Browsing by Subject "Agrivoltaics"
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Item Dairy farm resiliency: automated milking, soil health, crossbreeding, and Agrivoltaics(2023-05) Portner, SabrinaAs the demand for dairy products increases and the challenges of climate change, land availability, farm profitability and labor markets heighten, the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of dairy farms will be required to remain in the industry. Understanding the metrics used to measure sustainability and the boundaries of these metrics is necessary to prevent miscommunication and compare the effects of management changes. Although the dairy industry has greatly reduced its environmental footprint in the last 50 years, this trend must continue to meet future environmental and societal demands. Nutrient use efficiency must be improved with the use of cover crops or perennials and reformulated rations without excess nutrients to minimize the economic and environmental consequences of farm nutrient loss. Diversifying dairy farms with dairy-beef production may help to minimize GHG emissions from the combined dairy and beef industries. These environmental objectives cannot be accomplished without profitable dairy farms. Frequent use of financial benchmarking tools will aid farmers in navigating the market volatility of the dairy and feed industries. Yet, dairy farmers must acquire and retain a reliable workforce whether human or robots in order to achieve environmental and economic goals. Sustainability is fundamentally context dependent, varying structurally, geographically, and in environmental complexity. In relation to this individuality this thesis will detail the effects of a variety of tools to achieve profitability, improve farmer wellbeing and increase environmental sustainability including the use of automated milking systems, livestock management for soil health, crossbred cull cow value and the integration of forage cultivation and solar energy production also known as Agrivoltaics.Item Electrical Consumption on Midwestern Dairy Farms In the United States and Agrivoltaics To Shade Cows In A Pasture-Based Dairy System(2020-06) Sharpe, KirstenThe objectives of the thesis were to investigate electrical energy use on dairy farms located in west central Minnesota and to evaluate the effects of shade use by cattle from solar photovoltaic systems. As the push for sustainable food production from consumers continues to grow, food industries and processors are looking for ways they can be more marketable to consumers. Not only do food industries investigate sustainable practices within their own systems, they also push their suppliers to explore ways to lower their farms’ carbon footprints. Measurements of baseline fossil fuel consumption within dairy production systems are scarce. Therefore, there is a need to discern where and how fossil fuel-derived energy is being used within dairy production systems. Baseline energy use data collection is the first step in addressing the demand for a reduced carbon footprint within dairy production systems. Energy use on five Midwest dairy farms was evaluated from July 2018 to December 2019. Through in-depth monitoring of electricity-consuming processes, it was found that electricity use can differ quite drastically in different types of milking systems and farms. Electricity on an annual basis per cow ranged from 400 kWh/cow in a low-input and grazing farm to 1,145 kWh/cow in an automated milking farm. To reduce electrical energy consumption as well as reduce the effects of heat stress in pastured dairy cows, producers may investigate using an agrivoltaic system. Biological effects of internal body temperature, milk production, and respiration rates and behavioral effects of activity, rumination, fly avoidance behaviors, and standing and lying time of the solar shade were evaluated. Treatment groups were shade or no shade of cattle on pasture. The results of this agrivoltaic system suggested that grazing cattle that have access to shade had lower respiration rates and lower body temperatures compared to cattle that do not have access to shade. Electricity used in dairy farms was examined to help producers find areas in their farms that have the potential for reduced energy consumption. Furthermore, the use of an agrivoltaic system on a pasture-based dairy was studied for its shading effects on the health and behavior of dairy cows.