Adoption and precision technologies

Increasingly, dairy farms and businesses are leveraging new technologies to capture data and physiological, behavioural, and production insights to track business performance and herd health. A system where everything can be measured, monitored and managed, is more efficient as productivity and profitability can more easily optimised.

The Dairy Unit is working with stakeholders to create a more connected, autonomous sector, so we can work smarter and more collaboratively.

Precision Technology in Dairy: Supporting Australian Farmers for the Future

As herd sizes on Australian dairy farms have grown, managing dairy operations has become increasingly complex for farmers. Many are now turning to precision technologies to streamline processes and enhance herd management. In 2015, NSW DPIRD researchers surveyed nearly 200 dairy farmers and over 100 service providers across Australia to understand how herd size influences technology adoption and to explore the anticipated role of precision technology in the future of dairy farming.

The survey collected detailed insights into both current technology use and perceptions of future adoption. Farmers were grouped by herd size, from those with fewer than 150 cows to those with more than 700 cows. Results showed that larger farms (those with over 500 cows) were significantly more likely to adopt labour-saving technologies—such as automatic cup removers, electronic cow identification, and herd management software—compared to smaller farms. These tools allowed larger farms to save time and manage their herds more effectively, providing a crucial advantage in meeting higher labour demands.

In addition to examining current technology use, the survey also gathered perspectives on future technology adoption. Both farmers and service providers were asked to predict which technologies would likely become more widely used over the following decade. Many respondents expected precision tools to expand beyond labour-saving functions to deliver more detailed data for monitoring herd health, productivity, and other key metrics at an individual cow level. Specifically, both groups anticipated broader adoption of technologies like automatic heat detection systems, automatic milking systems, and automatic mastitis detection tools, which provide real-time data to support better decision-making.

Results from this survey work are available to be viewed in the webinar below.