The Innovation Farm is part of the "Digitalization in Agriculture" cluster project, approved in spring 2020, with the aim of making new technologies and innovations for agriculture visible, tangible, and above all, applicable. The project enters its next phase in 2021 – further innovations will be implemented on working farms.
Resource efficiency
To significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste on the farm, a multi-year reusable film is used in silage production at the drive-over silo. Due to its weight, this film can be rolled up and down on a motorized unit that moves along the silo walls. The functionality, labor and resource efficiency of this mobile drive-over silo cover system, as well as its impact on feed quality, are being examined at the Innovation Farm. The "Siloschani" product from Agrotel is being used in this study.
Animal welfare
Clean, dry walking surfaces in cattle barns directly impact animal welfare, emissions, and hoof health. The Lely Collector manure removal robot cleans the walking surfaces autonomously and several times a day, removing manure and urine. As part of the project, data on cleanliness and functionality will be collected over a year on working farms, both inside the barn and in the paved outdoor run.
Current information on these and completed use cases can be found on the homepage www.innovationfarm.at or on the Facebook and YouTube channels.
Team
DI Edina Scherzer
Scientific Project Staff Member Research & Development
DI Alfred Pöllinger-Zierler
Head of Department and Deputy Head of Institute.