Prospect of Precision Dairy Farming in India

摘要

Precision Dairy Farming (PDF) is generally defined as information and technology based farm management system to identify, analyze and manage variability within farm management for optimum farm performance, profitability and sustainability (Brand et al, 2008). PDF is also defined as the use of technologies to measure physiological, behavioral and production indicators on individual animals to improve management strategies and farm performance. The trend toward group management may be reversed with PDF as the focus returns to individual cows through the use of technologies. In the past, livestock management decisions have been based almost entirely on the observation, judgment and experience of the farmer (Frost et al, 2003). However, the increased scale of farms and the corresponding high number of animals has limited the ability of the farmer to monitor his individual animals by himself. In PDF animal monitoring is shifted from human observation to automatic technologies. So, it can be defined asmanaging the individual cow in a way which enables them to express their true genetic potential. The main objectives of PDF are maximizing individual animal potential, early detection of disease, and minimizing use of medication through preventive healthmeasures.