Promising directions of technological development and the use of digital technologies in dairy farming

Nowadays, special attention is paid to increasing the sustainability and competitiveness of dairy cattle breeding, which is due to the need to accelerate the growth of its own milk production to ensure the country’s food security. Among the priority areas for the industry development, many researchers highlight the modernization of the material and technical base by updating fleet of machinery, technological equipment, introducing innovative methods of managing production processes and using modern technologies. An analysis of the current state and the use of technical and technological potential of the industry showed that the bulk of milk produced in agricultural organizations falls on the already morally and physically outdated enterprises that use high-cost extensive production technologies, characterized by low labor productivity. The share of dairy farms with less than 100 cows was 68.9%, while mega-farms account for only 0.3% of the facilities. Small-scale enterprises play a leading role in the livestock of the milking herd. In such farms, 28.7% of cows are kept on a tethered housing system. As a rule, no adequate feeding of animals is provided. However, in terms of the level of milk productivity and product volume, large-scale dairy complexes are currently in the lead with a herd of more than 800 heads at a time, where milk yield per fodder cow exceeds 5000 kg of milk. Considering that the largest number of dairy herds is concentrated on farms with a population of 100 to 200 cows, we consider the most expedient and promising way to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of these enterprises to modernize them technological re-equipment using domestic digital technologies and mechanization means.