Impact of precision livestock farming on work and human-animal interactions on dairy farms. A review

Abstract

Introduction.With increasing herd sizes and decreasing workforce availability, precision livestock farming (PLF) is being developed in the dairy sector to facilitate herd monitoring. A desire to reduce the drudgery of repetitive tasks is another factor contributing to the adoption of PLF. This study, based on a review of the scientific literature, focuses on the impact of PLF on the profession and work organization of dairy farmers. Literature. Time savings are observed because robots and sensors take on recurrent physical tasks (milking, feeding) while simplifying the monitoring of animals (heat, health problems, etc.). Farmers appreciate the additional flexibility in organizing their work. The information provided can reduce the mental workload due to the anticipation of events (insemination, health problems). However, the mental workload can sometimes be increased due to the complexity of the information involved in managing the multiple alarms or alerts and equipment failures. The relationship between farmers and their animals is also modified. Conclusions. Precision livestock farming can have a positive impact on dairy farmers' work and can be attractive for young people. However, if the tools are not adapted to farmers' needs and skills, PLF can also lead to negative impacts on farmers and animals. It is therefore critical to consider the different dimensions of farmers' work to facilitate their adoption of these new technologies.

Occupational Safety and Health with Technological Developments in Livestock Farms: A Literature Review

“…Furthermore, Hostiou et al [ 39 ] reviewed studies observing changes in farmers’ tasks with respect to workload and animal–farmer relationships following the implementation of different sensor and robotic technologies. One task was the change from manually milking cattle to the farmer monitoring the AMS via a computer.…”

“…One task was the change from manually milking cattle to the farmer monitoring the AMS via a computer. Hostiou et al [ 39 ] noted that AMS created flexibility of time for the farmers but also created new tasks, such as fetching cattle that had not gone to the milking station. Hostiou et al also discussed some of the advantages of the automated process with sensors, such as the advantage of early disease detection, monitoring the reproduction cycle, or feeding intake.…”

“…However, they also noted the amount of information generated could increase the farmer’s mental workload due to the increased need to understand and select relevant information as a part of the decision-making process. Moreover, Hostiou et al [ 39 ] found automated process changes reduced positive physical interactions such as manual milking but did not reduce manual negative interactions such as vaccinations, castration, and trimming, which may impact the overall human/animal relationship experience. Likewise, des Roches et al [ 47 ] assessed the human-animal relationship at 118 farms using a milking parlor (manual) or AMS by observing the cow’s avoidance reaction at the feeding rack and surveyed the farmers’ attitude towards the cow.…”

The Multiple Influences on the Future of Work in Agriculture: Global Perspectives

“…There is an ongoing debate on whether precision agriculture is devoted only to the intensification process or if it contributes to the emergence of a diversity of models. For example: milking robots imply deep changes in the routine work, the saved time is reinvested in the observations of the animals or sometimes in other tasks not directly related to the herd (Hostiou et al, 2017). In addition, information and communication technologies have supported the rise of virtual social networks contributing to farmer-to-farmer learning.…”

Le futur du travail en agriculture

“…En tout cas, le numérique apparaît comme une source de transformation radicale du travail réel au quotidien (robots, Global Positioning Systems [GPS] et capteurs qui allègent le travail, « augmentent » l'homme au travail, décuplent ses capacités d'observation du milieu et des animaux) et de la dimension gestionnaire du métier de chef d'exploitation (nouvelles informations, nouveau régime d'aide à la décision) (Martin et al, 2022). Cette révolution suscite des questions sur l'éthique du « big data » (Carbonell, 2016), le sens du travail, les relations aux animaux, l'autonomie décisionnelle, les nouvelles formes d'organisation du travail et des relations avec les autres (Hostiou et al, 2017 ;Bretschneider, 2021).…”