The history of using the alpine area for livestock can be traced back to the time of the Celts about 2000 to 2500 years ago. Even today, the Bavarian Alps with about 1,400 pastures and almost 50,000 cattle are an important location for pasture use. In view of changed personnel and cost structures, only a few pastures are regularly looked after by staff. Against this background, the use of Precision Lifestock Farming could provide farmers with important information for decision-making. Thus, the use of GNSS positioning of the animals could contribute to an optimization of the herd observation and improved pasture management.
During 2007 grazing period, the positional data of grazing livestock were recorded for the purpose of estimating the potential use of GNSS collars. On the basis of these temporally high-resolution position data, conclusions about the locomotion and feeding behavior of cattle under alpine conditions should be drawn.
The aim of the present work was to develop software tools to analyze the feeding and locomotion behavior of the observed cattle. In the course of the project, information was derived on the following aspects:
• Accuracy of position determination via GNSS Collars,
• Quality or completeness of data acquisition,
• Individual animal behavior within the herd,
• Detection of movement patterns and animal activities,
• Estimation of grazed areas and grazing intensity.
The information gained should be implemented as part of further work in decisions or recommendations for action in a next step.
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The history of using the alpine area for livestock can be traced back to the time of the Celts about 2000 to 2500 years ago. Even today, the Bavarian Alps with about 1,400 pastures and almost 50,000 cattle are an important location for pasture use. In view of changed personnel and cost structures, only a few pastures are regularly looked after by staff. Against this background, the use of Precision Lifestock Farming could provide farmers with important information for decision-making. Thus, the...
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