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Increasing buffer feeding precision with new agri-technologies

Faced with rising feed prices, effective use of grass for both grazing and conservation is increasingly important for farmers to maintain margins. Balancing the need to ensure sufficient silage stocks for the coming winter with the desire to get the most from grazing to reduce spend on purchased feed.

As the climate remains unpredictable, as seen by the cold, wet spring of 2020 followed by hot, dry weather, grass growth rates have seen wide variances year-on-year. With so many fluctuations in price and seasonal changes, buffer feeding is likely to be required by many farmers at some stage during the grazing season to prepare for dips in grass growth.

While the majority of buffer feed is made up of maize and grass silage, there are alternatives available. In partnership with molasses blend supplier ED&F Man, Agri-EPI Centre research conducted at the Agri-EPI South West Dairy Development Centre found that including a proportion of straw and molasses-based liquid feed in the buffer feed can offer the dual benefits of allowing production to be maintained whilst preserving valuable silage stocks.

Buffer feeding research

The trial aimed to better understand and analyse the impact of replacing some grass silage in the buffer feed with a mix of wheat straw and Regumix, a high-energy and protein liquid feed made from molasses, compared to the original feed and the molasses/straw buffer feed.

Utilising the centre’s GEA Mullerup automated feeding system, a digitally-controlled system with the necessary precision for feeding trials, and working with Agri-EPI’s operational partner, Kingshay Dairy Consultants, ensured data and delivery protocols were adhered to for reliable results. 

Lower feed costs, greater production

Georgina Chapman, technical support manager at ED&F Man, reported: “Over a six-week period, there was no difference in yield between the cows fed the initial buffer and those where straw and Regumix was included. The cows were mainly later lactation and the animals on the molasses buffer showed similar lactation persistency but slightly better compositional quality.”

“Importantly, for cows in later lactation, there was no difference in body condition changes between the two groups,” she added. “However, there was a saving of 7.5kg silage per cow per day. Assuming 200 cows were fed the new buffer, the total silage saved over the six weeks would have been over 60 tons, giving more for winter feeding.”

In a commercial herd, the buffer feed would probably have been needed for 18 weeks; on closer analysis, this suggested potential savings of closer to 200 tons, which could then be used to increase silage fed per cow per day over winter.

Chapman noted that, as molasses and straw are easily stored and less likely to perish in storage, their inclusion in buffer feed can also contribute to maximising silage production and availability, ultimately maintaining production from grazing and reducing the impact of higher feed costs for farmers.

Agri-technology increases buffer feeding precision

Reviewing the trial results, Agri-EPI Centre’s head of dairy at the South West Dairy Development Centre Duncan Forbes said, “We know growth rates can change very quickly … with the best will in the world no dairy farmer can keep on top of grazing output using manual techniques. At the same time, adjusting buffer feeds on a more frequent basis would be a challenge.”

“Collecting and utilising better management information could help take a significant step in improving grazing use – and new technologies hold the key to this.”

“Integrated use of data and technology in this way can help improve the contribution from grazing, reduce feed costs, improve grazing utilisation and help meet carbon reduction targets for more sustainable systems.”

With further trials already underway using hyperspectral imaging and satellite data to monitor and predict grass growth, helping farmers optimise precision grazing and fine-tune buffer feed, agri-technology continues to support farmers. Agri-EPI’s work to improve agricultural productivity and save farmers time and money even attracted the attention of British Dairying, who covered the buffer feeding precision trials.   

UK dairy agri-tech businesses to showcase technology in Ukraine event

UK-based agri-tech companies that provide agri-technology solutions to the dairy farming and dairy processing sectors are being sought to develop a dairy centre of excellence in Ukraine’s Berdychiv district.

The centre, currently in the approval stages, would replace an existing dairy farm owned by leading agricultural company and grain production and export specialist, Nibulon. As well as increasing the dairy farm’s herd size, the centre will act as a centre of excellence to showcase innovative agri-tech in the dairy industry.

Declining milk production in Ukraine combined with rapidly increasing demand for dairy products has resulted in a critical need to improve the productivity and profitability of Ukraine’s dairy industry. In order to stimulate Ukraine’s dairy sector, UK agri-tech experts are being invited to demonstrate technical agricultural solutions on a commercial farm and processing unit. 

An exciting opportunity for UK agri-tech businesses

In partnership with the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL), Agri-EPI Centre has been asked by the Department for International Trade (DIT) to connect with leading agri-tech businesses in the UK, inviting them to become a part of Agri-EPI Centre’s UK Smart Farm project in Ukraine and explore unique export opportunities in the country. As one of the UK’s two Agri-Tech Centres, Agri-EPI are well-placed to produce a blueprint for modern, efficient “smart” dairy, with a high health-status herd and integrated farmhouse cheese making.

“This is an exciting call for UK agri-tech businesses to potentially showcase their technology,” said Agri-EPI Centre’s Business Development Director Lisa Williams. “The UK has access to a wide portfolio of technical solutions that can help Nibulon and the wider dairy sector in Ukraine reach its aspirations.”

Jane Grady, HM Deputy Trade Commissioner for Eastern Europe and Central Asia:

“We want to bring together a group of innovative British companies to showcase UK excellence in dairy management and cheese making and become part of our new innovative UK Smart Farm project in Ukraine.”

Interested companies are invited to join a webinar to find out more about the project, Nibulon and agri-tech export opportunities in the Ukraine dairy sector. The webinar takes place on March 17th, from 12 – 13:15 GMT (14:00 – 15:15 EET).

The webinar will cover:

  • An overview of UK agri-tech export opportunities
  • UK agri-tech companies already successfully exporting to Ukraine 
  • The dairy sector opportunity in Ukraine
  • An overview of Nibulon
  • How Agri-EPI Centre & CIEL can support your agri-tech in Ukraine

To find out more about the webinar, visit our dedicated events section. To register to take part, go straight to the webinar registration page.

Event partners

Agri-EPI Centre is partnering with CIEL to showcase UK agri-tech business in UkraineAgri-EPI Centre is partnering with DIT to showcase UK agri-tech business in Ukraine

Stay informed

Keep up to date with the latest impact and results of our work, plus, news, innovation and approaches across the sector. Read our latest news and Agri-EPI blogs.

A dairy farm fit for the future

The South West Dairy Development Centre, Agri-EPI’s new dairy farm of the future, is located in an important milk producing region, home to nearly 25% of dairy cows in Great Britain. The farm provides a platform to test and demonstrate new and emerging technologies. Agri-EPI Centre commissioned one of their core industrial partners – independent dairy specialist Kingshay – to design, build and operate a state-of-the-art dairy for research and development, with funding from Innovate UK and industry partners. The centre combines state-of-the-art, high welfare cow housing and milking facilities with precision grazing.

 

Key objectives

The new dairy has four key objectives:

  1. To demonstrate profitable and resource efficient milk production;
  2. Integrate robotic milking with precision grazing;
  3. Use the latest technology available to support animal welfare and sustainable milk production;
  4. To provide state-of-the-art facilities to industry supporters for near market research, development and demonstration.

Dairy Development Centres

The South West Dairy Development Centre is one of three Dairy Development Centres of excellence that Agri-EPI Centre is establishing, for research, development and demonstration with both national and international reach and influence. The Centres provide a showcase for new ideas and technologies to generate a vibrant and sustainable route to efficient milk production. The new facilities will provide a platform for industry to trial latest ideas and connect with farmers across the UK. The three sites are based at:

  1. Kingshay in the South West: Integrating robotic milking and precision grazing;
  2. Harper Adams in Shropshire: Combining robotic milking with adaptable housing;
  3. SRUC in Dumfries: Optimising cow comfort with robotic milking;
  4. Further dairy facilities are established on commercial farms as part of the Agri-EPI Centre network of satellite farms.

Demonstration and test bed facilities: 5G RuralFirst

A key element of the dairy centre will be to provide state-of-the-art demonstration facilities with visitor access and high-speed connectivity to exploit the benefits of remote access. The dairy is one of the three test beds for the recently announced 5G RuralFirst project which will exploit the massive opportunities for improved connectivity offered to rural business by the next generation of mobile signal.

Further enquiries

Read more about the technologies of the new centre here. For more information about the South West Dairy Development Centre in Somerset, please get in touch with us:

Stay informed

Keep up to date with the latest impact and results of our work, plus, news, innovation and approaches across the sector. Read our latest news and Agri-EPI blogs.

Work starts on new high-tech Precision Dairy Farm

Ground has been broken on the Harper Adams University farm, signalling the start of building work to create a new high-tech dairy unit.

The £750,000 facility, which will operate alongside Harper Adams’ existing research dairy unit, will serve the Agricultural Engineering Precision Innovation (Agri-EPI) Centre, which received £17.7 million investment under the Government’s Agri-tech Strategy to help the UK’s agri-food sector develop advanced technologies that will increase productivity and sustainability in UK agriculture.

The Centre will have hubs in Edinburgh, Harper Adams University (the Agri-Innovation Hub, already under construction) and Cranfield University, but will also be served by a series of farms and processing facilities equipped with the latest sensing and imaging equipment – including the new precision dairy unit at Harper Adams.

The new dairy will be one of three such units within Agri-EPI, with the South West Dairy Development Centre in Somerset which is operated by Kingshay and a calf research facility in conjunction with SRUC in Dumfries involved in establishing the others.

Professor of Applied Animal Behaviour, Mark Rutter, explained:

“The new dairy facilities within Agri-EPI will enable scientists, the dairy industry and agri-engineering companies to work together to develop the next generation of dairy housing and management.

A key concept will be developing technology that facilitates cow choice, as research has shown that this can improve milk production efficiency as well as improving animal welfare.”

The Agri-EPI Centre is a consortium of key organisations in the field of precision agriculture and engineering. It brings together expertise in research and industry, as well as data gathering capacity in all areas of farming, to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the land-based industries.

By uniting organisations in all sections of the supply chain – 76 companies and institutions in all – it will become a world-leading centre for excellence in engineering and precision agriculture for the livestock, arable, aquaculture and horticulture sectors.

The new building is costing nearly £520,000 to construct, with the project total reaching £750,000 once equipment and other associated works are taken into account.

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Source: this article has been published on the Harper Adams University website

Tag Archive for: precision dairy

Tag Archive for: precision dairy

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