Trial of new technology remains a focus in farming

New backing gate technology is being trialled at Te Awa farm in Canterbury as part of Craigmore’s commitment to improving animal welfare outcomes.

Flow is a camera-based artificial intelligence system for a backing gate which responds to herd movement in real time. It automatically manages backing gate movements, using live imaging to optimise cow flow into the dairy shed for more efficient milking.

Developed in Christchurch by Livestock Visibility Solutions, Flow promises a number of benefits to milking efficiency in addition to animal welfare.

Cost savings, which come with the implementation of Flow are relevant to the business, but the animal welfare benefits are the driver behind the adoption of this new technology. Removing stress and pressure on the animal will result in higher yields, which is our primary focus. We are also looking at shorter milking times as a result of the more reliable movement of cows through the milking shed. The efficiencies have a knock-on effect of reduced energy usage, making an impact on our overall footprint and less time in the milking shed.

Flow will also reduce the need for farmers to manually move cows into the dairy, so that staff are able to focus on more important farm jobs.

In addition, the pilot of EcoPond at Glen Eyre farm in North Canterbury has reinforced the viability of the project and led to some valuable lessons, which are shaping the future of the technology for widespread adoption by the dairy industry.

EcoPond, a newly developed system for reducing biogenic methane emissions from farm effluent storage ponds works by creating an oxidative state in the pond, which deactivates methane-creating bacteria leading to GHG production. Glen Eyre has used EcoPond in 2023/24 season to reduce methane emissions from the effluent storage pond by over 90%. Other environmental benefits include reduced loss of phosphate from effluent applied to pasture, odour reduction and the disappearance of solid crust build up from the surface of the storage pond.

In addition, there has been minimal change to the daily farm routine and no impact on the wider farm management system, which can often be a hurdle when introducing new technology.
Over the year the unit has been modified to improve performance. Lessons learnt at Glen Eyre have contributed to evolution of EcoPond’s pond treatment methodology, resulting in less on-farm infrastructure being required.

In conjunction with Lincoln University, the team have commenced another initiative installing testing columns in the effluent pond to validate the efficacy of the treatment methodology. This approach may offer a more cost-effective, efficient, and scalable solution, which can benefit farmers, consumers, and the planet.