Improving cost-efficiency and profitability

67th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science, Belfast UK, 29 Aug - 2 Sep 2016

Helping dairy farmers to improve economic performance utilizing

data-driven DSS tools

Victor E. Cabrera University of Wisconsin-Madison

Supported by several USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hatch USDA Grants from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from the University of

Wisconsin-Madison

Rationale - dairy farming decision-making

Highly dynamicAlways changing

Highly integratedInterrelated components

prices

policies

climate

environment

cows

weather

soils

crops

managementeconomics

Successful dairy farming decision-making

Meaningful DATARecords

Decision Support SystemsDSS Tools

Integrated System Approach

Outline - descriptionDescribe DSS development

DairyMGT.info> 40 DSS toolsassist dairy farm decision makersdecision-making and problem solving describe sample tools by management area Methods

no single or specialcombinationadaptationempirical

Outline - descriptionOverarching goal

farm specificuser-friendlyscientifically soundrelevant throughout time

Providing answersfastconcretesimplerelevant

Outline - descriptionInnovative DSS tools

many areas of dairy farm managementpractical and real-life applicationsimpact documentationDSS tools performance

Vision for the futurenew technologiesopportunitieschalenges

> 40 tools

Decision support toolsFarm-specific assessments

Every farm is different

Farm conditions changeDecisions should adjust

Market conditions change permanentlyPrices and cost impact decisions

Applications should be user-friendlyStill scientifically sound and robust

Elements of Decision Support ToolsUW-Dairy Management

CategoryCategory

NameName

Short descriptionShort descriptionLinkLink

Supplementary documentationSupplementary documentation

Videodemonstration Videodemonstration

FeedValActual value of dairy feed ingredients

farm specificDATA

ingredientsnutrients

pricesDATA

refereeNUTRIENTS

PRICESdaily for midwest US

as reference

marketPRICE

REFEREEingredients

(market price)

ACTUAL price

VALUEgood or bad

ingredient purchases

SPECIFIC location & time

BEST purchases

WORST purchases

CALCULATED prices

NON-REFEREE ingredients

Economic Value of Sexed SemenValue of using sexed semen on dairy heifers

farm specific reproductive performance

DATA

EXPECTEDperformance with sexed

semen

ADDITIONALproduction and economic information

SCENARIOSplausible for a farm

best DECISIONS

overall VALUE

Wisconsin-Cornell Dairy Repro$Value of specific reproductive programs

farm specific DATA

farm specificreproductive

detailed DATA

testALTERNATIVE

strategies

required additional specific DATA

case study in WI

dec14 jul15

estimated whole herd: $188,000/year

Integrated Genomic Testing ToolValue of using genomic testing on heifer calves

Herd DATA

farm specificDATA

visual displayDATA

replacementsAVAILABLE

farm specificDATA

net profitOPTIMIZED

animals toTEST

net profitCUSTOMIZE

D

The Economic Value of a Dairy CowProjected net return of a cow vs. replacement

farm & herd specificDATA

COW

REPLACEMENT

HERD

ECONOMICS

cow specificRESULTS

COW VALUE

VALUEcomponents

HERDstructure

HERDnet return

The value of a cow

(50)

46

143

239

336

432

529

625

721

818

914

1.011

1.107

1.204

30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420

Econ

omic

val

ue o

f a c

ow, $

Days after second calving

Value of a new pregnancy (e.g., US$ 222 (628-406)

Cost of a pregnancy loss (e.g., US$323 (488-165)

Cost of a day open (e.g., US$5.2 (704-549)/(120-90)

Effect of 10% increased productivity in future lactations

Averagepregnant @

120 DIM

10% higherproducer

non-pregnant

Averagenon-pregnant

1

1

3

2

3

4

4

2

DairyMGT.infoQuick stats

A vision for the futureKeep up with the needs

INTEGRATION• cows• crops• heifers• …• hardware• software• …• financial• …• environmental• …

TECHNOLOGY• tablets• smartphones• sensors• monitors• AMS• precision

feeding• …

FUNCTIONALITY• beyond record

keeping• decision-making• artificial

intelligence• …

© 2011 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.

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