Use of GPS tracking collars and accelerometers for rangeland livestock production research1

Abstract

Over the last 20 yr, global positioning system (GPS) collars have greatly enhanced livestock grazing behavior research. Practices designed to improve livestock grazing distribution can now be accurately and cost effectively monitored with GPS tracking. For example, cattle use of feed supplement placed in areas far from water and on steep slopes can be measured with GPS tracking and corresponding impacts on distribution patterns estimated. Ongoing research has identified genetic markers that are associated with cattle spatial movement patterns. If the results can be validated, genetic selection for grazing distribution may become feasible. Tracking collars have become easier to develop and construct, making them significantly less expensive, which will likely increase their use in livestock grazing management research. Some research questions can be designed so that dependent variables are measured by spatial movements of livestock, and in such cases, GPS tracking is a practical tool for conducting studies on extensive and rugged rangeland pastures. Similarly, accelerometers are changing our ability to monitor livestock behavior. Today, accelerometers are sensitive and can record movements at fine temporal scales for periods of weeks to months. The combination of GPS tracking and accelerometers appears to be useful tools for identifying changes in livestock behavior that are associated with livestock diseases and other welfare concerns. Recent technological advancements may make real-time or near real-time tracking on rangelands feasible and cost-effective. This would allow development of applications that could remotely monitor livestock well-being on extensive rangeland and notify ranchers when animals require treatment or other management.

Developing a Simulated Online Model That Integrates GNSS, Accelerometer and Weather Data to Detect Parturition Events in Grazing Sheep: A Machine Learning Approach

“…While the application of sensors in a research context is important, there is growing interest in the development of these systems for commercial application [ 20 ]. In this context, sensors will require real-time or near-real-time data processing and information transfer to ensure timely operational decisions [ 21 ]. Within this near-real-time requirement sit additional concepts of online processing and edge computing.…”

Validation of Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Devices on Sheep to Detect Grazing Movement Leaders and Social Networks in Merino Ewes

“…With the development of on-animal sensors and technologies such as GPS devices [ 14 , 15 ], proximity loggers [ 9 , 16 ], or ultra-wideband positional loggers [ 17 , 18 ] there is the potential to deploy these devices on livestock individuals within groups to enable more accurate monitoring of position and/or social relationships. The data from these sensors can provide new insights into how individuals in a group interact and/or influence each other, including affiliative and/or agonistic relationships between group members [ 19 , 20 ], network structure [ 19 ], and resource-use patterns [ 21 ].…”

Livestock classification and counting in quadcopter aerial images using Mask R-CNN

“…The general approach for farmers to get information on numerous livestock is visual observation which is useful but very costly and time-consuming. For some farms with advanced technologies, wearable sensors including GPS collars (Bailey et al 2018), ear tags (Kumar and Singh 2016) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) (Voulodimos et al 2010;Ismail and Ariff 2018) are becoming important options for farm management which also emphasize on individual wellbeing. Constrained by high costs on materials and limited transmission scope for network especially in large geographic ranges and inaccessible habitats, biometrics is only demonstrated on some farmlands at a range of distances.…”