About this Research Topic
Similar to the substantial changes that technology has brought to precision crop management over the past two decades, the technology transformation is emerging for extensive livestock production systems with ruminant grazing animals. Application of precision livestock management to these extensive systems will incorporate numerous technologies, often in combination, that are intended to increase production efficiency of operations while also presenting potential to mitigate environmental impacts to achieve sustainable intensification of production systems. The growing interest in precision livestock management tools by producers and land managers has generated substantial global research interest in this area, especially for extensive livestock production systems with ruminant grazing animals. Therefore, the objective of this Research Topic is to gather and present new studies addressing the utilization of precision livestock management in grazing ruminant production systems.
The specific themes covered in this Research Topic will be focused on (but not limited to) the application and/or the evaluation of precision livestock management tools and practices such as:
1- virtual fencing and other technologies used for geolocations, controlling of movement, and grazing behaviors of grazing animals in extensive production systems;
2- individual and collective on-animal sensors for animal health/stress, physiology, welfare, and behavioral monitoring, and grazing/resting/rumination activities ;
3- equipment and laboratorial techniques used for measuring/estimating feed intake and greenhouse gas emissions from grazing animals.
The submissions of research articles as well as literature reviews are welcome and encouraged. Manuscripts should be restricted to domestic ruminant livestock species where animals spend most or all of their productive lives on grazing systems
Keywords: Accelerometer, Animal grazing behavior, Animal health, Application of novel technology, Feed intake, Methane measurement, Remote sensing, RFID, Virtual fencing
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.