Cornell CAST for the Farm of the Future

CAST Associate Director Adedeji Adetunji from University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff visited #Cornell for the CAST annual meeting. He spent one morning touring the CAST farms with Martin Perez, CAST program manager. From wearable cow bio monitors to milk composition analyzers and air quality sensors, Dr. Adetunji had the chance to observe a wide range of CAST #FutureFarm #agritech in action.

Last week we held our annual meeting. We celebrated the strides we’ve made over the last year to establish CAST as *the* testbed for the farm of the future. The partnerships we’ve forged with companies and fellow researchers were front and center, as our team shared the work they’ve done so far as well as their future plans. #FutureFarm #Cornell #farm Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

CAST Director Julio Giordano presented about dairy technology and CAST at Cornell Cooperative Extension Northwestern New York Dairy Day in Perry, NY, on February 6. Giordano explained CAST’s mission and current work to an audience of #farmers, managers, owners and dairy industry professionals. He also updated them on the latest use of technology for monitoring dairy cattle reproduction and health.?

A great opportunity to push forward dairy #sustainability and enteric methane reduction.

The Dairy Environmental Systems (DES) group at PRO-DAIRY works with CAST to measure emissions on the #farm. The data they gather can then be combined with other data streams to give a holistic overview of the #environment. ? DES focuses on issues ranging from manure storage and cow comfort to water and air quality. Innovations include: ? — Open-path laser measurements of #methane off-gassing from manure ponds. ? — Anemometers to quantify barn emissions by measuring wind speed and direction in conjunction with internal sensors that monitor gas concentrations like methane and ammonia. ? — Manure mesocosms, 2,000-gallon experimental manure storages that allow manure to be treated with products designed to lower methane and other emissions, and the results monitored. ? “We need to think at a systems level,” says Jason Oliver, senior extension associate and PRO-DAIRY environmental systems engineer. “Changes in diet, for example, impact cow emissions, which then impact the manure. That is going to affect how we treat the manure or how we handle it in the field. So we need to start connecting all the dots because it’s all one farm system.” Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences https://lnkd.in/e2Vyugbh

Nutrient management is also an important component of the farm of the future. NMSP carries out cutting-edge research using the latest digital agriculture technology.

Julio Giordano, CAST director, looks at how technology and the data it produces can boost the sustainability of diary cow reproductive management.

The farm of the future needs high-tech research and that means installing more Calan gate feed stations in the CAST barn. Each cow has her own key that opens her particular door to access the feed that has been prescribed for her. We appreciate how this technology reduces the number of cows required for a trial and lowers our workload. ?? ?? ??

Julio Giordano, CAST director, explores the ways genomics can help with dairy reproduction and herd management.

CAST director Julio Giordano and graduate student Ana Laplacette talk about their research on optimizing ovulation timing of dairy cows with data-driven, targeted reproductive management.