Betteridge, Keith

Carter, Mark

Costall, Des A.

Griffiths, Wendy

Hoogendoorn, Coby J.

Laube, Patrick

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Monitoring Urine Distribution by Grazing Livestock Keith Betteridge AgResearch, New Zealand Coby J. Hoogendoorn AgResearch, New Zealand Wendy Griffiths AgResearch, New Zealand Des A. Costall AgResearch, New Zealand Mark Carter AgResearch, New Zealand See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/5-1/14 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. Presenter Information Keith Betteridge, Coby J. Hoogendoorn, Wendy Griffiths, Des A. Costall, Mark Carter, and Patrick Laube This event is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/5-1/14 瞯 ]654　 瞯 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅰ 　Grasslands/Rangelands Resources and Ecology ——— Application of Information Technology in Monitoring and Managing Grasslands/Rangelands ResourcesMonitoring urine distribution by grazing livestockKeith Betteridge1 , Coby Hoogendoorn1 , Wendy Gri f f iths 2 , Des Costall 1 , Mark Carter 3 and Patrick L aube41 A gResearch G rasslands , Priv ate Bag 11008 , Palmerston North ,2 A gResearch Invermay P .O . Box 50034 , Mosgiel , 3 240Mangaone Rd , RD 9 , Feilding , New Zealand , 4 Dep t . o f Geomatics , The University o f Melbourne , Parkv ille V IC 3010 ,A ustralia .E‐mail : keith .betteridge＠ agresearch .co .nzKey words :GPS , urine sensor , animal behaviour , nitrogenIntroduction Urine patches are a significant source of leaching and gaseous N losses in grazed pastures . N losses increase asurine patch load ( g N /m２ ) increases , and modelled N losses increase if urine is returned as discrete patches rather than atuniform rate across the pasture . The tools we describe will help to quantify urination frequency and urine distribution patternswithin large paddocks .Materials and methods A urine sensor was developed which comprised a tube placed in the vagina of sheep and cattle , using aCIDR[ １ ] device . It contains two electrodes which measure conduction ( mV) , measured as conduction ( mV ) in the presence ofurine passing through a tube anchored in the vagina , ( T rials １ and ２) . U rine created a voltage spike in logged data . In T rial ３temperature ( as mV ) elevation to near body heat due to urine in the tube was monitored instead of conductance . Voltage ,temperature and time were continuously logged . A custom‐built GPS unit was part of the sheep urine sensor circuit . Movementwas continuously monitored , and logged when the new position exceeded ３ m from the previous position , and upon urination .The GPS and sensor box was clamped to the fleece on the back of the sheep . The cow urine sensor circuit was located withinthe vagina and the GPS was attached to a collar . Using mature animals , urination frequency and urine distribution by １５ sheep( T rial １ , ２) and of ２０ sheep and １８ cows ( T rial ３) was determined .　 Figure 1 Distribution o f 15 sheepin a 10 ha p addock on 4 daysduring speci f ied times .Results and discussionTrial 1(summer) : On the first day in a flat paddock , urinations were generally easilydetected by the mV spike , but by the second day it became increasingly more difficultto differentiate urination events , as the background voltage often did not return to zerobecause of contamination of the electrodes . Intermittent visual observations showed all３５０ sheep in the mob exhibited co‐ordinated resting , walking and grazing behaviour ,with ２ of the １５ monitored sheep demonstrating �Leadership" characteristics , e .g .commencing new grazing bouts af ter periods when all sheep had rested . Of the １４９urinations detected , ３０％ were close to or under the shade of a large tree . Trial 2(autumn) : There was no shade available in this １０ ha moderately‐rolling to steeppaddock . Monitored sheep spent little time on the steep hill where pasture quality waspoor and available herbage mass low . Camping behaviour during four days in the samepaddock , though present , was less apparent than in T rial １ when shade was sought .Interestingly , over the four days sheep congregated on east‐facing aspects of thepaddock between ８ to １０ am and on west‐facing aspects １２ hours later ( Figure １ ) . Wesurmise that raised ambient temperature may have mediated this response . Urinationfrequency over ９６ hours in autumn averaged ２４ ( range １１ to ３６ ) urinations/ day . Trial3 (early summer) : Sheep and cattle grazed two separate steep hill country paddocks　 Figure 2 Urine p atch distribution o f 16cows over 5 days on hill country pasture .Circles indicate w ater troughs and oblongsf lat‐land camp sites .over ５ days . Little time was spent on steep slopes by either group , and cattlewalked along well‐defined stock tracks on the steepest areas . Cattle urinepatches were concentrated around water troughs and at campsites ( Figure ２) .Cows averaged １３ ( ７ to ２５ ) urinations per day . Compared to cows , sheepurinated less around their water trough but did camp , as indicated by thecongregation of urine patches . Sheep averaged １８ ( ５ to ２８) urinations/ day .As the temperature sensor is unaffected by contamination , it is preferred overthe paired‐electrode sensor for detecting urination events .Conclusions These relatively inexpensive GPS / urine sensor units allow , for thefirst time , the mapping of urine distribution by a number of ewes and cows inlarge paddocks . This may allow the identification of critical source areas ofpollution on farms . These could be targeted for application of N‐lossmitigation practices thereby reducing cost and increasing efficiency .[ １ ] CIDR Controlled Intra‐vaginal Drug Release device , InterAg , Hamilton , New Zealand .

Monitoring Urine Distribution by Grazing Livestock

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Monitoring Urine Distribution by Grazing Livestock

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