At AgNext, we look for new ways to innovate research related to sustainability in animal agriculture. Technology is a vital part of our work, as it allows us to collect real-time data in a safe and accurate way. The Climate-Smart Research Facility, the largest facility in the country dedicated to climate-smart animal agriculture research, is central to several ongoing research projects. This state-of-the-art facility utilizes cutting edge technology to help our research team gather accurate information on a number of data points on individual animals including: methane emissions, daily feed intake, and daily weight gain. The machines in the Climate Smart Research Facility that help gather this information are: GreenFeeds, SmartFeeds, and SmartScales designed by C-Lock Inc. A unique aspect of thee machines is that they are voluntary for the animals to use. Check out one of our animals visiting a GreenFeed machine at the Climate-Smart Research Facility.
In addition to these highly specialized machines, our team also utilizes other forms of technology to gather information that the stationary machines are not able to gather. One technological addition that is utilized in current research project is pedometers. These pedometers are similar to activity trackers and optimize our understanding of the activity and efficiency between different breeds of beef cattle.
The purpose of the pedometers is to look at animal activity. Our scientists look at a variety of activity data that can be gathered by the pedometers such as: how long the animals lay down, the number of times they lay down, how long they stand, and the number of times they stand. From the data that is collected, our team can then gain insight into whether the cattle are seeking heat from the temperature of the ground or the pen surface. If they are lying down more, they may be trying to dissipate some of their heat to the pen surface from their bodies. If they’re standing more, this could be a way of trying to dissipate heat, getting it out and away from their bodies instead of contracting it into their bodies. This information gathered by the pedometers will show the research team how various behaviors and activities in beef cattle are impacted by specific weather conditions. This helps to inform future production practices as AgNext strives to innovate in both the animal welfare and sustainability space.
Pedometers are primarily utilized by dairy systems, so the pedometers being used in at the Climate-Smart Research Facility were provided by the dairy systems team at AgNext. In addition to providing equipment Dairy System Specialists at AgNext, Dr. Diego Manriquez and Dr. Jason Lombard, have been involved in supervising animal health and welfare at the Climate-Smart Research Facility.
The creative utilization of technology at the Climate-Smart Research Facility is an excellent example of our commitment to intersectional research in the animal agriculture field. Stay tuned for future updates regarding the information gathered from pedometers and other machines at the Climate-Smart Research Facility coming soon!
Sydney Jansen
Communications Intern