MSD Animal Health has called on the UK Government and food supply chain industry to support and promote the use of new technologies to enhance animal health and welfare, to improve production efficiencies, and to safeguard the sustainability and economic viability of livestock farming businesses in the UK.
As part of a campaign to highlight the benefits of using new technologies to automatically monitor the behaviour, productivity and reproductive status of various livestock species, MSD Animal Health has published a technical white paper to illustrate how these technologies can benefit farmers, the supply chain and end consumers.
Entitled ‘Time for Tech: The Time is Now’, the 23-page document provides an overview of the benefits that integrating new technologies into traditional beef, dairy, sheep, pig and poultry systems can have in terms of enhancing animal performance, reducing antimicrobial use and promoting a sustainable future for all livestock units.
The publication includes UK farmer case studies to illustrate how new tech has improved productivity in a range of livestock systems. It also contains commentary by Professor Jude Capper, livestock sustainability consultant and professor of sustainable beef and sheep production at Harper Adams University, who discusses how monitoring technologies and the data they provide can be used to prioritise labour resources.
Dr Capper also discusses how tech can reduce the impact of stress and disease on productivity, and, ultimately, help farm managers make informed management decisions more quickly and more accurately.
“With the ongoing digital revolution rapidly re-shaping the way society works, it is important that we, as livestock farmers and the industry that supports them, embrace the opportunities that new technology can offer,” said Helene Lanz, managing director, MSD Animal Health UK.
“New systems such as those which enable us to remotely monitor our livestock in real-time are already a key component of many forward-thinking farming systems in the UK and globally. But there is still an element of misunderstanding, of mistrust and of hesitancy which is preventing the animal protein industry from adopting precision livestock farming technologies on a truly wholescale level.”
Ms Lanz continued: “We also recognise that the initial investment in monitoring, tagging and automation technologies can be prohibitive for many businesses, and that not all UK farmers want to, or feel comfortable in using tech to help them decide how to manage their animals.
“But, with the Government’s green agenda continuing to gain traction, consumers becoming increasingly concerned about emissions and where and how their food is produced, and farmers facing an ever-increasing challenge to find, train and retain reliable staff, change is inevitable.
“We have therefore published our Time for Tech white paper in the hope that it will stimulate wider discussions and a better understanding within the livestock industry of the incremental improvements that these technologies can have from farm to fork.”
Ms Lanz said she also hopes the white paper will inspire discussion within Government around technology initiatives to help incentivise the uptake of on-farm technology, to simplify the grant funding window and to make subscription products eligible for grant funding so that more farm businesses can access precision livestock technology with the backing of long-term, consistent support.
The white paper also explains how the use of real-time data can be used in tandem with preventative vaccination and treatment protocols to deliver higher standards of animal welfare and improved production efficiencies.
Ms Lanz continued: “Modern livestock systems have the potential to significantly reduce their impact on the environment while maintaining food affordability. We are therefore keen to engage with farmers, their trusted allies and the wider food supply chain to drive positive change. The technologies we are involved with will never be a replacement for expert stockmanship but can add value as a complementary addition to traditional animal husbandry.
“By educating and informing key stakeholders about how these new ways of working can be integrated, we hope to play a small part in creating a more sustainable, efficient, and health-orientated future in which farmers can trust and interpret data to maximise feed conversion efficiency, improve growth rates, reduce antimicrobial use and to empower their staff to make faster, better-informed decisions to improve the health and productivity of their livestock.”
