METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR MANAGING A GROUP OF DAIRY ANIMALS, AS WELL AS A COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT THEREFOR

• US 20140238303A1
• Filed: 05/06/2014
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lely Industries NV (Lely)
• Original Assignee: Maasland N.V.
• Inventors: ANDR, Gerrit
• Granted Patent: US 9,232,763 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 119/14.02
• CPC Class Codes: A01J 5/007 Monitoring milking processes; Control or regulation of milking machines
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/00 Other apparatus for animal husbandry
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/02 Automatic devices automatic identification devices for stock A01K11/006
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/0283 by weight
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

A device and computer program product arranged to manage a group of dairy animals including individually recognizing each animal by an animal identification system, milking the animals to give actual milk yields for each animal, and feeding the animals with a predetermined individual ration, collecting data regarding the group of dairy animals, which data includes for each animal at least the actual milk yield and an amount of the individual ration consumed by the animal, wherein subsequent individual milk yields are estimated using a model on the basis of said data, and wherein, for one or more animals, at least one of the individual ration and the milking of individual dairy animals is adjusted in a regulatory step of the model using a precondition.

Claims

1. A method of managing a group of a plurality of dairy animals, comprising the steps of:

individually recognizing each animal by an animal identification system,

milking the animals to give actual milk yields for each animal,

feeding the animals with a predetermined individual ration, and

collecting data regarding the group of dairy animals, the data comprising for each animal at least the actual milk yield and an amount of the individual ration consumed by the animal,

wherein subsequent individual milk yields are estimated using a model on the basis of the collected data, and

wherein, for one or more animals, at least one of the individual ration and the milking of individual dairy animals is adjusted in a regulatory step of the model using a precondition.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the precondition comprises that a predicted feed balance of an individual dairy animal is higher after the regulatory step than an actual feed balance prior to the regulatory step, wherein the actual feed balance is equal to a return of an associated actual milk yield minus the costs of the associated actual predicted ration, and the predicted feed balance is equal to a return of an associated predicted milk yield minus the costs of the associated predicted ration.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the precondition comprises that, for the group as a whole, the sum of predicted feed balances of individual dairy animals after the regulatory step is larger than the sum of actual feed balances prior to the regulatory step.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ration comprises an amount of concentrate per day or an energy equivalence thereof.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the ration further comprises at least a second kind of feed.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second kind of feed comprises an amount of roughage.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the animals are fed at least partly by a computer-controlled feeding device.

8. The method according claim 1, wherein the precondition comprises that a sum of the individual milk yields does not exceed a predetermined milk quota.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the precondition comprises that a total duration of milking all dairy animals is at most equal to an effective daily milking time.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the effective daily milking time is measured as a function of said effective daily milking time in a predetermined number of previous days.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the function comprises a running average of the effective daily milking time in a predetermined number of previous days.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the animals are milked automatically by a milking device, which is preferably computer-controlled.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the precondition comprises that a total duration of milking all dairy animals by the milking device is at the most equal to an effective daily milking time of the milking device.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein at least one of a milking interval, a milk vacuum, a suction/rest ratio during milking, and a milking program for application during milking is adjustable.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of animals is variable.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein a weighting factor for individual animals is included in the model.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein data regarding the group of dairy animals are inputted in a computer, wherein subsequent individual milk yields are calculated by the computer by a model on the basis of said data.

18. The method according to claim 8, wherein the model is implemented in a computer.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the model comprises a static model with fixed coefficients.

20. A method of managing a group of a plurality of dairy animals, comprising the steps of:

individually recognizing each animal by an animal identification system,

milking the animals to give actual milk yields for each animal, and

feeding the animals with an predetermined individual ration,

collecting data regarding the group of dairy animals, which data comprise for each animal at least the actual milk yield and an amount of the individual ration consumed by the animal,

wherein subsequent individual milk yields are estimated using a model on the basis of said data,

wherein the model comprises a Bayesian time series analysis model, and wherein the model further comprises;

individual model coefficients and model variables that are at least partly time-dependent, that comprise at least a milk yield per time unit,

an individual adjusting variable comprising the ration, and an individual incremental milk return per ration unit per time unit;

wherein the model provides at least one of;

an observation equation how one or more model variables depend on the model coefficients and the model variables and,

a system equation how the model coefficients evolve over time;

wherein the model comprises an adjusting criterion for at least one individual adjusting variable indicating how the individual adjusting variable is to be changed on the basis of model variables and model coefficients; and

wherein, for one or more animals, at least one of the individual ration and the milking of individual dairy animals is adjusted in a regulatory step of the model using a precondition.

21. The method according to claim 20, and wherein the control comprises:

a) collecting and inputting in a computer start data regarding the model variables and model coefficients for the dairy animals,

b) generating, using the model, an individual prediction of a next milk yield per time unit for each dairy animal, dependent on the ration per time quantity and the individual milk return per ration unit per time unit,

c) milking the dairy animals by the milking device,

d) determining a milk yield for each dairy animal,

e) comparing each individual prediction with the associated determined milk yield,

f) adjusting the individual model coefficients on the basis of the determined milk yields, using the model,

g) recalculating the individual adjusting variable using the adjusting criterion, including the adjusting criterion, and

h) adjusting the feeding device on the basis of the recalculated adjusting variable.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein steps b) through h) are repeated at least once.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein the adjusting of the individual model coefficients is done using the system equation.

24. The method according to claim 20, further comprising generating a notification signal if, during a predetermined number of times, a realized milk yield deviates from the associated generated prediction or estimate by more than a predetermined first threshold value.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the predetermined number of times comprises a number of days.

26. The method according to claim 21, further comprising generating a notification signal if an observation deviates from the associated generated prediction by more than a predetermined second threshold value.

27. A device for managing a group of dairy animals, comprising an animal recognition device for recognizing individual dairy animals within the group, a computer and an automatic feeding device controlled by said computer, wherein the computer is arranged to perform a method of managing the group of dairy animals, wherein each animal can be recognized individually by an animal identification system, wherein the animals are milked and give an individually realized milk yield and wherein the animals are fed with an individual ration,

wherein data regarding the group of dairy animals are collected, which data comprise at least the individually realized milk yields and the consumed rations,

wherein subsequent individual milk yields are estimated using a model on the basis of said data, and

wherein, for one or more animals, at least one of the individual ration and the milking of individual dairy animals is adjusted in a regulatory step under application of a precondition.

28. The device according to claim 27, comprising a feed weighing device for weighing the ration consumed or its components.

29. The device according to claim 27, wherein the automatic feeding device comprises a plurality of feed containers, arranged to supply at least one of individually and computer-controlled, a quantity of the related kind of feed.

30. The device according to claim 28, wherein furthermore a feed mixing device is provided.

31. The device according to claim 27, further comprising an automatic milking system.

32. The device according to claim 31, wherein the automatic milking system is controllable by the computer and adjustable with respect to at least one of a milk vacuum, suction/rest ratio, milking program and milking interval.

33. The device according to claim 27, further comprising a computer program product, comprising a computer-readable medium with computer program instructions embodied on said medium, which are capable of arranging the computer.