For a year now, new developments have been tested and trialled in practice at the Innovation Farm. The "Innovation Farm LIVE" format provided a special insight into the daily research work. On Friday, June 11, 2021, the latest activities were reported live from Wieselburg. Experts, trade editors, and practitioners discussed the opportunities, benefits, and potential of digital technologies.

Areas of InnovationFarm

The three areas of "Assistance Systems and Robotics," "Animal Health and Welfare," and "Resource Efficiency and Precision Farming" encompass the current topics of the Innovation Farm. Christian Fasching, Alfred Pöllinger-Zierler, and Edina Scherzer from the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein team presented the following innovations in Innenwirtschaft :

• The Butler Gold from Wasserbauer, a feed pusher robot, ensures that the animals at the feeding table regularly have access to loosened and well-mixed feed.
• The Nedap heat detection sensor records vital data from cows. Very satisfactory heat detection rates were achieved on practical farms.
• The rumen sensor from smaXtec measures rumination time directly in the rumen of the dairy cow. Deviations are immediately reported to the caretaker.
• Pasture GPS is used to monitor the positions of livestock. In addition to monitoring movement patterns, the geofence function can trigger an alarm if the animals leave a defined area.
• The Lely Collector manure removal robot ensures clean walking surfaces by vacuuming up feces and urine. Unlike conventional manure removal systems, it is not bound to fixed manure paths.
• The Allflex SenseHub sensor, attached to the collar or ear, collects health data in real time. The data is available via app or online. The advantages of this technology are being investigated with regard to optimal collaboration with the attending veterinarian.

Image identification: Christian Fasching, Edina Scherzer and Alfred Pöllinger-Zierler represented the Innovation Farm site Raumberg-Gumpenstein (Photo: Paul Gruber, BMLRT).

Between the presentations, statements from executives of the manufacturing companies were broadcast, and video questions from school and university students were answered. Since the media plays an important role in knowledge transfer, the challenges were discussed in a panel discussion with editors from agricultural media outlets.

Panel discussion as conclusion

The event culminated in a panel discussion. Alongside Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism Elisabeth Köstinger and President of the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture Josef Moosbrugger, Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf (Lower Austria), Provincial Councillor Johann Seitinger (Styria), Franziska Fröschl, farmer and representative on the Federal Executive Board of the Machinery Ring, and Timo Küntzle, journalist and agricultural engineer, took their places on the podium.

Markus Gansberger, project manager of the Innovation Farm, and Franz Handler , head of the Digitalization in Agriculture cluster (both HBLFA Francisco Josephinum), played a key role in the successful running of the event

The event “Innovation Farm LIVE” was recorded and can be viewed at www.innovationfarm.at .