See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/265251313

New ways of measuring intake, efficiency and behaviour of grazing livestock

Article  in  Animal Production Science · September 2014

DOI: 10.1071/AN14409

CITATIONS READS

45 2,053

5 authors, including:

Paul L Greenwood Philip Valencia

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Armidale The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
199 PUBLICATIONS   4,809 CITATIONS    66 PUBLICATIONS   2,234 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Leslie Overs David Robert Paull

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
15 PUBLICATIONS   610 CITATIONS    29 PUBLICATIONS   787 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Efficiency at Pasture View project

Evolutionary design View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Paul L Greenwood on 03 September 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

CSIRO PUBLISHING
Animal Production Science, 2014, 54, 1796–1804
http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AN14409

New ways of measuring intake, efficiency and behaviour

of grazing livestock

Paul L. Greenwood A,B,D, Philip Valencia C, Leslie Overs C, David R. Paull B and Ian W. Purvis B
A
NSW Department of Primary Industries Beef Industry Centre, University of New England, Armidale,
NSW 2351, Australia.
B
CSIRO Animal Food and Health Sciences, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.
C
CSIRO Computational Informatics, Pullenvale, Qld 4069, Australia.
D
Corresponding author. Email: paul.greenwood@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Abstract. Wireless sensor networks (WSN) offer a novel method for measuring important livestock phenotypes in
commercial grazing environments. This information can then be used to inform genetic parameter estimation and improve
precision livestock management. Arguably, these technologies are well suited for such tasks due to their small, non-intrusive
form, which does not constrain the animals from expressing the genetic drivers for traits of interest. There are many technical
challenges to be met in developing WSN technologies that can function on animals in commercial grazing environments.
This paper discusses the challenges of the software development required for the collection of data from multiple types of
sensors, the management and analyses of the very large volumes of data, determination of which sensing modalities are
sufficient and/or necessary, and the management of the constrained power source. Assuming such challenges can be met
however, validation of the sensor accuracy against benchmark data for specific traits must be performed before such a sensor
can be confidently adopted. To achieve this, a pasture intake research platform is being established to provide detailed
estimates of pasture intake by individual animals through chemical markers and biomass disappearance, augmented with
highly annotated video recordings of animal behaviours. This provides a benchmark against which any novel sensor can be
validated, with a high degree of flexibility to allow experiments to be designed and conducted under continually differing
environmental conditions. This paper also discusses issues underlying the need for new and novel phenotyping methods and
in the establishment of the WSN and pasture intake research platforms to enable prediction of feed intake and feed efficiency
of individual grazing animals.

Additional keywords: alkanes, cattle, chromic oxide, goats, phenomics, sheep.

Received 16 March 2014, accepted 28 June 2014, published online 19 August 2014

Introduction individuals, has been the evaluation of young animals in a feedlot

Improved productivity and production efficiency through both
genetic improvement and precision livestock management
are becoming increasingly important as resources become
more constrained and environmental concerns increase in
importance (Reynolds et al. 2011; Scollan et al. 2011). In
Australia the major cost of livestock production is associated
with the maternal-offspring unit. It has been estimated that the
feed costs of the breeding female and her offspring can represent
60–70% of the total herd or flock feed costs (Bell and Greenwood
2013), and as much as 90%, when the rearing of replacement
females are included. As such, this is a critical component of the
input costs of the meat production enterprise; genetic variation in
the amount of feed required to rear offspring and its association
with production efficiency should be key targets of the breeding
objectives of breeders of meat sires.
To date, the focus for determining variation in efficiency
of livestock, calculated as either feed conversion efficiency or
net feed intake and which require estimates of feed intake of
environment where test animals are maintained in group pens and
fed grain-based high energy concentrate diets ad libitum (Arthur
and Herd 2005). Within pasture systems, chemical markers such
as chromic oxide (Barlow et al. 1988) and n-alkanes (Dove and
Mayes 2006) have been used to estimate intake, selectivity and/or
digestibility of the pasture. However, marker methods have
limitations, and are difficult to apply for the lengthy periods
that may be needed for robust estimates of an animal’s underlying
intake of pasture. The development of a practical measure of
feed intake for all classes of animals maintained in a pasture-based
environment remains a serious challenge (Cottle 2013) and
would provide a means of estimating the heritability and
genetic correlations necessary to evaluate the utility of direct
and indirect selection criteria for a range of breeding objectives
(Pollak et al. 2012) and for more precise livestock management.
WSN offer the opportunity to develop new phenotypes for
livestock measured in the commercial grazing environment
(Greenwood and Bell 2014). These phenotypes would enable

Journal compilation
CSIRO 2014 www.publish.csiro.au/journals/an

Pasture intake by ruminants
genetic parameter estimation and allow for development of
applications to improve precision livestock management
(Houle et al. 2010; Hocquette et al. 2012; Purvis et al. 2013).
Furthermore, these technologies offer the opportunity to record
information without constraining animals from expressing the
genetic drivers for traits of interest and offer a broad range of
applications to develop phenotypes relating to productivity,
efficiency, health and welfare (Rushen et al. 2012; Rutter
2013; Swain et al. 2013). For example, the development of a
catalogue of behaviours of grazing livestock using sensor
data would allow for deeper phenotyping of factors that
regulate intake of pasture, and behavioural signatures
associated with normal behaviour and with aberrant behaviour
associated with compromised welfare status or the onset of
specific diseases to be established.
In addition to technical issues relating to WSN, successful
development and application of these technologies requires
generation of benchmark data for traits against which to
develop methodologies and prediction algorithms. Specific
challenges in the establishment of these phenotyping methods
also lie in development of software to enable collection of data
from multiple types of sensors, the management and analyses of
the very large volumes of data that are an integral part of this
methodology, and the design and management of the power
source (Kwong et al. 2012).
To achieve the objective of accurate and precise estimation of
intake by individual grazing animals, highly annotated data for
specific behaviours associated with intake of pasture such as head
lowering, biting or ripping, chewing, drinking, ruminating, lying
and walking, and development of a pasture intake platform to
provide benchmark individual animal intake data is required.
Currently available methods allow such a platform to be based
on the use of chemical markers (Barlow et al. 1988) and/or
biomass disappearance (Penning 2004) to estimate individual
animal intake. However, a pasture intake platform also requires a
high degree of flexibility to allow the design of experiments
conducted under continually differing environmental and pasture
conditions.
This paper discusses development of novel phenotyping
methods using WSN, including the establishment and
optimisation of a pasture intake platform for generation of
benchmark data to allow prediction of feed intake and efficiency
of individual animals on pasture using WSN. Subsequent papers
will report results on the optimisation of our WSN and pasture
intake platforms and on the development of predictive algorithms
for pasture intake.
Concepts in developing new ways of measuring intake,
efficiency and behaviour of grazing livestock
Overview of the approach to developing applications
for sensing technologies
The development of electronic sensing capability has the
potential to allow the measurement of traits of economic
importance that previously had not been measurable in the
commercial grazing environment. Historically, on-animal
logging devices for sensors used for phenotyping were bulky,
and often heavy enough to raise concerns that animals may not
have exhibited normal behaviours. However, over recent decades
Animal Production Science 1797
there have been considerable advances in miniaturisation and
reduction of power use in electronic devices, such as
microcontrollers, Global Positioning System (GPS) chips and
digital radio technologies. This has allowed ecologists and
environmental scientists to collect high quality traces of the
movements of free-ranging animal often over lengthy time
frames (Anthony et al. 2012).
Recent technical advances in digital radio communications
and microcontrollers has led to the evolution of WSN,
which offers the potential for developing lightweight, small
sensing devices for measuring a wider variety of traits relevant
to grazing livestock (Handcock et al. 2009). However, the
constraints imposed by a device that can be practically
deployed on livestock introduce limitations on local storage
and communications throughput, which in turn, makes
transmission of high-temporal, low-level sensory information
difficult, particularly as the system is scaled up to a larger
number of devices. This limitation has motivated the
development of classifiers on the WSN nodes which translate
the signal data collected at high frequencies into data that are
indicative of certain animal behaviours and are less frequently
transmitted. Such an approach can produce a significant
reduction of information while retaining enough information to
still accurately classify phenotypic behaviours. This reduction of
information saves bandwidth and energy, allowing large numbers
of livestock to be measured over long periods.
The intersection of the capability to have accurate knowledge
of behaviour in the animals’ commercial grazing environments,
over long periods on large numbers of animals, provides the
novel methodology for phenotyping livestock in a practical and
economically viable way. However, it is essential that reliable
phenotypic data is generated against which metrics associated
with specific behaviours and algorithms can be developed and
validated using sensing devices. A particular challenge associated
with developing a robust and precise method of measuring
feed intake in grazing animals is the absence of an existing
methodology to use as a high quality benchmark against which to
train the predictive algorithms developed from the sensor data.
Identification of sensors and hardware, and software
development
Sensors
The first step in developing an economical means of
estimating feed intake en masse is to identify a suite of sensors
that are likely to exhibit information that correlates with pasture
intake and to determine where these sensors are best located in and
on the animal. A study jointly initiated by CSIRO and the NSW
Department of Primary Industries at Armidale in NSW is testing a
range of sensors, from the perspective of size, cost, weight, energy
usage, sensor longevity and impact of the sensor on the pasture
intake of the animal. Two locations on the animal have initially
been tested to assess likely longevity of the device and sensor
signal quality with respect to behaviours of interest. One approach
was to mount a suite of sensors on an eartag and the other as a
device attached to a halter, adjacent to the mouth of the animal or
on the back of the head.
Two sensing modalities are being initially employed. An
Inertial Measurement Unit, comprised of 3-axis accelerometers,
1798 Animal Production Science
3-axis magnetometers and a pressure sensor for gross-height
change detection, which were selected on the basis that the
animal needs to move its head (and mouth) in order for feed
intake to occur (Oudshoorn et al. 2012; Tani et al. 2013).
Similarly, the ripping and chewing of feed matter (and drinking)
will necessarily produce sounds that can potentially be used
to estimate feed intake (Galli et al. 2011; Navon et al. 2013;
Tani et al. 2013). Hence an audio recording capability has also
been included.
Signal sampling
The second step in developing a practical and economic means
of estimating pasture intake is the development of algorithms to
classify the low-level, high-sample-rate input sensor data into
output behaviours such as foraging, biting, chewing, ripping,
ruminating, drinking, and sleeping.
Mapping the sensor signals directly to pasture intake is
deemed impractical as this would require measuring the
pasture intake at a frequency similar to input sample rate
(faster than 1 Hz). The input features (values for every
accelerometer and magnetometer axis and the pressure sensor
as well as several audio statistics over various window sizes)
inherently provide different levels of predictive power and so
need to be scaled and weighted. However, to determine the
appropriate predictive power of any feature using a
supervised learning approach requires the compilation of a
training dataset which includes the potential input features and
outputs (behaviours/traits). Therefore, multi-day, multi-animal
experiments recording the raw data (Inertial Measurement Unit
and audio) are required with simultaneous use of benchmark
methods of measuring feed intake and animal behaviour.
WSN hardware and annotation evaluation: development
of behavioural annotation platform for evaluating the
in-field performance of the sensing devices and WSN
The PervAsive Computing Platform (PACP) Camazotz device
has been adopted as the sensing platform for annotation
experiments due to its rich sensing capability that is
constructed within a light weight, small form factor (Jurdak
et al. 2013). All PACP devices utilise a MSP430
microcontroller with a CC1101 digital radio enabling seamless
communications and code reuse between all PACP devices.
The device has been assembled into an eartag form so that it
could be readily attached using a standard industry eartag
applicator. Additionally, a second 300-mAhr battery was
connected for improved longevity and a 16-GB micro Secure
Digital (SD) card used to record the continuous high sample rate
data expected to be generated by the device. The components
comprising the Pheno-Eartag are shown in Fig. 1c, with the
assembled device and its size shown in Fig. 2a. The mounting
location on the animal ear is visible in Fig. 2b. The total weight of
the assembled eartag was 39.9 g. This is lighter than its
predecessor, the Veles eartag (shown in Fig. 1b) used in the
initial intake experiments and incurs little loss of functionality but
has the addition of the GPS module.
A second sensing device, also based on the PACP Camazotz
for annotation experiments, has been designed to be fixed to a
halter. This allows the microphone to be situated much closer to
P. L. Greenwood et al.
the mouth of the animal where it was anticipated that the audio
signals necessary for discerning biting from chewing would be the
clearest. While the ultimate aim is to classify such behaviours on a
low cost eartag device, it was felt prudent to collect audio signals
from as close to the source as possible, so that the signal to noise
characteristics at the eartag could be quantified. The Pheno-Halter
is shown in Fig. 2a, b and has a total assembled weight of 46.1 g.
Initially, the halter tag was based on the PACP Salus platform.
However, switching to the PACP Camazotz incurred little loss of
functionality while gaining the GPS functionality.
The rich suite of sensors is sampled at the corresponding
sample rates shown in Table 1. It is hypothesised that the suite of
sensors could be used to detect various behaviours such as
the distance travelled, orientation and posture of the animal
and whether the animal was grazing as a proxy to phenotypic
characteristics such as the energetics and the intake of the animal.
However, before behavioural classifiers can be developed,
raw data from the suite of sensors must be obtained and
precisely aligned with video and/or annotations of the animals’
phenotypic characteristics in order to generate the training
dataset. Representative synchronised multi-modal sensor data
traces showing biting and chewing events, extracted from a
continuous 24-h dataset, are presented in Fig. 3.
Currently only engineering data are wirelessly transmitted
from the tags and received by static nodes and ultimately
forwarded to the base. The base comprises a PACP Camazotz
connected via serial (RS232) to a small embedded Linux
operating system computer (BeagleBone Black), which has a
3G or 4G internet connection. The base also contains a custom
energy management circuit board for managing the solar charging
of the Li-ion batteries, which allow the base nodes to be deployed
in remote locations.
Establishment of a pasture intake facility to produce
benchmark data on individual animal intake at pasture
Overview of the intake facility and methods
The pasture intake facility we are establishing comprises
individual ryegrass (Lolium spp.) monoculture grazing plots
(Fig. 4). Within each plot one animal grazes for a defined
adaptation and pasture intake period (typically 7 days for
adaptation and 5–12 days for intake) to estimate individual
animal intake while collecting the sensor data. Electric fencing
is used to define each grazing plot, which can be a maximum of
0.5 ha, in which case 10 plots are available. The number of plots
can be increased and the amount of biomass available to each
grazing animal can be varied by altering the size of the plots by
relocating the electric fencing within the plots (Fig. 4: Lukuyu
et al. 2014) and/or by altering the amount of pasture biomass
available per unit area using grazing management, mowing and/or
the soil fertility of each plot.
Estimates of intake by each animal within each plot are
generated using chromic oxide (Barlow et al. 1988) and/or
alkane (Dove and Mayes 2006) chemical markers and using a
range of devices to estimate pasture biomass disappearance.
Apart from the associations between chemical marker and
biomass disappearance methods as a means of validation, if
necessary, marker-based estimates of intake can be validated
Pasture intake by ruminants Animal Production Science 1799

(a) (b)

(c) PACP Camazotz wireless

sensing platform

2 × 300 mAhr
Li-ion batteries

Eartag

Custom 3D-printed
223 mW solar panel eartag enclosure

Fig. 1. (a) PervAsive Computing Platform (PACP) Camazotz wireless sensor network (WSN) device featuring inertial,
pressure, temperature, audio and GPS sensors, with micro SDHC data storage (up to 64 GB), digital radio, and power
management circuitry for solar charging and monitoring of the Li-ion battery power source. (b) The first generation PACP
Veles eartag protoype with similar functionality to the Camazotz, however, has a NLIS-compatible RFID chip and multi-
channel light sensor, but does not have GPS capability. Images are not to scale. (c) The exploded view of the new Camazotz-
based eartag assembly shows how the circuit board, batteries and solar panel fit into the custom 3D-printed enclosure.
Note that the enclosure is then bolted through a standard industry eartag for easy application to the animal ear, however if
other mounting locations are desired, a new custom 3D-printed enclosure can be quickly prototyped as needed.

using cut and carry of pasture from the plots fed to animals in
individual pens.
Estimation of pasture biomass and pasture disappearance
to estimate intake
Estimates of biomass under varying environmental and,
hence, pasture conditions have been made using one or more
of four methods: (i) an electronic capacitance meter (Grassmaster
II, Novel Ways Ltd, Hamilton, New Zealand); (ii) an
electronic rising-plate meter (Farmtracker, FARMWORKS
Precision Farming Systems, Feilding, New Zealand); (iii) a
vehicle mounted light emitting and sensing pasture height
measurement method (C-Dax XC-1, C-DAX Ltd, Palmerston
North, New Zealand); (iv) a Normalised Difference Vegetation
Index method (Crop Circle, Holland Scientific Inc., Lincoln, NE,
USA).
To estimate pasture intake using biomass disappearance,
daily estimates of pasture biomass are made for each plot,
starting before commencement (typically 2–3 days) and
continuing until completion of the intake measurement period.
Biomass disappearance for each plot is then determined by
difference from regression equations fitted to pasture biomass
measurements for each plot made using one or more of the pasture
measurement devices depending upon, and calibrated for, the
prevailing conditions, given that the electronic capacitance meter
1800 Animal Production Science P. L. Greenwood et al.

(a) (b)

(a)

Fig. 2. PervAsive Computing Platform (PACP) Camazotz board assembled into the 3D-printed eartag (a, LEFT) and halter (a, RIGHT) enclosures with
scale shown. The halter and ear mounting locations on the animal are visible in (b). Note that the eartag device was mounted on the back of the ear to
maximise solar energy.

Table 1. Sensor characteristics and sample rates prepared for each animal. Alkanes are extracted from subsamples
of ground faeces and their concentrations measured as described
Sensor Resolution Accuracy Max. Selected by Dove and Mayes (2006). Representative pasture samples from
(typical) (typical) sample sample each plot, and composite samples of green stem, green leaf and
rate (Hz) rate (Hz) dead pasture material, obtained at the start and the end of the
3-axis accelerometer 1 mg 20 mg 1000 98
intake period, are also analysed for their alkane content. Initial
3-axis magnetometer ~1 mGauss 8 mGauss 75 15 results from our studies have shown a higher degree of variability
Audio 12 bit 12 bit ~150 k 22.4 k in alkane estimates of intake of pasture using the twice-daily
Pressure 0.01 hPa 2.5 hPa 133 46 dosing method compared with the chromic oxide method below
Temperature 0.1C 1.5C 133 46 in steers dosed using a controlled release device (CRD),
GPS ~1 cm 2–8 m 4 1 a representative graph of which is presented in Fig. 5.
Power 12 bit 12 bit ~150 k 0.0083 (1 min) Chromic oxide, delivered using a CRD prepared in our
laboratory, is also used to obtain estimates of pasture intake.
The delivery rate and duration of linear delivery rate is determined
for the CRD using fistulated animals. The CRD are administered
and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index methods are less to each experimental animal 1 week before the start of experiment.
reliable when there is incomplete pasture cover. Pasture exclusion The concentration of chromium in ground faeces, collected as
cages and assessments of the extent of faecal contamination are described above, is measured and intake of pasture determined,
also used to enable adjustments to estimates of pasture intake essentially as described by Barlow et al. (1988).
if necessary.
Analyses of pasture samples
Chemical marker estimates of pasture intake Representative pasture samples obtained from each plot at the
In our work to date, alkanes have been delivered to the rumen commencement and the conclusion of intake experiments are
morning and afternoon each day by oral dosing with gelatin analysed for their n-alkanes, dry matter (DM), acid detergent
capsules containing measured amounts of C32 and C36 alkanes fibre, neutral detergent fibre, crude protein, ash, DM digestibility,
from 1 week prior (equilibration period) until completion of dry organic matter digestibility, metabolisable energy, green
the intake measurement period. Each morning and afternoon leaf, green stem and dead plant material content.
during the intake period, fresh faecal samples are obtained
directly from pasture using a tray and scraper taking care to Preliminary results comparing pasture intake methods
avoid contamination with soil and vegetative matter, and/or per Our initial pasture intake experiment compared average daily
rectum. Samples from each collection period are pooled to obtain intake using biomass disappearance determined using the
as close as possible to a pooled sample from a total faecal capacitance meter with the n-alkane methods over a 5-day
collection from individual animals for the desired period, and intake period under conditions of complete pasture cover and
a combined pooled sample from all collection periods is also initial pasture availability ranging from 1 to 3.5 tonnes of DM per
Pasture intake by ruminants Animal Production Science 1801

Synchronised multi-modal sensor data

0.5 X
Y
Z

Acceleration (g)
0

–0.5

–1.0

0.1 X
Y
magnetometer (ADC)

0 Z
Uncalibrated

–0.1
–0.2
–0.3
–0.4
–0.5
–0.6

1500
Audio (ADC)

1400

1300

1200

1100

10 000
spectrogram (Hz)

8000
Audio

6000

4000

2000

0
80 85 90 95 100 105

UTC

Fig. 3. Approximately 30 s of a typical synchronised multi-modal sensor data traces extracted from a continuous 24-h
dataset. The sensors sampled are 3-axis acceleration, 3-axis magnetometers and 21-kHz audio. Pressure, temperature, GPS
and engineering data such as battery voltage and solar charge were also obtained (not shown). Numerous individual biting
and chewing events are visually discernible from the accelerometer and magnetometer traces, the colour keys for which are
included in the on-line version. Fifteen chew/bite events occur before the animal pauses for ~5 s before resuming eating. The
spectrogram (bottom trace) reveals that each chew/bite event contains components across a large spectra of frequencies,
however the pattern across the window of time for a chew appears to be unique enough to be used for classifying chewing
events (see colour on-line version).

hectare. Under these more ideal pasture conditions and a wide estimates of intake were 0.77 and 0.70, and the correlations
range of pasture availability and intake, the correlations between between the rankings of animals for intake based on these
the biomass disappearance and C32/C31 and C32/C33 n-alkane methods were 0.78 and 0.77, respectively (all P < 0.05).
1802 Animal Production Science
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4. Arial photographic images of pasture intake plots used to assess
pasture biomass measurement devices and estimate individual animal intake
of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum cv. Surge) pasture. Each plot has a
holding pen and crush for deployment of sensing devices, dosing with
chemical markers, and sample collection. In this photograph, the plots are
configured to compare intake of cattle on low (0.2-ha plot), medium (0.3-ha
plot) or high (0.4-ha plot) biomass availability, achieved by varying plot sizes
using electric fencing (Lukuyu et al. 2014). (a) The aerial photograph was
taken at conclusion of the study 11 days after commencement of the intake
period, and the areas above each grazed plot had not been grazed for 18 days.
Pasture biomass availability per unit area within all plots was similar
(~1000 kg/DM.ha) at commencement of the 7-day adaptation period.
(b) The photographic image transformed using densitometry highlights the
variation between plots in green plant material remaining at the conclusion of
the pasture intake grazing period. Within grazed pasture plots, the lighter
areas correspond with green plant material which is more visible in the on-line
colour version. Average densitometry values (arbitrary units) for each plot
were correlated with the estimates of pasture biomass in each plot made using a
Grassmaster II capacitance meter (r = 0.89) and a Farmtracker rising plate
meter (r = 0.71) meter on the day the image was taken.
Our second pasture intake experiment compared average
daily intake using biomass disappearance determined using the
capacitance and plate meters, and the n-alkane and chromic
oxide methods, over an 11-day intake period under conditions
of incomplete pasture cover and initial pasture availability
<1 tonne of DM per hectare (Fig. 4). Under these more marginal
pasture conditions, the capacitance and plate meter methods
(r = 0.58) and the chromic oxide and plate meter methods
(r = 0.43) were significantly correlated (P < 0.05), whereas the
n-alkane methods were not correlated or tended to be negatively
correlated with the chromic oxide and pasture disappearance
methods. The chromic oxide method also appeared to provide
more realistic results for the amount of pasture eaten than the
other methods based on the liveweight of the steers and pasture
availability. More detailed results from this experiment are
presented by Lukuyu et al. (2014).
Discussion
Successful application of sensing technologies to measure
individual animal intake of pasture requires methods to
accurately and precisely generate metrics associated with
behaviours from the sensor signals coupled with benchmark
P. L. Greenwood et al.
12
10
Intake (kg DM)
8
2
1 am
1 pm
2 am
2 pm
3 am
3 pm
4 am
4 pm
5 am
5 pm
6 am
6 pm
7 am
7 pm
8 am
8 pm
9 am
9 pm
10 am
10 pm
11 am
11 pm
Day
Fig. 5. Representative graph showing variation between single sample
estimates of intake of pasture by a steer using the chromic oxide (solid
line) and n-alkanes (C32/C33, dashed line) methods over the duration of the
pasture intake period of the experiment described in Fig. 4. The regression
lines for the estimates for the two methods are also shown. Chromic oxide was
delivered orally into the rumen using a controlled release device, and C32 and
C36 alkanes were delivered orally into the rumen using twice-daily dosing in
gelatin capsules. Faecal samples, which were as representative as possible of a
total faecal collection, were collected twice daily as described in the subsection
on Chemical marker estimates of pasture intake. The SD between intake
estimates for the chromic oxide method was 1.52 kg DM, and for the n-alkanes
method was 2.12 kg DM. The results are for the steer in Plot 1 in Fig. 4.
pasture intake data against which to establish and validate
prediction algorithms.
Obtaining multi-sensor, multi-device, multi-animal, multi-
day datasets from animals in the field faces many technical
challenges, from designing the hardware, to robustly being
able to sample sensors of interest, to development of reliable
software capable of recording continuous high sample rate data,
and finally to the retrieval, decoding and storage of the data. This
capability also extends to the need for sensors placed on animals
to transmit data from intra-ruminal measurement devices
(McSweeney 2008). However, gathering this information is
just the first step. The data must then be curated by checking
that it is sensible and synchronised with video and ultimately
annotated with precision. More intuitive interfaces for performing
annotation, both in the field and post-processing are also required.
The development of newer technologies to estimate pasture
biomass with a high degree of reliability and repeatability
and, ideally, with high efficiency provides the opportunity to
use disappearance of pasture as a way of producing individual
animal intake data within our pasture intake test facility.
However, the reliability of these devices will vary according to
prevailing environmental and, hence, pasture conditions. As a
result, it is necessary to understand the limitations of these
methods depending upon prevailing field conditions, and to
recalibrate the devices between and, potentially, within each
experiment as pasture biomass and sward characteristics
change with environment and consumption by animals
(Lukuyu et al. 2014). The pasture intake platform we have
devised will also allow for the calibration and testing of the
Pasture intake by ruminants
precision and repeatability of new technologies for measurement
of pasture biomass as they become available.
The application of pasture disappearance as a method to
measure individual animal intake will be limited to the initial
algorithm development and validation stage of estimating pasture
intake, and is not applicable to scaling up the validation of
prediction equations using groups of animals grazing together
in paddocks. Hence, the use of chemical markers to estimate
individual animal intake of pasture within our pasture intake test
facility not only provides comparative data when one animal
grazes per pasture plot, but will also allow us to estimate pasture
intake in groups of animals grazing together within paddocks.
The need to collect faecal samples and the need for extractions
or digests of the markers and measurements in the laboratory, and
regulations regarding dosing with chemical markers, are serious
limitations to more complex application of these methods. In
our experimental circumstances aimed at establishing the sensor-
based methods, these limitations are less of an issue. Furthermore,
within our system, faecal sampling of smaller groups of animals
can be achieved without handling and restraint, by dosing with
inert markers such as colour-coded beads, which enable fresh
faecal samples identifiable from specific animals be obtained
from the paddock.
It will be instructive to assess in more detail the consistency
between the pasture disappearance results and those from the
n-alkane and the chromic oxide dosing techniques from our
pasture intake studies. It will also be necessary to make more
detailed assessment of the consistency of the two marker methods
over the duration of the pasture intake periods. In this regard, we
have the capacity to prepare CRD for alkanes to try and minimise
variation due to dosing method. We are also aware of the
possibility that our experimental designs, in which we vary the
available pasture biomass and/or plot sizes, may result in different
grazing behaviour of the animals in different treatments. Hence it
will be necessary to attempt to collect the data that will allow for
such biases to be corrected.
In the longer-term, it will be important to evolve our pasture
intake platform to allow for the collection of benchmark data
and development of prediction algorithms from sensor data to
measure selectivity of pasture in mixed swards, which is an
important determinant of intake and efficiency (Poppi 2011).
Therefore, methods such as the use of alkane profiles, histological
analysis of faecal material, micro-cameras mounted on animals,
and/or the design of pasture species distribution within our
experimental plots combined with pasture biomass mapping
methods are likely to be important tools to achieve this objective.
Conclusions
The use of technologies built around electronic sensors and sensor
networks offers great promise for the phenotyping of large
numbers of animals in their commercial grazing environment.
Initial experiments on small numbers of animals using video data
to benchmark behaviours associated with grazing will provide a
platform from which to develop robust predictive algorithms.
Furthermore, our pasture intake facility provides the opportunity
to produce estimates of pasture intake by individual animals using
a range of methods. However, to generate data of a quality to use
as benchmark data for to establish reliable sensor-based methods
Animal Production Science 1803
of estimating individual grazing animal intake, optimisation of
our methods is required. Particular challenges in developing this
sensor-based phenotyping approach to estimating pasture intake
by individuals also lie in the management of the very large
volumes of data integral to this methodology, the design and
management of the power source, in addition to generation of
benchmark pasture intake data with adequate accuracy and
precision to allow for the development of predictive algorithms.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by CSIRO Animal Food and Health Sciences,
NSW Department of Primary Industries, CSIRO Computational Informatics,
and the University of New England. The authors thank Dominic Neymeyer,
Jessica McLeod, Margaret Lukuyu, Keith Ellis, Joseph Miller, Ryan Steindl,
Stephen Brosnan, John Whitham, Ross Dungavell, Bill Johns, Linda Cafe,
Clare Edwards, Suzanne Boschma, Lester McCormick, Robin Dobos, Mark
Trotter, Darryl Savage, Nick Andronicos, Scott McDonald and Hugh Dove
for their contributions to various aspects of this research.
References
Anthony D, Bennett WP, Vuran MC, Dwyer MB, Elbaum S, Lacy A, Engels
M, Wehtje W (2012) Sensing through the continent: towards monitoring
migratory birds using cellular sensor networks. In ‘Proceedings of the 11th
international conference on information processing in sensor networks’.
pp. 329–340. (Association for Computing Machinery: New York)
Arthur PF, Herd RM (2005) Efficiency of feed utilisation by livestock –
implications and benefits of genetic improvement. Canadian Journal of
Animal Science 85, 281–290. doi:10.4141/A04-062
Barlow R, Ellis KJ, Williamson PJ, Costigan P, Stephenson PD, Rose G,
Mears PT (1988) Dry-matter intake of Hereford and first-cross cows
measured by controlled release of chromic oxide on three pasture systems.
The Journal of Agricultural Science 110, 217–231. doi:10.1017/
S0021859600081247
Bell AW, Greenwood PL (2013) Optimising maternal cow, grower and
finisher performance in beef production systems. In ‘Optimisation of
feed use efficiency in ruminant production systems’. (Eds HPS Makkar,
D Beever) pp. 51–72. (FAO: Rome)
Cottle DJ (2013) The trials and tribulations of estimating the pasture intake
of grazing animals. Animal Production Science 53, 1209–1220.
doi:10.1071/AN13164
Dove H, Mayes R (2006) Protocol for the analysis of n-alkanes and other plant
wax compounds and for their use as markers for quantifying the nutrient
supply of large mammalian herbivores. Nature Protocols 1, 1680–1697.
doi:10.1038/nprot.2006.225
Galli JR, Cangiano CA, Milone DH, Laca EA (2011) Acoustic monitoring of
short-term ingestive behavior and intake in grazing sheep. Livestock
Science 140, 32–41. doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2011.02.007
Greenwood PL, Bell AW (2014) Consequences of nutrition during gestation,
and the challenge to better understand and enhance livestock productivity
and efficiency in pastoral ecosystems. Animal Production Science
in press. doi:10.1071/AN14480
Handcock RN, Swain DL, Bishop-Hurley GJ, Patison KP, Wark T, Valencia
P, Corke P, O’Neill CJ (2009) Monitoring animal behaviour and
environmental interactions using wireless sensor networks, GPS collars
and satellite remote sensing. Sensors 9, 3586–3603. doi:10.3390/
s90503586
Hocquette JF, Capel C, David V, Guemene D, Didanel J, Ponsart C, Gastnel
PL, Le Bail PY, Monget P, Mormede P, Barbezant M, Guillou F, Peyraud
JL (2012) Objectives and applications of phenotyping network set-up for
livestock. Animal Science Journal 83, 517–528. doi:10.1111/j.1740-
0929.2012.01015.x
Houle D, Govindaraju DR, Omholt S (2010) Phenomics: the next challenge.
Nature Reviews. Genetics 11, 855–866. doi:10.1038/nrg2897
1804 Animal Production Science
Jurdak R, Sommer P, Kusy B, Kottege N, Crossman C, McKeown A, Westcott
D (2013) Camazotz: multimodal activity-based GPS sampling.
In ‘Proceedings of the 12th international conference on information
processing in sensor networks’. pp. 67–78. (Association for
Computing Machinery: New York)
Kwong KH, Yu TT, Goh HG, Sasloglou K, Stephen B, Glover I, Shen C, Du
W, Michie C, Andonovic I (2012) Practical considerations for wireless
sensor networks in cattle monitoring applications. Computers and
Electronics in Agriculture 81, 33–44. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2011.10.013
Lukuyu M, Paull DR, Johns WH, Niemeyer D, McLeod J, McCorkell B,
Savage D, Purvis IW, Greenwood PL (2014) Precision of estimating
individual feed intake of grazing animals offered low, declining pasture
availability. Animal Production Science, in press. doi:10.1071/AN14531
McSweeney C (2008) ‘Novel individual enteric methane measuring system
for multiple ruminants.’ Project No. B.CCH.1003. (Meat and Livestock
Australia: Sydney)
Navon S, Mizrach A, Hetzroni A, Ungar ED (2013) Automatic recognition of
jaw movements in free-ranging cattle, goats and sheep, using acoustic
monitoring. Biosystems Engineering 114, 474–483. doi:10.1016/
j.biosystemseng.2012.08.005
Oudshoorn FW, Cornou C, Hellwing ALF, Lund P, Kristensen T,
Munksgaard L (2012) ‘Estimation of grazing time and grass intake on
pasture for dairy cows using tightly and loosely mounted di- and tri-axial
accelerometers.’ Report 644. (Innovations in Grazing Livestock
Research: Wageningen UR, Netherlands)
Penning PD (Ed.) (2004) ‘Herbage intake handbook.’ (British Grassland
Society: Reading, UK)
Pollak EJ, Bennett GL, Snelling WM, Thallman RM, Kuehn LA (2012)
Genomics and the global beef industry. Animal Production Science
52, 92–99. doi:10.1071/AN11120
Poppi DP (2011) Nutritional constraints for grazing animals and the
importance of selective grazing behaviour. In ‘Grassland productivity
www.publish.csiro.au/journals/an
View publication stats
P. L. Greenwood et al.
and ecosystems services’. (Eds G Lemaire, J Hodgson, A Chabbi)
pp. 19–26. (CABI: Wallingford, UK)
Purvis IW, Valencia P, Overs L, Greenwood PL (2013) Novel phenotyping
techniques for enhancing genetic and genomic predictions of traits that
are difficult to measure in grazing livestock. In ‘Proceedings of the 20th
conference of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding
and Genetics’. pp. 282–285. (AAABG: Armidale)
Reynolds CK, Crompton LA, Mills AN (2011) Improving the efficiency of
energy utilization in cattle. Animal Production Science 51, 6–12.
doi:10.1071/AN10160
Rushen J, Chapinal N, Passille AM (2012) Automated monitoring of
behavioural-based animal welfare indicators. Animal Welfare (South
Mimms, England) 21, 339–350. doi:10.7120/09627286.21.3.339
Rutter SM (2013) Can precision farming technologies be applied to grazing
management? In ‘Proceedings of the 22nd international grassland
congress’. (Eds DL Michalk, GD Millar, WB Badgery, KM Broadfoot)
pp. 617–620. (NSW Department of Primary Industries: Orange)
Scollan ND, Greenwood PL, Newbold CJ, Yanez Ruiz DR, Shingfield KJ,
Wallace RJ, Hocquette JF (2011) Future research priorities for animal
production in a changing world. Animal Production Science 51, 1–5.
doi:10.1071/AN10051
Swain DL, Hancock RN, Bishop-Hurley GJ, Menzies D (2013) Opportunities
for improving livestock production with e-management systems. In
‘Proceedings of the 22nd international grassland congress’. (Eds DL
Michalk, GD Millar, WB Badgery, KM Broadfoot) pp. 603–609.
(NSW Department of Primary Industries: Orange)
Tani Y, Yokota Y, Yayota M, Ohtani S (2013) Automatic recognition and
classification of cattle chewing activity by an acoustic monitoring method
with a single-axis acceleration sensor. Computers and Electronics in
Agriculture 92, 54–65. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2013.01.001