Dairy Farm Management System

Recent advancements in computer science have made Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems as a necessary pre-requisite for management in the dairy industry. For this reason, many automated dairy recording systems have been developed and applied in large dairy farms. However, the utilization of computerized recording systems by small scale farms is not widely adopted. As a result, efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness is relatively at low levels. For this purpose a survey is carried out on small scale farms in Cyprus in order to evaluate the current situation and identify any hurdles that prevent the implementation of contemporary ICT solutions. It was shown that among the main reasons for the lack of usage are the high costs for purchasing and installing ICT systems, the complexity of using the systems, and the level of computer literacy needed to carry out basic recording and analysis functions. Therefore, a simple and easy to use computerized data recording and analysis system with the aim to provide a new approach in the record keeping method among small and medium-scale dairy farmers is proposed. Further, the proposed system is expected to have significant effects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to combating climate change.