Developing ‘Smart’ Dairy Farming Responsive to Farmers and Consumer-Citizens: A Review

Abstract

Innovation has resulted in more dairy products being produced with less inputs than ever before. It has also affected how animals are raised, the structure of the sector and the nature of products produced. Not all impacts have been positive. As disruptive technologies—such as precision farming and robotics—herald significant change, it is timely to reflect on the perspectives of different actors on innovations within the sector. Drawing on a review of academic literature, this paper considers farmers’ and consumer-citizens’ perspectives; as expected, their diverse knowledge, interests and values surface a range of perspectives. To provide focus to the study, it examines technologies across three stages of the dairy production cycle: breeding, feeding and milking. It finds that consumer-citizen and farmer perspectives have been examined by researchers in several countries, using a variety of methods, across a range of technologies. It finds both areas of agreement and tension within and between consumer-citizen and producer cohorts. While differences in knowledge account for some variation, differences in values are also significant. The extent to which efforts can and should be put into addressing differences is raised as a point for reflection.

Relationship between Dairy Cow Health and Intensity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

“…Presently, dairy production systems employ a variety of reproductive technologies, including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, and sexed semen. Additionally, a selection of hormone therapies is accessible to assist in achieving fertility or to synchronise oestrus and/or ovulation, thereby facilitating calving [ 145 ]. Recent research has demonstrated the feasibility of choosing cows that release lower levels of CH 4 [ 146 ].…”

Milking Welfare: Bovis Sacer and the Inclusive Thanatopolitics of the Dairy Farm

“…Reinert (2007) asserts that animals ought to be considered bare life due to the vulnerability they experience within economies requiring their death. To challenge the processes by which animal killability is established, Haraway (2008) offers the motto "Thou shalt not make killable". Puig de la Bellacasa (2017) complicates this idea, arguing that killing and care are entangled in complex ways, such as in the act of weeding a garden, and that human relations with animals should not be reduced to a subjectobject orientation or one of a universal, essential animality.…”

“…In an increasingly competitive market, agricultural technologies provide dairy producers with a means of building profitability by increasing productivity and appealing to consumers willing to pay more for dairy products from farms advertising high animal welfare standards (Henchion et al. 2022). Dairy producers use welfare technologies to (i) improve cow health and reduce cow stress and (ii) increase perceptions of cow autonomy and humane handling.…”

Entrepreneurial Production Technology and Growth of Smallholder Dairy Enterprises in Kenya

“…In the dairy sector, technologies are used for a variety of reasons ranging from improvement of breeds, feeds production, feeding, and waste management among others (Singh et al, 2018). Technologies, such as precision farming and robotics herald significant transformative changes across the three stages of the dairy production cycle of breeding, feeding and milking (Henchion et al, 2022). Nonetheless, technology does not always create positive benefits.…”