Wisconsin group launches initiative to give farmers their carbon footprint score
Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) based in Wisconsin recently announced a first-of-its-kind, farmer-led sustainability initiative to empower dairy producers to know the environmental footprint of their farms. The initiative will give farmers the opportunity to measure carbon and methane emissions on their specific farm and retain control of the data findings.
Sustainability measurements will be conducted by Sustainable Environment Consultants (SEC), a third-party sustainability quantification and verification provider. SEC will use resources like Cool Farm Tool (The Tool), COMET-Farm and FARM Environmental Stewardship, which take into consideration farm-specific information like location, soil type, crop rotation, energy use, nutrient management, milk production, cow numbers, field yields and other farm-specific data. Analyses include existing practices a farm may already be implementing to reduce emissions and improve carbon sequestration.
The farm-specific sustainability report that will be generated will include a carbon footprint score that calculates carbon emissions per unit of fat and protein-corrected milk. Up to 90% of the cost to assess the first 500 acres of a farm will be covered by program sponsors. Nestlé and Dairy’s Foundation are the first two sponsors to join with PDP on the initiative.
“The Your Farm – Your Footprint program is a key part of our journey to reducing emissions in our U.S. dairy supply chain and will include as many of our dairy producers as possible,” says Daniel Peerless, Nestlé’s global dairy sustainable sourcing lead. “We believe every farmer should know their farm’s environmental footprint so they can effectively tackle their emissions, and programs like these can help make that happen.”
Learn more here.
Nedap reveals it’s working on computer vision for lameness detection
Livestock management technology provider Nedap published in its 2023 annual report that it has completed field tests of a solution for detecting lameness in cows based on camera images. The company is working to "translate technical possibilities into practical applications that allow a farmer to demonstrably cut costs or increase revenues."
Nedap joins CattleEye and OmniEye as companies who are pursuing the automated lameness detection.
Read the full report here.
Dairy Brain network receives funding, reactivates project
The University of Wisconsin – Madison's Dairy Brain project recently announced it has received a grant from the National Agricultural Producers Data Cooperative that will allow for the reactivation of the Coordinated Innovation Network (CIN) that was part of its Dairy Brain project.
The goal of the CIN is “to produce high-quality documents in relevant areas of precision dairy farming that will be helpful for dairy farms and the dairy industry.” Discussion topics among the network include:
Open-source programming and licensing
Modular code and software solution development
Data ownership and security
Data monetization strategies and demonstrating investment returns
Standardization and stewardship of data
Projects that validate the precision dairy farming model through data collection, integration, analysis and implementation
The challenges associated with data sharing and accessibility
Those interested in joining the network should contact Dr. Victor E. Cabrera, an extension specialist in dairy farm management and the founder of the Dairy Brain project.
Learn more about FaunaTech, a company in India developing a cowside, mobile testing technology to detect subclinical mastitis.
iYOTAH Solutions closes Series A funding round
iYOTAH Solutions recently announced it raised $2.8 million in capital during its Series A funding round. Innova Ag Innovation Fund invested in the company.
The investment will play a crucial role in accelerating the company's product development, advancing artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, expanding market reach and strengthening its market position. The company's nTELL platform claims to save time, simplify decision-making and increase efficiency for livestock producers.
“We are confident in their ability to disrupt the market by providing data-driven technology that livestock farmers actually need and want,” says Jan Bouten, managing partner at Innova.
Read more here.
New platform aims to track on-farm feed efficiency in real time
Ever.Ag recently launched a new centralized online platform to align feeders, farm owners and nutritionists. The solution, named Feed King, offers comprehensive analytics and real-time feed efficiency calculations. The centralized platform centralized platform aims to increase collaboration and data-driven decisions among all stakeholders involved in the feeding process.
Learn more about the platform here.
Dairy profit projections from ZISK
Projected profitability for the next 12 months for two dairy herd sizes INCREASED in recent profit projections from ZISK.
ZISK is a profit-projection smartphone app that tracks individual dairy farm profitability based on current CME board prices. Projections for a 1,000-cow dairy producing an average of 80 pounds of milk per cow and a 2,500-cow dairy producing an average of 85 pounds of milk per cow are provided.
12-month dairy farm profit projections (as of Feb. 29, 2024):
1,000-cow dairy = $510,800 (UP about $18,500 since the start of February)
2,500-cow dairy = $2.003 million (UP about $51,000 since the start of February)