly identify sick animals, bulls joining detection, pregnancy detection and calving detection.
• Integrate pasture data and other inputs overlayed with the GPS tracking data to develop a better understanding of feed available and optimise livestock growth.
• Improve medicine stock and compliancy management with full traceability of the exact medicine batch and dose used on individual animals.
More information
| Project manager: | John McGuren |
| Contact email: | Reports@mla.com.au |
| Primary researcher: | Agtech 360 |
