Indian dairy farming has evolved and changed substantially since the days of the white revolution. Technology, like any other industry, has assisted the sector and its stakeholders in a number of ways. Furthermore, the Indian hinterland and rural farmers remain unorganized and in serious need of technical support.
Some of the technologies are currently in use in India, though adoption is still fairly low, and many more are yet to come to market. Nonetheless, there is little question that technology is helping to modernize the Indian dairy industry. Let's have a look at some of the most important new dairy technologies.
Fitness tracker for cattle
Cattle productivity, lifespan, and reproductivity are all reduced by health problems. Farmers spend a lot of money on the health and well-being of their cattle every year. Farmers, on the other hand, may track, monitor, and control nutrition, behavior, pregnancy, milking frequency, milk output anomaly, and activity level in real-time owing to wearable animal gadgets similar to human fitness trackers. These intelligent animal trackers may be placed in ears, tails, legs, neck, or any other portion of the cattle body.
The Karnataka government implanted GPS-enabled digital chips in the ears of 56 lakh animals around the state to track their wellbeing and detect medical conditions early. SmaXtec, Cowlar, Moocall, Smartbow, Stellapps, and other firms have created smart cow health tracking devices.
Milking Via Robots
Cows have traditionally been milked manually. This is not only a time-consuming operation, but it also has a labor cost, which raises the price of milk. Robotic milking allow farmers to minimize the need for physical labor, maintain a sanitary milking procedure, milk cows at any time of day rather than on a set schedule and increase milk output.
The robotic milking equipment has arms or cups with sensors that may be fitted to the teats of cows individually. The sensors can detect whether or not the cow or one of its teats is ready for milking. Once the milking process begins, the devices can detect contaminants, color, and milk quality. If the milk cannot be consumed by humans, it is directed to a different container. When the process is completed, the devices may also clean and disinfect the teats automatically.
Raghava Gowda of India invented a non-electric milking mechanism for cows. Among the numerous other startups that have launched automated milking systems are miRobot, GEA, DeLaval, Fullwood Packo, and Lely.
Drones for Cattle Monitoring
Farmers are required to maintain manual vigilance anytime cattle leave the farm for grazing. There is a considerable possibility that the cattle may become lost, stolen, or attacked by other animals. Cattle monitoring drones can track the cattle and herd them back from the fields to the barns. Some drones are outfitted with thermal sensing equipment, which allows them to track cattle based on their body heat. Drones may also scan pasture lands and communicate information about whether they are suitable for cattle grazing.
TRITHI Robotics, Dronitech, Sagar Defence Engineering, DJI Enterprise, and Sunbirds are among the companies that have made progress in developing commercial drones for a variety of applications, including agricultural and livestock management.
Customer Product Traceability Using Blockchain
Customers nowadays want to know where their dairy products come from, from farm to table. This necessitates end-to-end supply chain transparency to increase client confidence. An increasing number of dairy producers, suppliers, and other stakeholders are utilizing blockchain technology to provide customers with real-time data about their products.
This is accomplished by including a QR code on the packaging that customers can scan with their mobile devices to obtain information about the origin of the milk – where and how it was obtained and packed, how old it is, what type of transportation and cold milk chain facilities were used, and so on.
The Kerala government in India is using blockchain technology to streamline the purchase and distribution of milk, fish, and vegetables throughout the state. Nestle has partnered with the Australian firm OpenSC to use blockchain technology to strengthen its dairy supply chain. Carrefour, a French retailer, sells micro-filtered full-fat milk in bottles labeled with a QR code.
StaTwig, Ripe, AgriLedger, TE-Food, and Foodcoin are a few food biotech startups.
Automated Cattle traffic Management
Managing and moving animals to milk stalls and back to barns may be a time-consuming process. There is also the possibility of livestock injuries.
A computer-controlled gate opens and closes electronically in an automated cow traffic management system. These gates can categorize livestock based on their readiness to milk. The animals who are ready to be milked are transferred to the milking area, while the others are either placed in the waiting area or back to their barns.
Automatic cow traffic systems are manufactured by companies such as Delmer, Bump Gates, Fullwood Packo, and Lely.
