| 63 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Dairy Trust Taranaki Measures such as reduced stocking rate, lowered inputs, diverse pastures and on-farm sequestration have consistently delivered a 23–27% reduction in total emissions. www.unlimit.co.nz Proud to sponsor Dairy Trust Taranaki Is your business performing as well as it could be? We can help Learn more at manage them,” says Mags. “In terms of productivity and profitability we haven’t seen significant differences yet.” The Stratford Demonstration Farm recently concluded its Spikey® trial, which investigated whether treating urine patches with nitrification inhibitors could reduce nitrate leaching. A reduction in leaching was observed, though without the expected increase in pasture growth, and work is under way to secure funding for a new trial beginning in 2025. Meanwhile at Kavanagh, the trust is in the fourth year of a ten-year partnership with Fonterra and Nestlé to model a pathway toward a net-zero dairy farm. So far measures such as reduced stocking rate, lowered inputs, diverse pastures and on-farm sequestration have consistently delivered a 23–27% reduction in total emissions. Emissions intensity has reduced by 5–10%. “Our focus now is to lift emissions intensity reduction to match the total emissions reduction, driven by improving efficiencies and reducing waste,” says Mags. As it enters its second decade, Diego says that Dairy Trust Taranaki remains firmly anchored in its founding purpose: “To help shape a profitable, sustainable and science-led future for New Zealand dairy farmers.” Born and bred right here in New Zealand, Herd-i’s Ai supports the best Kiwi dairy farmers to improve the health and productivity of their herds by detecting early signs of lameness and automatically assessing body conditionevery single day. The Future Is Right Here, Right Now To join farmers like Dairy Trust Taranaki visit www.herd-i.com THIGH PINS TAILHEAD RUMP HIP BACKBONE SHORT RIB LONG RIBS Herd-i’s AI technology delivers a breakthrough in body condition scoring for dairy farmers A new artificial intelligence system by Christchurch based agritech company Herd-i Operations Ltd is the first fully automated body condition scoring system of its kind in the country. Herd-i’s BCS system automatically assesses the herd’s body condition, objectively, consistently and precisely every single day. The technology builds on its existing early lameness detection system, which has been in market for over three seasons. “Being able to automatically monitor body condition every day will change how farmers manage their herd health and productivity,” explains Herd-i Chief Executive Liz Muller. “The system provides reliable, objective data to guide feeding decisions at crucial points in the season. As feed is the biggest cost on farm this gives farmers the clarity they need to optimise nutrition, maximise milk production and support reproduction.” The Herd-i BCS artificial intelligence scoring model has been trained using over 40,000 on-farm scores assessed by Gold Standard BCS Assessors to ensure relevance in New Zealand’s farming conditions. The system uses an EID reader to identify each cow as she exits the race after milking with an in-shed camera capturing video that is analysed using machine-learning models on a cloud-based server. The system then assigns a BCS using DairyNZ’s recognised standard BCS scale. Farmers access results through an online dashboard, allowing them to set customised alerts, monitor trends and move animals onto watch-lists for drafting. Alongside the new BCS technology Herd-i also offers an automated early lameness detection system. Using an additional in-shed camera positioned to capture the cows gait, the technology analyses each cow and assigns a DairyNZ standard lameness score from 0 to 3. “Early detection is critical because lameness affects reproduction, productivity and overall wellbeing,” says Liz. “The system helps ensure farmers can act quickly before lameness issues are able to be detected visually and before the cow becomes clinically lame.” She says the move from occasional manual checks to daily automated data will enable Kiwi dairy farmers to make more timely datadriven decisions. “With consistent data on both body condition and lameness, farmers can identify issues earlier and take prompt action. That means healthier cows, better six-week-in-calf rates, more ecient feed use and more milk in the vat.” Dairy Trust Taranaki, which operates several research farms in the region, has been working closely with Herd-i and has been using the technology since 2023 across selected herds. Liz says the consistency and speed of the data makes it invaluable for both research and practical daily management. “We’re excited about what the future holds and are proud to be helping to strengthen the international competitive advantage of Kiwi dairy farmers.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=