Automation in livestock farming – A technological revolution

Automation is the use of mechanical and electronic equipment to reduce the need for human labour. It has been used for carrying out various farm operations like automatic identification, feeding, milking, estrus and birth detection, egg collection, exercising, barn cleaning, animal cooling, environmentally controlled housing etc in the livestock farms and grazing lands. The most salient characteristic of livestock farm automation system is the opportunity to tailor operations to the needs of each individual animal. This is only possible if there are subsystems capable of recognizing the animals as they interact with the automated systems. Automation saves time, requires less labour, improves product quality and FCR, increases production, efficiency, accuracy and safety. However, automation demands high installation and repair costs; hence is more suitable for commercial & institutional farms. With the automation of farms livestock management is shifting from being an art to an app.