SMART DAIRY FARMING: ENHANCED EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY AND ANIMAL WELFARE THROUGH THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND CLOUD INTEGRATION - Manzar Abbas; Ghulam Abbas; Seemab Jaffery; Zhang Chuanqiang; Li Yunxia; Zhao Gaoping; Abdullah Hassan Hashmi; Fatima; Syeda Mona Hassan; Li Xihe (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2025)
Dairy industry faces numerous challenges today and, in the future, including labor shortage, stemming from economic pressure due to high cost and insufficient returns, and evolving marketing dynamics. In order to cope with these challenges, the integration of advance technologies such as automation and data analytics is indispensable. The Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled the development of “smart” devices installed with sensors such as smart collars, wearables, thermometer, hygrometer, and air quality detectors for efficient and sustainable dairy farming. Moreover, the vast volume of data generated by the IoT devices necessitates integration with cloud computing for effective handling. However, this integration presents challenges; in particular, data overload due to superfluous communication and noise. To address this, pre-processing and data trimming services such as smart gateways, smart networks, and fog computing have been employed. In livestock farming, CoT integration has revolutionized real-time monitoring, advanced care, in-time ovum pick-up, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, milk production, and gene selection. Through IoT devices and sensors, real-time data regarding an animal’s health (e.g., body temperature, level of reproductive hormones, and vaginal pH), behavior, and environment facilitated advanced animal welfare practices. The CoT’s cloud-based infrastructure enables comprehensive analysis, leading to improved veterinary care, early disease detection, and insightful research into diverse species’ health dynamics. Ultimately, the integration of IoT and CoT signify a paradigm shift in dairy farming, transcending mere automation to offer a holistic, data-driven approach that harmonizes productivity with animal welfare. By leveraging these innovations, the dairy sector has poised to achieve sustainable growth by saving 178% cost on feed pushing, 44.05% on milking, 121.97% on cleansing, 126.2% on herd monitoring, and 109.3% on analyzing real-time data generated by IoT devices and forecasting. This study falls under the umbrella of UNO’s goals for sustainable development.
Keywords: journal article; Internet of Things; cloud computing; intelligent animal breeding; smart disease management; smart farm management