Supporting the development and adoption of automatic lameness detection systems in dairy cattle : effect of system cost and performance on potential market shares

Most automatic lameness detection system prototypes have not yet been commercialized, and are hence not yet adopted in practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to simulate the effect of detection performance (percentage missed lame cows and percentage false alarms) and system cost on the potential market share of three automatic lameness detection systems relative to visual detection: a system attached to the cow, a walkover system, and a camera system. Simulations were done using a utility model derived from survey responses obtained from dairy farmers in Flanders, Belgium. Overall, systems attached to the cow had the largest market potential, but were still not competitive with visual detection. Increasing the detection performance or lowering the system cost led to higher market shares for automatic systems at the expense of visual detection. The willingness to pay for extra performance was (sic)2.57 per % less missed lame cows, (sic)1.65 per % less false alerts, and (sic)12.7 for lame leg indication, respectively. The presented results could be exploited by system designers to determine the effect of adjustments to the technology on a system's potential adoption rate

The contribution of precision agriculture technologies to farm productivity and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU

EU Agriculture hast to cope with global challenges such as climate change mitigation or making farming more efficient. The active management of agriculture practices using appropriate technologies and practices, as Precision Agriculture, could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while increasing agriculture productivity and income. However, information on the uptake and impacts of the use of precision agriculture technologies in EU is so far sparse and site specific. This technical report assesses the impact of Precision agriculture technology (PAT) on GHG emissions and farm economics. To this end, a typology of PAT was created in order to identify those that had the greatest potential to reduce GHG emissions. Secondly, five case studies were selected with the aim of identifying a combination of EU countries, precision agriculture techniques and arable crop types that could realise the maximum potential economic and environmental benefits of adopting PATs. A survey was applied to 971 adopters and non-adopters on the selected study cases with the aim of assessing the reasons behind uptake and the economic and environmental impacts of different. Finally economic and environmental impacts were investigated though a partial budgeting analysis and Miterra-Europe model respectively. Results indicate that although most farmers were aware of PAT, uptake rates are low among surveyed farmers. High investment costs, farm size and age were identified has fundamental hampering adoption. The survey reveals that adoption barriers might be overcome by boosting economic incentives aiming at improving economic performance both directly and indirectly. However, nonmonetary incentives such as technical advice or training also seemed to be interesting for surveyed farmers. The results of the survey also showed that information points such as peer-to-peer learning, visit to trade fairs, researchers and industry dealers had a positive effect on enhancing PAT uptake. The results of the partial budget analysis, where capital costs of the technologies are not included, indicate that impacts are highly variable by country, farm type and size and by technology. The results of the environmental impact analysis showed that the introduction of PAT might have positive effects on the environment, with reductions in GHG emissions from the fertiliser application, fertiliser production and fuel use.JRC.D.4-Economics of Agricultur

Effects of communal rearing and group size on breeding rabbits' post-grouping behaviour and its relation to ano-genital distance

Group housing is becoming the standard for many farm animal species, as it is seen as a more welfare friendly way of keeping gregarious animals. Aggression between female breeding rabbits currently obstructs the implementation of group housing for this species. Lack of social experience during the rearing period may be one reason why breeding rabbits can act (excessively) aggressive when grouped as adults. To study this, we either reared breeding rabbits with their same-litter siblings and mother only ("litter-only") or reared four litters and their mothers together from 18 days of life on ("communal rearing"). The litter-only rabbits were born from individually housed mothers, whereas the communally reared rabbits were born from mothers that were group housed during the last three weeks of gestation. After their first kindling, female rabbits from both rearing strategies were housed in groups of four or eight individuals (at an equal space allowance per doe) to assess rearing and group size effects on post-grouping behaviour. Within both treatments we also measured the ano-genital distance at birth (an indicator of masculinization) and studied its relation to adult agonistic behaviour. Communal rearing and larger groups were expected to decrease agonistic behaviour and wounding, whereas rabbits with a longer ano-genital distance were expected to show more offensive agonistic behaviour. The first two hypotheses were not confirmed. Communally reared and litter-only rabbits did not differ significantly in the frequency of their offensive or defensive agonistic behaviour directly post-grouping, or in the severity of wounds sustained in the first three days after grouping (P > 0.10). Communally reared rabbits sniffed/groomed their pen mates less often than litter-only rabbits (P < 0.05). A tendency for a higher frequency of offensive agonistic behaviour in larger groups was found (P < 0.10) and the decrease in defensive agonistic behaviour over time that was observed for the smaller groups was lacking in the larger groups. The third hypothesis was confirmed: female rabbits with a greater ano-genital distance at birth showed more offensive agonistic behaviour upon grouping as adults (r(s) = 0.5, P < 0.05). When this relation was studied within the separate rearing strategies, it was only confirmed within the communal rearing treatment, possibly suggesting that prenatal social stress increased both ano-genital distance and aggression. To conclude, communal rearing and larger groups did not decrease agonistic behaviour in breeding rabbits, whereas ano-genital distance measurements may be useful when selecting less aggressive breeding rabbits (although this method may be specifically applicable to communally reared rabbits). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Spray nozzle characterization using a backlighted high speed imaging technique

International audienceAgricultural pesticide sprays are applied with different types of spray nozzles each with its own spray characteristics. The objective of this study was to measure the macro-spray characteristics (spray angle, liquid sheet length, spray shape) from different types of hydraulic spray nozzles using a developed backlighted image acquisition system and image processing technique. Tests included five different nozzles (Albuz ATR orange and red, TeeJet XR 110 01, XR 110 04 and Al 110 04). The results were compared and related well with the results from existing measuring techniques like a flow rate test bench, a spray distribution bench (horizontal patternator) and a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) laser

Development of an imaging system for single droplet characterization using a droplet generator

The spray droplets generated by agricultural nozzles play an important role in the application accuracy and efficiency of plant protection products. The limitations of the non-imaging techniques and the recent improvements in digital image acquisition and processing increased the interest in using high speed imaging techniques in pesticide spray characterisation. The goal of this study was to develop an imaging technique to evaluate the characteristics of a single spray droplet using a piezoelectric single droplet generator and a high speed imaging technique. Tests were done with different camera settings, lenses, diffusers and light sources. The experiments have shown the necessity for having a good image acquisition and processing system. Image analysis results contributed in selecting the optimal set-up for measuring droplet size and velocity which consisted of a high speed camera with a 6 µs exposure time, a microscope lens at a working distance of 43 cm resulting in a field of view of 1.0 cm x 0.8 cm and a Xenon light source without diffuser used as a backlight. For measuring macro-spray characteristics as the droplet trajectory, the spray angle and the spray shape, a Macro Video Zoom lens at a working distance of 14.3 cm with a bigger field of view of 7.5 cm x 9.5 cm in combination with a halogen spotlight with a diffuser and the high speed camera can be used

Farm-specific economic value of automatic lameness detection systems in dairy cattle: From concepts to operational simulations

Although prototypes of automatic lameness detection systems for dairy cattle exist, information about their economic value is lacking. In this paper, a conceptual and operational framework for simulating the farm-specific economic value of automatic lameness detection systems was developed and tested on 4 system types: walkover pressure plates, walkover pressure mats, camera systems, and accelerometers. The conceptual framework maps essential factors that determine economic value (e.g., lameness prevalence, incidence and duration, lameness costs, detection performance, and their relationships). The operational simulation model links treatment costs and avoided losses with detection results and farm-specific information, such as herd size and lameness status. Results show that detection performance, herd size, discount rate, and system lifespan have a large influence on economic value. In addition, lameness prevalence influences the economic value, stressing the importance of an adequate prior estimation of the on-farm prevalence. The simulations provide first estimates for the upper limits for purchase prices of automatic detection systems. The framework allowed for identification of knowledge gaps obstructing more accurate economic value estimation. These include insights in cost reductions due to early detection and treatment, and links between specific lameness causes and their related losses. Because this model provides insight in the trade-offs between automatic detection systems' performance and investment price, it is a valuable tool to guide future research and developments.status: publishe

Farm-specific economic value of automatic lameness detection systems in dairy cattle : from concepts to operational simulations

Although prototypes of automatic lameness detection systems for dairy cattle exist, information about their economic value is lacking. In this paper, a conceptual and operational framework for simulating the farm-specific economic value of automatic lameness detection systems was developed and tested on 4 system types: walkover pressure plates, walkover pressure mats, camera systems, and accelerometers. The conceptual framework maps essential factors that determine economic value (e.g., lameness prevalence, incidence and duration, lameness costs, detection performance, and their relationships). The operational simulation model links treatment costs and avoided losses with detection results and farm-specific information, such as herd size and lameness status. Results show that detection performance, herd size, discount rate, and system lifespan have a large influence on economic value. In addition, lameness prevalence influences the economic value, stressing the importance of an adequate prior estimation of the on-farm prevalence. The simulations provide first estimates for the upper limits for purchase prices of automatic detection systems. The framework allowed for identification of knowledge gaps obstructing more accurate economic value estimation. These include insights in cost reductions due to early detection and treatment, and links between specific lameness causes and their related losses. Because this model provides insight in the trade-offs between automatic detection systems' performance and investment price, it is a valuable tool to guide future research and developments

Measuring the drinking behaviour of individual pigs housed in group using radio frequency identification (RFID)

Changes in the drinking behaviour of pigs may indicate health, welfare or productivity problems. Automated monitoring and analysis of drinking behaviour could allow problems to be detected, thus improving farm productivity. A high frequency radio frequency identification (HF RFID) system was designed to register the drinking behaviour of individual pigs. HF RFID antennas were placed around four nipple drinkers and connected to a reader via a multiplexer. A total of 55 growing-finishing pigs were fitted with radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags, one in each ear. RFID-based drinking visits were created from the RFID registrations using a bout criterion and a minimum and maximum duration criterion. The HF RFID system was successfully validated by comparing RFID-based visits with visual observations and flow meter measurements based on visit overlap. Sensitivity was at least 92%, specificity 93%, precision 90% and accuracy 93%. RFID-based drinking duration had a high correlation with observed drinking duration (R2=0.88) and water usage (R2=0.71). The number of registrations after applying the visit criteria had an even higher correlation with the same two variables (R2=0.90 and 0.75, respectively). There was also a correlation between number of RFID visits and number of observed visits (R2=0.84). The system provides good quality information about the drinking behaviour of individual pigs. As health or other problems affect the pigs’ drinking behaviour, analysis of the RFID data could allow problems to be detected and signalled to the farmer. This information can help to improve the productivity and economics of the farm as well as the health and welfare of the pigs.license: © The Animal Consortium 2015 status: publishe