The charts below illustrate how much milk yield variance there is within individual cows across their lactations, on eight different farms. Milk recording data can be all over the place throughout the lactation for some animals, whilst for others, their production fits neatly along a lactation curve. Built within Tracker is a system that models a lactation curve for each animal then determines the amount of variance the actual results delivered against the model. As seen in the eight farms below, some farms show a proportion of the herd in red. This denotes the yield was very inconsistent on a proportion of the herd. Other herds show the herd has very little variation and are firmly in the green. If consistency is king, then herds 6 and 7 display the potential. Herds 3 and 4 warrant some further investigation. How would your herd, or the herds you are working with fare on this analysis? #dairy #milk #dairyfarming #herd #cows #agriculture
I love this, the power of data analytics and modelling integrated in livestock production is a way to increase precision.
Ruminant Technical services Manager EMEA for Balchem
2moJames interesting analysis. Was the feed system the same in all herds? I would assume grouping or parlour feeding will impact the variability?