Q&A: Big data and AI in the dairy industry

Q. How is big data and AI being used in dairy?

Big data and AI are helping the industry move from reactive to proactive management. Farms and consultants now have tools to predict herd health challenges, optimise breeding decisions, and improve feed efficiency. For example, predictive models can identify cows at risk of disease before symptoms appear.

Q. Can you tell us about Dairy Data Warehouse?

Dairy Data Warehouse is a Dutch company which has been in operation for over 12 years. Employing around 40 enthusiastic professionals from all parts of the globe, at Dairy Data Warehouse (DDW), we unlock the full potential of data on dairy farms worldwide. We enable the industry to harness big data and AI for sustainable and more profitable farming. 

DDW collects farm data from the herd management software and other sources on farm. We ensure high data quality by cleaning and transforming it into a unified, comparable set for AI driven strategic decision-making, benchmarking and insights. Our solutions support people working in nutrition, genetics, animal health, cow monitoring, and milking equipment.  

Q. How do your services help the industry? 

We serve different parts of the dairy value chain – to give some examples: 

• Genetics: Providing reliable herd data to support smarter breeding strategies
• Cow monitoring: Giving herd data driven context to sensor triggered alarms 
• Nutrition and feeding: Supplying data from and providing context to feeding software data out of the herd management software
• Consultants and service providers: Giving advisors a full herd overview for easy identification of key focus areas for their dairy farm clients. 

In each case, we help farms and their partners improve profitability and efficiency while reducing environmental impact. 

Q. Is the technology easy to set up and use?

Yes, our technology is designed to be as simple and seamless as possible. Using our plug-and-play platform, Herdnet, farm data is automatically collected from farm to be used by consultants. The system works in the background, meaning farmers and/or consultants don’t need to spend time on manual entry. While training is minimal, our support team is always ready to help. 

Q. What kind of support do you provide? 

We provide ongoing customer success support. Our team continuously monitors data quality, helps integrate new data sources, and provides updates as new features are released. We also work closely with consultants, veterinarians, and service organisations to ensure that farms get maximum value from their data. 

Q. How is the data used? 

Data ownership and privacy are central to DDW. Farmers own their data and decide who can access it. We comply with global and local data protection standards, and third parties can only view farm data if explicitly authorised by the farmer. In other words, the farmer is always in control. 

Q. Are farmers open to using big data and AI? 

Yes. Once clients see the practical benefits such as preventing a costly disease, improving herd efficiency, or reducing feed costs they quickly recognise the value of big data and AI. The results speak for themselves, and this drives greater openness and enthusiasm for adopting these tools. 

Q. Will AI become more important in the future? 

Absolutely. AI is set to play a truly transformational role in dairy. From forecasting herd health issues to optimising breeding and production planning, AI will help the dairy industry become both more profitable and more sustainable.

At DDW, we ensure not only that the data going into our AI models is accurate and comprehensive, but also that our fleet of AI models is using the latest advances of technology so AI can deliver the best possible results to the dairy industry.

To learn more about how big data and AI can benefit your business visit the Dairy Data Warehouse website.

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