ProfessorLuciano Gonzalez

Project Opportunities

Title: Improving productivity, profitability, sustainability, and animal health and welfare of extensive and intensive beef cattle production using automatic monitoring and management systems

Summary of opportunity:

The Livestock in Future Landscapes Program seeks to understand how livestock interact with the environment and how these interactions determine the efficiency of production (growth, reproduction), both of individual animals and groups. New information on livestock in landscapes will be used to select animals and develop management systems that optimize the efficiency of resource utilization and adapt to climate variability and climate change. The ‘landscape’ includes extensive grazing systems (range, pastoral) and intensive feeding systems (feedlot). The Livestock in Future Landscapes Program aims to contribute new knowledge on natural resource management, sustainability, and adaptation and mitigation to climate change. A feature of livestock production is the large variation in the performance of groups of animals or herds, and individual animals within a herd. The basis of this variation is not fully understood but encompasses a range of adaptations of individuals through behaviour, metabolic efficiency, health status, and social interactions influenced by genetics, environment and management. An elucidation of the major determinants of individual and group performance is required in order to develop production systems that optimally utilise valuable resources. Robotic and other remote measuring and monitoring technologies would significantly enhance the scientific quality of the information needed to improve management. This area of research aims to develop integrated farming systems using remote sensing and communications and information technologies.

Opportunity synopsis:

A range of projects are available in the fields of remote monitoring and management systems using latest technology including ‘remote cattle sensor stations’ able to measure live weight of individual animals, body condition and body temperature. The objectives of these projects are three-fold: 

1. Improve our scientific understanding of animal biology as a result of interactions with the environment and management, and understanding the factors driving animal productivity and landscape use 
2. Improve production efficiency of livestock and mixed crop-livestock production systems through the integration of data streams flowing from different sensors and advanced prediction and simulation models 
3. Develop commercial applications including automatic detection of health and welfare problems, nutritional management, genetic selection, reproductive management, and economics 

Some of the technologies available in these projects include: remote weighing stations to measure animal production (live weight and growth rate) and welfare, 3D scanners and lasers to measure body condition in relation to animal welfare, meat quality and reproduction, sensors to remotely monitor animal location and behaviour in the landscape to study animal-environment-management interactions important for grazing land management and animal welfare, infrared thermography to measure body temperature. Data collected by these sensors and others that monitor the environment are integrated through models to improve the precision of decision making processes and the efficiency of utilization of natural resources. Environmental sensors include weather stations, soil and water sensors, satellite imagery and optical sensors to measure vegetation type and abundance.

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Project Opportunities

Title: Adaptation to variable climate and mitigation of greenhouse emissions in the beef industry

Summary of opportunity:

The Livestock in Future Landscapes Program seeks to understand how livestock interact with the environment and how these interactions determine the efficiency of production (growth, reproduction), both of individual animals and groups. New information on livestock in landscapes will be used to select animals and develop management systems that optimise the efficiency of resource utilisation and adapt to climate variability and climate change. The ‘landscape’ includes extensive grazing systems (range, pastoral) and intensive feeding systems (feedlot). The Livestock in Future Landscapes Program aims to contribute new knowledge on natural resource management, sustainability, and adaptation and mitigation to climate change. This project addresses the complex decisions facing red meat producers to adapt to climate variability and change across a range of spatial and temporal scales while maintaining or improving productivity and profitability. Adaptation to climate variability in livestock enterprises requires timely and informed management decisions. This can be achieved through real-time monitoring and prediction of the impact of recent, current and future climate events on key components of the production system (e.g. livestock and forage production). Furthermore, effective strategies for adaptation to climate variability require an understanding of how the multiple biophysical, policy and economic stressors are likely to interact and affect the enterprise. An integrated analysis of risks and opportunities due to climate variability and change will enable producers and their advisers to make decisions that consider synergies and trade-offs in alternative strategies and minimize unintended negative consequences for productivity, profitability or environmental objectives and obligations including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, for climate adaptation strategies to be effective, the aforementioned impact assessment needs to be integrated with the capacity of producers to respond while accounting for uncertainties associated with potential responses for specific timeframes and situations.

Opportunity synopsis:

The present project brings together a multi-disciplinary team to integrate emerging climate science approaches, remote monitoring and biophysical and economic modelling to address issues relevant to the red meat industry. Therefore, climate adaptation planning and capacity of red meat producers will be enhanced through:  

1. On-farm remote monitoring, models and weather forecasts integrated through producer-friendly monitoring systems and decision-making tools
2. Development of adaptation strategies using an integrated assessment of the impact of climate, policy and economic information on productivity, profitability and environmental objectives of beef enterprises. 
3. A framework to prioritise adaptation strategies at different time frames and levels of uncertainties.