Conference Program (pdf 173 KB)

Tuesday March 2, 2010

1:30 – 1:45           Welcome and Opening Remarks
                           Gerrit Wensink, Chairman, Ontario Progressive Dairy Operators
1:45 - 2:00            Blair Murray, Conference Co-Chair

                           Session 1:  Introduction to Precision Dairy Farming

2:00 – 2:45           Precision Dairy Farming: Advanced Analysis Solutions for Future Profitability
                           Jeffrey Bewley, University of Kentucky, United States

2:45 – 3:00           Benchmarking Financial and Production Progress Allows More Effective Decisions
                           Bill Grexton, CanWest Dairy Herd Improvement, Canada

3:00 – 3:15           Labour Costs on Ontario Dairy Farms and Their Implications for Precision Technologies
                           Jack Rodenburg, DairyLogix, Canada

3:15 – 3:30           Using Automated Internet Systems in Milk Quality Monitoring
                           Mark L. Kinsel, AgriMetrica LLC

3:30 – 3:45           WASP Wireless Sensing Concept for Next Generation Herd Control
                           Pieter Hogewerf, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, the Netherlands

3:45 – 4:00           DeLaval Herd Navigator®:  Proactive Herd Management
                           Fernando Mazeris, DeLaval International

4:00 – 4:15           Huge Potential in Data from AMS from a Breeder’s Perspective
                           Uffe Lauritsen,  Danish Milk Recording Organization, Denmark

4:15 - 4:30            Economic Benefits of Individual Cow Management
                            Henk Hogeveen, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

4:30 - 4:45            Reasons for Slow Adoption Rates of Precision Dairy Farming Technologies: 
                            Evidence from a Producer Survey
                            Jeffrey Bewley, University of Kentucky, United States

4:45 – 5:00           Milk Break

                           Session 2:  Housing and Management Strategies for Robotic Milking 

5:00 – 5:20           Design Criteria for the Ideal Robotic Milking Barn
                           Jack Rodenburg, DairyLogix, Canada

5:20 – 5:40           Planning of Large Scale Farms with Robotic Milking Systems
                           Jan Harms, Bavarian Research Center for Agriculture, Germany

5:40 – 6:00           Automatic Milking in Pastoral Dairy Systems
                           Jenny G. Jago, DairyNZ, New Zealand

6:00 – 7:30           Reception and Meal in the Exhibit Area

7:30 – 10:00         Producer Panel

A panel of four producers sharing their experiences incorporating precision management tools into their herd management programs. Panelists include:  

Thomas Wynker, Artique Farms Ltd., Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, who makes extensive use of cow management technology, RFID and DairyComp305 and Feedwatch electronic monitoring of feed ingredients in his 250 cow dairy herd.

Poul DeGier, Pilgrim Dairy, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, milking 110 cows with two DeLaval VMS in a feed first application.

Dale Hemminger, Hemdale Farms Inc., of Seneca Castle, New York, United States, started with four milking robots in a 240 freestall barn in 2007. Last spring he converted existing facilities to robots and now milks his entire 800 cow dairy herd with 12 Lely AMS stalls.

Bram Prins, President of Global Dairy Farmers and a dairy producer in the Netherlands.  Bram has adopted both robotic milking with four Insentec Galaxy stalls and automated feeding with a Pelon batching and track feeding system.

Panel Chair:  Gerrit Wensink, Chairman, Ontario Progressive Dairy Operators and one of our tour host farms.

Wednesday March 3, 2010

                            Session 3:  Robotic Milking 

8:00 – 8:45            Automatic Milking - Common Practice on Dairy Farms
                            Kees de Koning, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

8:45 – 9:00            Economics of Small Scale Dairy Farms Having Robotic Milking
                            Anna-Maija Heikkilä, MTT Agrifood Research, Finland

9:00 – 9:15            Understanding the Lying Behaviour Patterns of Cows Milked in Automated Systems
                            Trevor DeVries, University of Guelph, Canada

9:15 – 9:30            Comparison of Protocols to Estimate 24 Hour Percent Fat and Protein
                             David Kelton, University of Guelph, Canada 

9:30 - 9:45             Methods to Estimate 24-hour Yields for Milk, Fat and Protein in Robotic Milking Herds
                            Karen Hand, CanWest Dairy Herd Improvement, Canada

9:45 – 10:00          Robotic Milking of Buffalos: a Preliminary Survey on Milking Capacity of Automatic
                            Milking Systems
                            Francesco M. Tangorra, Milan School of Veterinary Medicine, Italy

10:00 – 10:30        Milk Break

                            Session 4:  Dairy Calf Management and Feeding

10:30 – 11:00        A Practical Evaluation of Group Housing for Young Calves
                            Kathleen Shore, Grober Nutrition, Canada

11:00 – 11:15        Predicting Sleep and Lying Time of Calves with a Support Vector Machine Classifier Using
                            Accelerometer Data
                            Matti Pastell, University of Helsinki, Finland

11:15 – 11:30        Benefits, Function and Operation of Computer-Controlled Calf Feeders
                            Markus Käck, Förster-Technik Company, Germany

11:30 – 11:45        Brix Refractometers for Assessment of Colostrum Quality
                            Vivianne Bielmann, University of Guelph, Canada

11:45 – 12:00        Effects of Free-Access Feeding and Milk Replacer Acidification on Calf Performance and Development
                            of Digestive Anatomy
                            Cynthia G. Todd, University of Guelph, Canada

12:00 – 1:00          Lunch

                           Session 5:  Reproduction

1:00 – 1:45           Heat Detection:  Trends and Opportunities
                           Jeff Durkin, DeLaval, United States

1:45 – 2:00           Optimal Timing of Insemination Using Activity Collars
                           Doron Bar, SCR Engineers, Israel              

2:00 – 2:15           Reproductive Management and Performance Can Be Improved by Use of DeLaval Herd Navigator®
                           Jens Yde Blom, Biosens, Denmark

2:15 – 2:30           Precision Management on Two Dutch Dairy Farms by Use of DeLaval Herd Navigator®
                           Nico Vreeburg, Vetvice, the Netherlands

2:30 – 2:45           Automated Daily Body Weight Measurements in Dairy Cattle: What Can We Do with Them?
                                    Michael van Straten, Hachaklait, Mutual Society for Veterinary Services, Israel

2:45 – 3:15              Milk Break

                           Session 6:  Dairy Cattle Health

3:15 – 4:00           Challenges and Opportunities for Technology to Improve Dairy Health Management
                           Stephen LeBlanc, University of Guelph, Canada

4:00 – 4:15             A New Method of Analyzing Daily Milk Production and Electrical Conductivity to Predict Disease Onset
                           Joanna Lukas, University of Minnesota, Madison, United States

4:15 – 4:30           Walking Acceleration Patterns as a Method for Lameness Detection
                           Matti Pastell, University of Helsinki, Finland

4:30 – 4:45           Automated Methods for the Detection of Lameness and Analgesia
                           Núria Chapinal, University of British Columbia, Canada

4:45 – 5:00          HOBO Pendant G Acceleration Data Loggers: Adding Precision to the Assessment of Cow Comfort
                           in Tie-Stall Operations
                           Paisley E. Canning, University of Guelph, Canada

5:00 – 5:15          Validation of a New Pedometry System for Behavioural Research and Lameness Detection in Dairy Cattle
                           Janet H. Higginson, University of Guelph, Canada

5:15 – 5:30           Prevalence and Risk Factors for Skin Lesions on Legs and Neck in Dairy Cattle in Free Stall
                           Housing in Norway
                           Olav Osteras, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science

                          Session 7:  Poster Session

5:30 – 6:45          Poster Viewing and Mix and Mingle

7:00 – 10:00        Conference Banquet  
                          Banquet Speaker:  Dr. Roberta Bondar
                          Technology, Change and Keeping the Brain Young

 
Thursday March 4, 2010

                          Session 8:   Mastitis Control and Milk Quality

8:00 – 8:45          Sensors and Milk Quality - The Quest for the Perfect Alert
                          Henk Hogeveen, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

8:45 – 9:00          Improving Automatic Detection of Abnormal Milk
                          Erwin Mollenhorst, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

9:00 – 9:15          Automatic Detection of Clinical Mastitis in Astronaut A3 Milking Robot
                          Rik van der Tol, Lely Industries, the Netherlands

9:15 – 9:30          Quarter Individual Milking in Conventional Milking Parlours
                          Ulrich Ströbel, Leibniz-Institute for Agricultural Engineering, Germany

9:30 – 9:45          Automatic Milking Systems: A Dutch Study on Risk Factors for Udder Health
                          Kees DeKoning, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

9:45 – 10:00        Field Evaluation of the PathoProof Mastitis PCR Assay for the Detection of
                          Staphylococcus aureus Infected Cows Using DHI Samples
                          Charlotte Friendship, University of Guelph, Canada

10:00 – 10:15      Behavioural Changes of Dairy Cows During Drying-Off Using Abrupt Cessation of Milking
                          Kimberley A. Painter, University of Guelph, Canada

10:15 – 10:45      Milk Break

                          Session 9:   Novel Technologies for In-Barn Application

10:45 – 11:30      Novel Technologies: Sensors, Data and Precision Dairy Farming
                          Ephraim Maltz, Volcani Institute, Israel

11:30 – 11:45      Use of RFID Ear Tags in Dairy Herd Management in Canada
                          Blair Murray, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Canada

11:45 – 12:00      A Novel Method of Monitoring Mobility of Dairy Cows
                          Toby Mottram, eCow Ltd., United Kingdom

12:00 – 12:15      Use of Milk Lactose Concentration as an Indicator of Mastitis Following the Validation of
                          a Novel In-Line Milk Analysis System Designed to Measure Milk Components
                          Hayden Jeremy Karp, Virginia Tech, United States

12:15 – 12:30        The Why and How of Robotic Slat Cleaners
                          Harold House, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Canada

12:30 - 1:30         Lunch

1:30 - 2:30          Session 10:  Poster Session

                          Session 11:  Automation in Feeding and Nutrition

2:30 - 3:15          The Use of Precision Dairy Farming in Feeding and Nutrition
                          Robert Meijer, Hendrix Company, the Netherlands

3:15 - 3:45          Milk Break

3:45 – 4:00          Precision Animal Nutrition: The Role of Portable NIR on the Farm
                          John A. Foley, Cargill Animal Nutrition, Canada

4:00 – 4:15          Health and Production Characteristics for a Dynamic Feeding Model
                          Tom Vanholder, Lely Industries, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

4:15 – 4:30          Precision Feeding:  NIR Online for Improving TMR Consistency
                          Alberto Barbi, Dinamica Generale, Italy

4:30 – 4:45          New Feeding Strategy: Individual Total Mixed Ration Based on Metabolic State
                          Tom Vanholder, Lely Industries, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

4:45 – 5:00          Automated BCS Scoring System Using Template Matching by Bayesian Sequential Hypothesis
                          S. Velmurugan, IIT Delhi, India

5:00 – 5:15          Rumination Collars: What Can They Tell Us
                          Doron Bar, SCR Engineers, Israel

5:15 – 5:30          Is a Lifetime Rumen Monitoring Bolus Possible?
                          Toby Mottram, eCow Ltd., United Kingdom

5:30 – 5:45          Recent Studies Using a Reticular Bolus System for Monitoring Dairy Cattle Core Body Temperature
                          Jeffrey Bewley, University of Kentucky, United States

5:45 – 6:00          Presentation of Afimilk Young Scientist Award; Conference Wrap-up

6:00                    Conference Ends

 

Poster Only Presentations at the Conference

• The Use of Body Temperature to Detect Estrus and Predict Optimal Time of Insemination
      Erwin Mollenhorst, Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University,
      the Netherlands

• Mathematical Modeling of Vacuum Related Variables in Conventional Milking Systems Using Response Surface Methodology
      Ulrich Ströbel, Leibniz-Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Germany

• A Field Study on Teat-end Vacuum in Different Milking Systems and its Effect on Teat Condition
      Angelika Haeussermann, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel

• Relationship Among Locomotion Score of Dairy Cows and Their Feed Intake and Milk Production and Fertility
      Mojmir Vacek Institute of Animal Sciences in Prague-Uhrineves

• Time Series Analysis of Live Weight as Health Indicator
      Rik van der Tol, Lely Industries NV, Dairy Equipment, Maassluis, the Netherlands

• Clinical Effects and Economic Benefit of an Internal Teat Sealant Administered at Dry-Off
      Paul Baillargeon, Pfizer Animal Health, Canada

• New Services for Precision Dairy Farming Based on Automatic Data Transfer Between Collective Cattle Databases and Computerized Milking Systems
      Rene Rognant, FIEA, France

• The Change of the Height of the Ration on Trough in a Free-Stall Barn
      Shigeru Morita, Rakuno Gakuen University, Japan

• Overview of the Development of an Advanced Precision Feeding System for the Dairy Industry
      Steven E. Sawell, University of Waterloo, Canada

• Precision Calf Feeding: History, Components, Potential
      Markus Käck, Förster-Technik, Germany 

• The Kempen Feeding System
      William Woodley, Nutreco, Shur-Gain, Canada

• Acquisition and Assessment of Teat Cup Cluster Vacuum Records in Milking Time Tests
      Odd Rønningen, TINE BA, Norway

• Money Hidden in the Dairy Farm
      Udi Golan, SAE Afikim

• Dairy Barn Plans and Layouts, Innovations and Cow Comfort
      Yves Choinière, Quebec, Canada