Motivations and attitudes of Brazilian dairy farmers regarding the use of automated behaviour recording and analysis systems

In this Research Communication we investigate the motivations of Brazilian dairy farmers to adopt automated behaviour recording and analysis systems (ABRS) and their attitudes towards the alerts that are issued. Thirty-eight farmers participated in the study distributed into two groups, ABRS users (USERS, n = 16) and non-users (NON-USERS, n = 22). In the USERS group 16 farmers accepted being interviewed, answering a semi-structured interview conducted by telephone, and the answers were transcribed and codified. In the NON-USERS group, 22 farmers answered an online questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was applied to coded answers. Most farmers were young individuals under 40 years of age, with undergraduate or graduate degrees and having recently started their productive activities, after a family succession process. Herd size varied with an overall average of approximately 100 cows. Oestrus detection and cow's health monitoring were the main reasons given to invest in this technology, and cost was the most important factor that prevented farmers from purchasing ABRS. All farmers in USERS affirmed that they observed the target cows after receiving a health or an oestrus alert. Farmers believed that they were able to intervene in the evolution of the animals' health status, as the alerts gave a window of three to four days before the onset of clinical signs of diseases, anticipating the start of the treatment.The alerts issued by the monitoring systems helped farmers to reduce the number of cows to be observed and to identify pre-clinically sick and oestrous animals more easily. Difficulties in illness detection and lack of definite protocols impaired the decision making process and early treatment, albeit farmers believed ABRS improved the farm's routine and reproductive rates.