Decision making using DAIRI (Data Automation Interface and Real-time Interaction): A platform for connecting farmers to their data
PI: Austin Polebitski
Polebitski is an associate professor at UW–Platteville with a focus on urban and rural water use, water resource systems management, the use of forecasting tools in decision making, and the impacts climate change will have on statewide natural resources.
The dairy community is undergoing rapid growth and change in data management and analytics. With sensing becoming increasingly accessible and inexpensive, dairies are finding new ways to optimize feed, milk production and bovine health that were not possible less than a decade ago. More technology means more data generated from different sources. This project is focused on understanding how farmers currently use their data to make decisions and analyzing how a decision support framework could influence daily operations to increase herd health and revenue. To accomplish this, a light and efficient web-based platform will be created based on discussion with partner farmers and their consultants. In addition to faculty, the research team includes local farmers and nutritionists to guide platform development and focus on ease of use, essentially getting data to a place where it is more easily stored, analyzed, and used to make decisions about farm management.