From the Global Farmer Network:
2018 Kleckner Award recipient Gina Gutierrez from Mexico was interviewed Oct 19 by Ag News Daily during the week of the Global Farmer Roundtable in Des Moines. Below is an excerpt of Gina’s discussion with Mike Pearson and Delaney Howell followed by the link to the full interview.
...Question: Once they try chocolate milk, they’re always going to buy chocolate milk.
Answer: Of course. They would give up soda and instead have chocolate milk. That would be heaven. But also as a farmer I rely on trade in many aspects because I not only buy corn for my operation but soymeal and canola meal and all of that may be coming from Canada as well. And also I need trade because technology is a big part of my farm. So we have Fitbits on all of the cows and you know the software and all, so it’s an important part of our operation.
Question: Did you just say you have Fitbits on all of your cows?
Answer: I did. They were a game changer. We have two kinds of Fitbits on our cows because the timing was off so we started with pedometers, which help us keep track in the milking parlor as well. So they show activity and the cow gets IDed on the milking parlor. And they show us electro conductivity of the milk, so that is like a sign that we need to keep attention on a cow. And then we got the Fitbits on their necks. They’re a microphone and they establish a pattern for an individual cow for their rumination and you get the signs even before the cows get sick. So you are treating individuals now, which is really cool. My dad is a vet and he comes to a cow and we check the manure – the consistency, temperature – if a cow – do you look sad. OK, I’m going to check up on you. And that’s the thing. And then my dad comes with the stethoscope and he sees nothing. He doesn’t know what the cow has because she’s not even sick yet. So it’s a huge chance for him as well as a vet to go to a cow that’s not even sick but you know she’s gonna get something. And then sometimes a little bit of vitamins we use and it helps a little and OK I’ll check it later or tomorrow and that’s a game changer.
Question: That’s really neat. And it makes a lot of sense. I’m assuming with the pedometer aspect of the Fitbit you can see which cows are up and mobile and which are laying down a little more than usual. So when you look ahead, you guys are pretty cutting edge – what’s the future hold, Gina? What are you excited about technology wise on the dairy farm?
Answer: I would like to have robots. They’re very cool and to think that a cow can give milk whenever she wants, it’s pretty cool – you know?...MORE
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