305 Awardee Talk: Application of on-Animal Sensors and Precision Livestock Management on Extensive Cattle and Sheep Ranches

Abstract Monitoring livestock and forage conditions on extensive rangelands is labor intensive expensive, often observations occur infrequently. Technological advancements have made real-time remote monitoring more feasible less costly. Global positioning system (GPS) tracking data can be transferred from to the internet using cellular phone technologies, low range wide area networks (LoRaWan) satellite transmissions. With good coverage, cellular-based real time systems work well. Rugged terrain pastures increase cost of LoRaWan. Additional LoRaWan gateway towers are needed for transmission, because these rely upon line-of-sight signals. Satellite expensive but hold great potential rugged terrain. Accelerometers used monitor animal activity, after on-device summarization summary transmitted internet. Changes in behavior normal patterns useful detecting illness wellbeing. Bovine ephemeral fever heifers perennial ryegrass staggers sheep were identified by a decrease activity during morning evening grazing bouts accelerometers. In pen settings, accelerometers able detect timing lambing associated with unexpected feeding moldy silage. Continued congregation at water tanks may indicate failures. Normally, animals move away rest drinking. Tracking valuable tool identify locations where new developments improve distribution. also has notify managers congregating potentially overgrazing, prediction utilization light levels not exact. would facilitate genetic selection distribution providing use phenotypes. Improvements technology reductions sensors as well development algorithms software gives ranchers mechanisms remotely wellbeing rangeland allow them respond promptly.