Digitalisation is an integral part of modern agriculture. Several digital technologies are available for different animal species and form the basis for precision livestock farming. However, there is a lack of clarity as to which digital technologies are currently used in agricultural practice. Thus, this work aims to present for the first time the status quo in Swiss livestock farming as an example of a highly developed, small-scale and diverse structured agriculture. In this context, the article focuses on the adoption of electronic sensors and measuring devices, electronic controls and electronic data-processing options and the usage of robotics in ruminant farming, namely, for dairy cattle, dairy goats, suckler cows, beef cattle and meat-sheep. Furthermore, the use of electronic ear tags for pigs and the smartphone usage for barn monitoring on poultry farms was assessed. To better understand the adoption process, farm and farmer’s characteristics associated with the adoption of (1) implemented and (2) new digital technologies in ruminant farming were assessed using regression analyses, which is classified at a 10% adoption hurdle. The results showed clear differences in the adoption rates between different agricultural enterprises, with both types of digital technologies tending to be used the most in dairy farming. Easy-to-use sensors and measuring devices such as those integrated in the milking parlour were more widespread than data processing technologies such as those used for disease detection. The husbandry system further determined the use of digital technologies, with the result that farmers with tie stall barns were less likely to use digital technologies than farmers with loose housing systems. Additional studies of farmers’ determinants and prospects of implementation can help identify barriers in the adoption of digital technologies.
Agricultural transformation is one of the important factors of rural planning and sustainable land management. There are natural and man-made reasons of this transformation, which brings both positive and negative impacts on the physical environment, food security, and human livelihoods....
Undoubtedly, high demands for food from the world-wide growing population are impacting the environment and putting many pressures on agricultural productivity. Agriculture 4.0, as the fourth evolution in the farming technology, puts forward four essential requirements: increasing productivity, allocating resources...
CONTEXT: Adoption and diffusion of digital farming technologies are expected to help transform current agricultural systems towards sustainability. To enable and steer transformation we need to understand the mechanisms of adoption and diffusion holistically. Our current understanding is mainly informed...
Decision support systems (DSS) have long been used in research, service provision and extension. Despite the diversity of technological applications in which past agricultural DSS canvass, there has been relatively little information on either the functional aspects of DSS designed...
There are growing expectations that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications could help improve on-farm yields amongst smallholder farmers in developing countries, and consequently, food and nutrition security. However, few studies have quantified the actual contribution of ICT applications on...