PADDOCK MANAGEMENT
“Because i know how much grass I have in my paddock, available to the cows, I can use the right amount of silage and keep my grain costs down.” - Farmer Testimonial
THE GRASS JUST GOT GREENER!
With Farm Automation, yes, the grass can get better on your farm. And help you bring down costs. Here’s how:
Of the three types of feed available to the cows, the grazing feed or grass from the paddocks is the largest source. This grazing feed is “free” compared to the other two types of feed: silage and meal because it’s a part of the sunk cost or what has already been invested in, as pastoral land. By ensur ing that the right percentage of this feed is optimally fed to the cows, other supplements like silage and meals which represent a significant portion of the operational cost, are also consumed in just the right quantity.
It’s in the farmer’s best interest to measure, maximize and optimize the grazing feed.
Taking the guesswork out of the grazing feed therefore becomes of key importance to ensure a wholesome feed that’s perfectly balanced in terms of nutrition as well as cost- Accurately measured by us*
- Majority of feed
- Cheapest Feed
- Maximizing grass feed. Minimises cost
- Measured with lab report
- Secondary part of feed
- Costs based on grazed paddock
- Increased use erodes profit
- Measured with label
- Smallest part of feed
- Costs based on individual cow
- Increased use erodes profit
*Previously measured by guesswork
Farm Automation's Paddock management system helps maintain optimal forage on the paddock being grazed.The benefits of optimal forage are twofold - it decreases the cost of the grains and helps improve paddock capacity.
HOW WE DO IT.
We use Drone Technology to scan the whole paddock and accurately measure:
- 1.The quantity of grass before grazing
- 2.The density distribution of the paddock
- 3.The grazed amount after grazing
- 4.We provide this information in a comprehensible manner to help you take informed decisions.
HERD NUTRITION MANAGEMENT
“Body Condition Scoring is telling me how well I’ve been feeding my cows
in the last month and is also a great projector of how well
they’re going to calve. It warns me of future problems like milk fever”- Farmer Testimonial
A WELL-TRAINED EYE ON EVERY COW
AND ON THE ENTIRE HERD.
With Farm Automation’s BCS System, we keep tabs at a micro and macro level on every cow and on the entire herd, every day. BCS or Body Condition Scoring is a visual assessment of the fat and muscle cover on a cow that helps determine their energy and protein reserves at all times. It’s a standardised measure that gives a clear idea of the cow’s current health, fertility and production capacity as well as previous and future feeding requirements.
A herd needs a certain quantity of feed at certain times in their lactation cycle. An underfed herd produces less milk on that day by 5% to 7%. And if this continues, it decreases the milk production for the whole lactation period (10 months). So it is very important to maintain a healthy level of feed daily.
An excellent way of verifying if the feed system is working is to measure the collective BCS. We measure the BCS score individually, every day, and have a formula built-in to calculate the targeted collective BCS value. A perfect feeding system will achieve the target BCS in 30 to 40 days.
When the target BCS value is not achieved, we recalibrate the drone system accordingly so that pretty soon, we achieve a perfectly calibrated, error-free feeding system.
It is important that the cow is not underfed or overfed. The underfed cow
produces less milk and an overfed cow runs the risk of contracting milk fever.
HOW WE DO IT.
We use camera technology to score the BCS of every cow every day without making contact,
to measure collective BCS and track its progress towards the target BCS.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
“Previously we would go up and down 10-15% in our daily milk volumes.
I always knew that was a sign of underfeeding but now we’ve got great, consistent
milk production from day one, day after day!”- Farmer Testimonial
MADE TO MEASURE.
We collect information on the growth of your paddocks and on your herd’s Body Condition Score (BCS) daily.
With these two sets of customised data, we are able to provide you with the exact status of your farm automation at all times, in an easy-to-comprehend format, on your mobile, so you’ll always stay in the know, even on the go!
THE ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS PROVIDED INCLUDE:
2. PADDOCK FENCING
3. PADDOCK OUTPUT IMPROVEMENT
5. INDIVIDUAL BCS
6. SEEDING OPPORTUNITIES **COMING SOON!**
INSIGHTS:
Collective BCS
Collective BCS is measured and analysed to track the
effects of the feeds.
INTERESTED IN FARM AUTOMATION
We are interested in partnering with you and improving the performance
of Australian Dairy farms. Your success is our success. We’ll be happy to share a free,
customised assessment of your farm’s current performance with you.
INTERESTED?
Please fill in these details and we’ll get back to you
Farm Automation | Suite 1, 1st Floor 457 Chapel Street South Yarra Vic 3141 Australia |
