Simulation of site-specific irrigation control strategies with sparse input data

Crop and irrigation water use efficiencies may be improved by managing irrigation application timing and volumes using physical and agronomic principles. However, the crop water requirement may be spatially variable due to different soil properties and genetic variations in the crop across the field. Adaptive control strategies can be used to locally control water applications in response to in-field temporal and spatial variability with the aim of maximising both crop development and water use efficiency. A simulation framework ‘VARIwise’ has been created to aid the development, evaluation and management of spatially and temporally varied adaptive irrigation control strategies (McCarthy et al., 2010). VARIwise enables alternative control strategies to be simulated with different crop and environmental conditions and at a range of spatial resolutions. An iterative learning controller and model predictive controller have been implemented in VARIwise to improve the irrigation of cotton. The iterative learning control strategy involves using the soil moisture response to the previous irrigation volume to adjust the applied irrigation volume applied at the next irrigation event. For field implementation this controller has low data requirements as only soil moisture data is required after each irrigation event. In contrast, a model predictive controller has high data requirements as measured soil and plant data are required at a high spatial resolution in a field implementation. Model predictive control involves using a calibrated model to determine the irrigation application and/or timing which results in the highest predicted yield or water use efficiency. The implementation of these strategies is described and a case study is presented to demonstrate the operation of the strategies with various levels of data availability. It is concluded that in situations of sparse data, the iterative learning controller performs significantly better than a model predictive controller

Air pollution and livestock production

The air in a livestock farming environment contains high concentrations of dust particles and gaseous pollutants. The total inhalable dust can enter the nose and mouth during normal breathing and the thoracic dust can reach into the lungs. However, it is the respirable dust particles that can penetrate further into the gas-exchange region, making it the most hazardous dust component. Prolonged exposure to high concentrations of dust particles can lead to respiratory health issues for both livestock and farming staff. Ammonia, an example of a gaseous pollutant, is derived from the decomposition of nitrous compounds. Increased exposure to ammonia may also have an effect on the health of humans and livestock. There are a number of technologies available to ensure exposure to these pollutants is minimised. Through proactive means, (the optimal design and management of livestock buildings) air quality can be improved to reduce the likelihood of risks associated with sub-optimal air quality. Once air problems have taken hold, other reduction methods need to be applied utilising a more reactive approach. A key requirement for the control of concentration and exposure of airborne pollutants to an acceptable level is to be able to conduct real-time measurements of these pollutants. This paper provides a review of airborne pollution including methods to both measure and control the concentration of pollutants in livestock buildings

A Feasibility Study on the Use of a Structured Light Depth-Camera for Three-Dimensional Body Measurements of Dairy Cows in Free-Stall Barns

Frequent checks on livestock\u2019s body growth can help reducing problems related to cow infertility or other welfare implications, and recognizing health\u2019s anomalies. In the last ten years, optical methods have been proposed to extract information on various parameters while avoiding direct contact with animals\u2019 body, generally causes stress. This research aims to evaluate a new monitoring system, which is suitable to frequently check calves and cow\u2019s growth through a three-dimensional analysis of their bodies\u2019 portions. The innovative system is based on multiple acquisitions from a low cost Structured Light Depth-Camera (Microsoft Kinect\u2122 v1). The metrological performance of the instrument is proved through an uncertainty analysis and a proper calibration procedure. The paper reports application of the depth camera for extraction of different body parameters. Expanded uncertainty ranging between 3 and 15 mm is reported in the case of ten repeated measurements. Coef\ufb01cients of determination R2> 0.84 and deviations lower than 6% from manual measurements where in general detected in the case of head size, hips distance, withers to tail length, chest girth, hips, and withers height. Conversely, lower performances where recognized in the case of animal depth (R2 = 0.74) and back slope (R2 = 0.12)

Methane Mitigation:Methods to Reduce Emissions, on the Path to the Paris Agreement

The atmospheric methane burden is increasing rapidly, contrary to pathways compatible with the goals of the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement. Urgent action is required to bring methane back to a pathway more in line with the Paris goals. Emission reduction from “tractable” (easier to mitigate) anthropogenic sources such as the fossil fuel industries and landfills is being much facilitated by technical advances in the past decade, which have radically improved our ability to locate, identify, quantify, and reduce emissions. Measures to reduce emissions from “intractable” (harder to mitigate) anthropogenic sources such as agriculture and biomass burning have received less attention and are also becoming more feasible, including removal from elevated-methane ambient air near to sources. The wider effort to use microbiological and dietary intervention to reduce emissions from cattle (and humans) is not addressed in detail in this essentially geophysical review. Though they cannot replace the need to reach “net-zero” emissions of CO2, significant reductions in the methane burden will ease the timescales needed to reach required CO2 reduction targets for any particular future temperature limit. There is no single magic bullet, but implementation of a wide array of mitigation and emission reduction strategies could substantially cut the global methane burden, at a cost that is relatively low compared to the parallel and necessary measures to reduce CO2, and thereby reduce the atmospheric methane burden back toward pathways consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement

Measuring Energetics of Biological Processes

Measurement of the energetics of biological processes is the key component in understanding the thermodynamic responses of homoeothermic animals to their environments. For these animals to achieve body temperature control, they must adapt to thermal-environmental conditions and variations caused by weather (the meteorological condition of a region), climate, vegetation, topography, and shelters (see Figures 2 and 3 of Chapter 1). Adaptation can take different forms as defined by Hafez (1968). Physiological adaptation is the capacity and process of adjustment of the animal to itself, to other living material, and to its external physical environment. Genetic adaptation refers to the selection and heritability of characteristics for a particular environment or climatic region. A long-term adaptive physiological adjustment is referred to as acclimatization. We know this occurs through observations of animal conformation, animal types, respiratory rate, color, behavior, food selection, etc. Since adaptation of the animal to its thermal environment requires regulation of body temperature, measurement of that adaptation through animal energetics provides an indicator of the extent and energetic cost of adaptation

Housing Environment and Farm Animals' Well-Being

This reprint contains articles from the Special Issue of Animals “Housing Environment and Farm Animals' Well-Being”, including original research, review, and communication related to livestock and poultry environmental management, air quality control, emissions mitigation, and assessment of animal health and well-being

An investigation into the use of infrared thermography as a tool to assess the physiological stress response in the horse

The experiments reported in this thesis investigated the use of temperature measurement using infrared thermography (IRT) as an objective, non-invasive method to identify the physiological stress response in the horse. The primary area of investigation was the eye area within the medial posterior palpebral border of the lower eyelid and the lacrimal caruncle as in existing work in other species. The application of these findings to horse management and welfare was discussed. Horses were exposed to potentially stressful situations that were acute (<20 seconds), short term (ten minutes) and long term or repetitive (one week) in duration. Temperature was measured using IRT in addition to measurement of salivary cortisol, faecal corticosterone and behavioural assessment, all of which are currently accepted measures of the stress response. IRT was shown to be an unsuitable method to assess acute stress in the horse due to the species specific behavioural response of flight. Rapid evasive movement of the horse meant that recording temperature using a thermal camera was difficult. A modified experimental design may have made it possible to capture the thermal response to acute stress however restraint of the horse would have been stressful in itself and confounded results

Walking Box Ranch Planning and Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period ending April 10, 2011

UNLV participated in the two-day 65% Design Development project meeting and assisted in planning and design of the future WBR museum and field/research station. UNLV held several internal meetings to advance planning for IT and security at the ranch. UNLV (Cline) and BLM (McAboy) have begun a series of meetings regarding updating the current Task Order, requesting a two-year no-cost extension for the two Assistance Agreements, and to develop a concept plan for the future WBR operating agreement between BLM and UNLV. Weather station progress included adding a Pyrheliometer that measures solar radiation received to the station. Progress was made in making past weather information available via the website, and two technical papers on renewable energy were submitted for publication. UNLV has begun funding a UNLV photography project at the ranch that involves documenting historic land use in the Mojave Desert. Progress on the Multimedia Field Guides project that will develop and disseminate a modern geological and environmental field guide includes: 1) remote sensing and geologic data collection for the WBR area, 2) development of a preliminary geologic/surface-type map of the region, and 3) testing of technology at the field site. PLI educators (Allison Brody and Amy Page) will submit an application to the Clark County School District (CCSD) for a Professional Development workshop on Environmental Literacy in April 2011. The workshop, which will be held at the ranch, will be directed at sixth, seventh, and ninth grade teachers who teach earth science, life science and environmental science, and offer one professional development credit. A final business plan was received by UNLV from Dornbusch and Associates, and was disseminated to BLM and AECOM team leaders. UNLV and BLM will meet to discuss the plan in April 2011

UTILIZING PRECISION TECHNOLOGIES TO VALIDATE A REAL-TIME LOCATION SYSTEM FOR DAIRY CATTLE AND MONITOR CALF BEHAVIORS DURING HEAT STRESS

With the increase in on-farm precision dairy technologies (PDT) utilization, large quantities of information are readily available to producers. A more recently available technology for use in livestock species is the real-time location system. These technologies offer dairy producers the opportunity to monitor and track real-time locations of cows, track locomotion patterns, and summarize specific area usage. However, the usefulness of these insights is heavily dependent on the performance of the technology. Therefore, the first objective of this dissertation was to assess the positioning recording performance and the usefulness of the data recorded of a real-time location system (Smartbow GmbH; Zoetis Services LLC., Parsippany, NJ, USA) for use in freestall-housed dairy cattle on a commercial farm. The first objective evaluated a technology’s positioning abilities under static and dynamic conditions. The system was able to accurately determine locations while under both static and dynamic conditions. Furthermore, PDT are also utilized to monitor the behaviors and activity of dairy calves. The second objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of heat stress on the behaviors of dairy calves using information gathered by PDT. Information recorded from automated milk feeders and pedometers were used to investigate the effects of an elevated temperature-humidity index on dairy calf behaviors. The changes in behavior recorded suggest that PDT can detect behavioral patterns changes of calves during heat stress