Lewis Kahn works with farmers, scientists, industries and government as a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of New England.
Agtech success pivots on linking the algorithm with farmer needs
Professor Lewis Kahn
Cutting-edge mobile technology is revolutionising on-farm decision making, but what makes agtech especially successful is when it complements farmer knowledge and links with on-farm practices, in a user-friendly manner.
Too often new digital tools and technologies are developed with brilliant science and amazing capabilities, but they are not what farmers first want to make a difference in their business.
As I know well from work carried out between 2017-2020 with my UNE co-authors and led by Dr Penelope Schulz, livestock producers need relevant, useful and easy to use smartphone apps. Our surveys of livestock producers revealed a keenness to use apps, including when it comes to making more informed decisions, increasing efficiency, and accessing and recording important information.
Apps were not viewed as suited to completely replace more traditional methods, but rather to have a role in decision-making processes and/or to be incorporated into new programs and tools.
It’s a lesson the team at UNE took to heart during the world-first development of an app to make 6-month forecasts of live weight, pasture availability, soil moisture, rainfall, and animal wellbeing customised and available to all Australian livestock producers. The team at UNE has gone out of its way to design a user-friendly interface and mobile app to allow users to customise data about soils, pasture types, livestock, and current pasture availability.
The tool, called Ag360, forecasts pasture availability but taking the concept of working with producers, the forecasts are improved when producers take periodic estimates of pasture availability or live weight and enter these into their Ag360 account. These data contribute to early warnings if pasture and live weight targets are unlikely to be met, allowing users of Ag360 to benefit from the various “what if” tools when planning for the coming season.
The collaboration between university research and practical farming knowledge exemplifies the thought leadership needed in agriculture: translating theory into real-world action. This approach showcases the brightest minds working to tailor high-tech innovations to the realities of Australian livestock production. By blending traditional skills with modern technology, farmers are supported to make smarter, more effective decisions that enhance both productivity and sustainability.
Ag360 is supported by the Armidale Node of the Southern Queensland and Northern NSW Innovation Innovation Hub, which receives funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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