By Blake Jackson
Angela George 26, a master’s student in animal science, is developing an innovative tool to help dairy farmers better understand cow-level profitability.
Working in the Dairy Cattle Biology and Management lab by Professor Julio Giordano, George is leading the creation of MyCow$, an automated decision-support system that calculates real-time cash flow for individual cows and groups.
Traditionally, farmers rely on herd averages or rough estimates to determine profitability, largely because calculating cash flow for each cow manually is time-consuming and complex. Important cost and revenue factors are often overlooked.
MyCow$ addresses this gap by offering a streamlined, data-driven approach that gives farmers immediate insights into each cow’s financial contribution.
The tool works by collecting daily data such as milk yield, milk components, and body weight through on-farm technologies. It also integrates management records, including health events, reproduction, calving, and sales.
During setup, farmers input their own cost and revenue values. MyCow$ then processes incoming data and applies those values to calculate accurate, real-time cash flow.
With this information, farmers can compare cows, group them based on traits like genetics or health history and evaluate how specific events or management decisions impact profitability. This allows for more informed, strategic decision-making at both the individual cow and herd levels.
The development of MyCow$ is supported by the Cornell Agricultural Systems Testbed and Demonstration Site (CAST), which provides access to advanced data streams from technologies like wearable sensors and computer vision systems. These resources help refine the tool and ensure its accuracy.
Looking ahead, George plans to complete the platform’s user interface and conduct an economic case study using MyCow$ data, with the goal of making the tool widely accessible to commercial dairy farms.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-peopleimages
Categories: New York, Education, Livestock, Dairy Cattle