I have already discussed the company mentioned in the first
half of this article. However, I have not thought about big data uses in dairy
farming which is what is focused on in the second portion of this article.
The Holstein bull Badger-Bluff Fannie Freddie is considered
Americas best. He has fathered 346 dairy cows up to September of last year. The
article goes on to explain that he is considered the best Holstein bull in the
states because of his genetic makeup. The USDA analyzed approximately 50,000
different markers in his DNA that are supposedly related to better milk
production and, based on what they found, proclaimed him to be the best bull
for procreating good dairy cows. A post on the Sustainable America blog claims
that “dairy breeding is a perfect field for quantitative analysis of the sort
that machine learning algorithms can offer today. Taking vast amounts of data and scanning for key information is
what these algorithms are created to do.” Italicized is basically the purpose
and definition of data mining.
The post states that nearly 100 years ago dairy cows were
only expected to produce around 5000 pounds of milk in a lifetime, while today
that number is up to 21,000. This is the product of a century of selective
breeding. Mining the massive amount of information DNA provides for the select
markers of good milk production will enable dairy farmers to achieve a whole
new level of breeding, thereby increase this average even faster.
Surely over the next few years, we will see data mining
taking a much more prominent role not only in agricultural farming as expected,
but in dairy farming as well.
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ReplyDeleteBig Data is not just changing the face of worldwide mega-conglomerates; it’s changing the game back home on the farm as well. Where most dairy farmers in years past had to be up before dawn, these days, the early morning milking can be left to an automated system, which analyzes data from each individual cow. Special collars allow for data collection according to various categories, including weight, milk production, milk temperature, color, fat and protein content, and somatic cell count. Farmers are now able to obtain constantly updated data for quick analysis of the animals and what they’re producing, providing insight into how best to manage the farms while ensuring milk quality.
ReplyDeleteManaging data related to cows isn't all that technology is bringing to farms and the food supply chain. Everything from warehouse management systems to inventory management software is allowing companies to transport, store and track products from farm to store shelves. Customers (and businesses) reap the benefits of a streamlined supply chain every single day, and from the looks of things, Big Data doesn't look to be slowing down its progress any time soon.
Source: https://exploreb2b.com/articles/a-texting-cow-coming-soon-thanks-to-big-data