PADDOCK MANAGEMENT

“Because i know how much grass I have in my paddock, available to the cows, I can use the right amount of silage and keep my grain costs down.” - Farmer Testimonial

THE GRASS JUST GOT GREENER!

With Farm Automation, yes, the grass can get better on your farm. And help you bring down costs. Here’s how:
Of the three types of feed available to the cows, the grazing feed or grass from the paddocks is the largest source. This grazing feed is “free” compared to the other two types of feed: silage and meal because it’s a part of the sunk cost or what has already been invested in, as pastoral land. By ensuring that the right percentage of this feed is optimally fed to the cows, other supplements like silage and meals which represent a significant portion of the operational cost, are also consumed in just the right quantity.
It’s in the farmer’s best interest to measure, maximize and optimize the grazing feed.

Taking the guesswork out of the grazing feed therefore becomes of key importance to ensure a wholesome feed that’s perfectly balanced in terms of nutrition as well as cost

TYPICAL FEED DISTRIBUTION

GRAZING FEED

Accurately measured by us*

Majority of feed
Cheapest Feed
Maximizing grass feed. Minimises cost

SILAGE

Measured with lab report

Secondary part of feed
Costs based on grazed paddock

Increased use erodes profit

MEAL

Measured with label

Smallest part of feed
Costs based on individual cow
Increased use erodes profit

*Previously measured by guesswork

Farm Automation’s Paddock management system helps maintain optimal forage on the paddock being grazed.
The benefits of optimal forage are twofold – it decreases the cost of the grains and helps improve paddock capacity.

HOW WE DO IT.

We use Drone Technology to scan the whole paddock and accurately measure:

  1. The quantity of grass before grazing
  2. The density distribution of the paddock
  3. The grazed amount after grazing
  4. We provide this information in a comprehensible manner to help you take informed decisions.

HERD NUTRITION MANAGEMENT

“Body Condition Scoring is telling me how well I’ve been feeding my cows in the last month and is also a great projector of how well they’re going to calve. It warns me of future problems like milk fever”- Farmer Testimonial

A WELL-TRAINED EYE ON EVERY COW
AND ON THE ENTIRE HERD.

With Farm Automation’s BCS System, we keep tabs at a micro and macro level on every cow and on the entire herd, every day. BCS or Body Condition Scoring is a visual assessment of the fat and muscle cover on a cow that helps determine their energy and protein reserves at all times. It’s a standardised measure that gives a clear idea of the cow’s current health, fertility and production capacity as well as previous and future feeding requirements.
A herd needs a certain quantity of feed at certain times in their lactation cycle. An underfed herd produces less milk on that day by 5% to 7%. And if this continues, it decreases the milk production for the whole lactation period (10 months). So it is very important to maintain a healthy level of feed daily.

An excellent way of verifying if the feed system is working is to measure the collective BCS. We measure the BCS score individually, every day, and have a formula built-in to calculate the targeted collective BCS value. A perfect feeding system will achieve the target BCS in 30 to 40 days.

When the target BCS value is not achieved, we recalibrate the drone system accordingly so that pretty soon, we achieve a perfectly calibrated, error-free feeding system.

It is important that the cow is not underfed or overfed. The underfed cow
produces less milk and an overfed cow runs the risk of contracting milk fever.

HOW WE DO IT.

We use camera technology to score the BCS of every cow every day without making contact,
to measure collective BCS and track its progress towards the target BCS.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

“Previously we would go up and down 10-15% in our daily milk volumes. I always knew that was a sign of underfeeding but now we’ve got great, consistent milk production from day one, day after day!”- Farmer Testimonial

MADE TO MEASURE.

We collect information on the growth of your paddocks and on your herd’s Body Condition Score (BCS) daily.
With these two sets of customised data, we are able to provide you with the exact status of your farm automation at all times, in an easy-to-comprehend format, on your mobile, so you’ll always stay in the know, even on the go!

THE ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS PROVIDED INCLUDE:

1. PADDOCK ROTATION
2. PADDOCK FENCING
3. PADDOCK OUTPUT IMPROVEMENT
4. COLLECTIVE BCS
5. INDIVIDUAL BCS
6. SEEDING OPPORTUNITIES **COMING SOON!**

INSIGHTS:

Paddock rotation

Mobile App feature that recommends the next best paddock for grazing.

INSIGHTS:

Paddock Fencing

You can mark an area on the paddock to know exactly how much forage is available there for grazing.

INSIGHTS:

Paddock Output Improvement

The paddock’s residual is maintained at an optimal level in order to increase the forage output over time.

INSIGHTS:

Collective BCS

Collective BCS is measured and analysed to track the effects of the feeds.

INSIGHTS:

Individual BCS

Individual BCS scores are analysed to monitor the right BCS based on the lifecycle of the cow- be it Pregnancy or Calving or Lactation cycle.

INSIGHTS:

Seeding Opportunities [Coming Soon!)

An Augmented Reality App that shows the low-density spots on the paddock as the mobile is moved, in real time.
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