Precision Livestock Farming technologies to be explored

SRUC to lead £5m project for sheep and goats

The use of precision technology to help farmers improve the welfare of sheep and goats is the focus of a new £5 million research project.

Nine countries, from Scandinavia to the Middle East, are involved in the TechCare research which will investigate Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies such as wearable sensors and virtual fencing, and in Scotland demonstrations will take place on SRUC’s Hill and Mountain Research Centre at Crianlarich before being deployed on commercial farms.

The four-year project, which in Scotland also involves researchers from the Moredun Research Institute, is being led by Dr Claire Morgan-Davies of SRUC.

She said: “Many of the challenges to the welfare of sheep and goats in Scotland and Europe – including a lack of supervision, provision of feed, risk of predation, and long-distance transport to slaughter – arise from the constraints imposed by the harsh climatic and geographic conditions in which they are often reared.

“However, a PLF approach could help to improve welfare management and so mitigate the impact of these welfare risks for the benefit of sheep and goat farmers around the world.”

The first stage of the project will involve workshops and discussion groups with farmers, hauliers and abattoirs, as well as consumers and welfare associations.

Animal welfare experts and economists from SRUC will also be involved.

The first workshops are scheduled to take place this winter.

The other countries taking part are Ireland, Norway, Spain, Italy, France, Romania, Greece and Israel.

In Europe alone, small ruminants represent 30% of all livestock reared.

Picture: Shutterstock. The four-year research project will focus on goat and sheep farming in Scotland.