Dairy producers send samples to labs for examination when they need to evaluate their cows' Milk Urea Nitrogen, or MUN. However, new technology on the horizon might change everything, providing dairy producers with real-time data via a smartphone app.
MUN is a nitrogen-based substance. It eventually becomes ammonia as it exits the body in urine, and ammonia can have an influence on air quality, contribute fertiliser to surface waterways, and contaminate ground water.
Nitrogen is the most important component of proteins, which dairy cows require in quite high amounts to maintain a good lactation. Protein is one of the most expensive components in a high-performance dairy animal's diet, and MUN estimates how efficiently that protein is utilised. MUN levels that are too high may suggest that an animal is getting more protein than it can utilise.
The software will provide dairy producers with real-time data so they may change the diets fed to their animals.
The Indian dairy sector has benefited greatly in recent years as a result of technology-driven goods, services, and solutions, much of which can be attributed to agriculture and dairy entrepreneurs.
Let's look at some of the most important new-age dairy technologies:
Health Tracking Devices for Cattle
Cattle production, lifespan, and reproductivity are all affected by health issues. Farmers spend a lot of money on their cattle's health and well-being every year. Farmers may measure, monitor, and control cattle's health, nutrition, behaviour, pregnancy, milking frequency, milk production anomalies, and activity level in real-time owing to wearable animal electronics that are similar to human fitness trackers.
Robotic Milking Machines
Robotic milking machines allow farmers to reduce physical labour requirements, maintain a sanitary milking procedure, milk cows at any time of day rather than on a set schedule, and increase milk output.
Cattle Monitoring Drones
The livestock surveillance drones can follow the animals and herd them back to the barns from the fields. Some drones include thermal sensor technology, which allows them to follow animals based on their body heat. Drones may also take photographs of pasture areas and provide information on whether or not they are appropriate for livestock grazing.
Milk Freshness
Milk can now be detected for freshness and stored for extended periods of time thanks to advances in technology. Naturo, an Australian food technology business, has invented a method that can keep natural milk fresh for at least 60 days in the refrigerator without the need of chemicals or preservatives. IIT Guwahati researchers have created a smartphone-app aided paper sensor kit that can evaluate the freshness of milk and tell how effectively it has been pasteurised back in India.
Ecommerce Marketplaces
In India, many online B2B marketplaces, such as AgroStar and Gold Farm, have been developed to provide sophisticated equipment and consulting services to farmers and dairy producers' doorsteps via their cellphones. Many B2C systems have sprung up quickly, such as FreshVnF, WayCool, and FarmLink, which harvest fresh fruit from farms and transport it to retail consumers, hotels, restaurants, and cafés.
