Drones, AI making cattle counting a dream
PGG Wrightson has launched a new stock-counting service using drones and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which it says removes all the hassle for farmers, while achieving 99.9% accuracy.
The device has been developed as part of the company’s ongoing focus on creating better efficiencies for New Zealand dairy farmers, especially during a challenging season.
Patsy Booth, herd-testing manager at CRV Ambreed, says the new herd-testing device will get milk production data to farmers quicker, which is a “great step in the right direction for enhancing and improving CRV Ambreed’s herd testing service”.
CRV Ambreed currently employees 25-30 fully trained herd-testing technicians across New Zealand who service around 700 clients. Each technician will be armed with one of these devices, which is used to capture volume and production information at the shed.
Providing the farmer’s records are up to date, the technician will be able to send through a full herd testing report to the customer on the spot.
“This not only improves the accuracy and integrity of the data we capture, but it also allows CRV Ambreed to shift over 1,000 hours currently spent each year on back-office data entry into other services that benefit our customers,” says Booth.
Sharemilkers, farmers and breeders use herd-testing information to make breeding decisions and choices to improve the performance of their cows. The data is also crucial for CRV Ambreed’s breeding programme to produce long-lasting, productive animals.
“Herd-testing has a massive impact on how our customers can improve their herds, and using better technology allows CRV Ambreed to provide a higher quality, more efficient service to our customers,” says Booth.
The new herd-testing device will be demonstrated at CRV Ambreed’s site at the Fieldays 2015.
