USDA grant equips Purdue to improve dairy farm efficiency
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Purdue University will receive a significant financial bump to further research to improve the efficiency of the country’s dairy farms.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the touted agriculture-centric university a $1 million grant as part of a larger, nearly $10 million investment to support innovation in animal-focused industries.
Researchers will use automated video analytics systems to improve feed efficiency and consistency on farms as a means to reduce costs and provide farmer feedback in real time, Purdue said.
Jacquelyn Boerman, associate professor of animal sciences at Purdue, said feed costs are the No. 1 cost for dairy farmers.
“If we can improve the consistency of that feed and we know what individual cows are eating, we’re going to manage that feed better,” Boerman saio in a news release. “That has economic implications for dairy farmers.”
The project aims to measure feed intake on a per-animal basis in groups, and researchers will study the relationship between consistent feed and milk production.
By measuring the amount of feed cows eat and supplying recommendations, the research supports the dairy industry’s goal of maintaining carbon neutral status by 2050, according to Purdue.
“Farmers are trained to make a lot of decisions based on things that they see,” said Amy Reibman, the Elmore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who specializes in video analytics for animals. “I’m an engineer. I want to solve problems. We should be able to design a system that can augment their abilities.”
Initial testing will take place at the Purdue Dairy Unit, and the research has support from the Indiana Dairy Producers and farm nutrition companies. Researchers from the College of Agriculture and the College of Engineering will collaborate on the project.