Application of RFID and other Internet of Things technologies in smart ranches

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Application of RFID and other Internet of Things technologies in smart ranches [Copy link]

1. Automatic column separation technology

Auto-drafting technology integrates RFID ear tags, RFID readers, and automatic gate control systems. According to the established classification standards, it can automatically classify animals according to physical signs, morphology, etc. without human monitoring. The main purpose of automatic classification technology is to improve management efficiency. A major scenario of the automatic classification system in Australia is to automatically distinguish animals whose weight meets market standards, isolate bulls in the breeding system, automatically isolate calves that need to be weaned according to weight, and realize rotational grazing management of different pastures. Generally speaking, the automatic classification system needs to be used in combination with automatic weighing technology or other technologies.

2. Automatic weighing technology

Automatic weighing technology has been developed for more than 50 years and is relatively mature. The automatic weighing system needs to identify individual animals based on the animal RFID ear tags. When the animal passes through the weighing platform, its weight data and RFID identification are automatically recorded and stored in the data processing system, so that the weight data of each animal can be collected. This technology is mainly used to quickly estimate the weight of animals. Through long-term and periodic monitoring of animal weight, the law of animal weight changes can be effectively analyzed. Its main functions are:

(1) Estimating the weight of beef cattle and sheep and slaughtering them when they reach the specified weight requirements;

(2) Body weight can be used to reflect the physical condition of animals and serve as an important reference indicator for animal breeding.

3. Animal positioning technology

Positioning technology is mainly based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). By wearing a GPS collar on the animal, the location data is regularly fed back to the server through mobile communication signals, and the distribution of animals in the pasture is understood based on the location information. Australian pastures are very large, and positioning individual animals or groups can promptly detect animals that are lost, over the fence, sick, and other abnormal conditions, which is very important for daily management.

4. Animal behavior monitoring technology

Automatically and remotely measure and monitor animal behavior and physical condition, understand animal behavior changes at the individual level, provide important basis for predicting animal estrus and illness, improve livestock management efficiency and reduce costs. Use wearable devices such as accelerometers, GPS, magnetometers, gyroscopes, tilt angles, etc. to automatically identify animal behaviors such as eating, ruminating (cattle), walking, lying still, standing, etc., and calculate the duration of each behavior to determine whether the animal is normal, etc., to achieve the purpose of early detection of animal diseases.

5. Pasture biomass measurement technology

Predicting pasture biomass helps to understand pasture carrying capacity, optimize grass resource allocation, and improve pasture and livestock production efficiency. Common pasture biomass measurement technologies include: (1) vehicle-mounted sensors, which use sensors to measure pasture height and density, and then infer pasture dry matter mass and pasture growth conditions; (2) airborne remote sensing technology, which attempts to use drones equipped with short-range biomass sensors, such as Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), to emit invisible light beams to the measured objects, use sensors to monitor and read the reflected light beams, and calculate pasture biomass; (3) satellite remote sensing technology, which uses the MODIS satellite platform to collect Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images to estimate pasture biomass and pasture growth rate.