Activities

3.3. Application of innovative technologies on extensive livestock farms for more sustainable production

The general objective of this action is to implement the use of advanced technologies to monitor the dehesa-montado ecosystem from an agricultural, forestry and livestock point of view, in order to increase its productive efficiency and achieve greater sustainability. The actions pursue the following objectives:

1. Productive and environmental evaluation of agricultural, forestry and livestock management in the dehesa-montado: Using satellite images (remote sensing) and other nearby technological tools (proximal sensing), the state of the soil (electrical conductivity, compaction, etc.) and of the pasture (productivity, quality, composition) will be monitored in order to evaluate the impact caused on the dehesa by pigs (montanera) and ruminants (grazing). Management strategies will be developed to improve production efficiency from a multi-species livestock farming point of view.
2. Development of strategies for the reduction of environmental impacts generated by livestock species in the dehesa-montado: Through the use of new digital technologies (Laser methane detector) GHG will be measured in the different production phases of ruminants and pigs, as well as evaluating the changes produced by establishing different feeding strategies (use of by-products) or the addition of probiotics.
3. Monitoring of livestock species in the dehesa-montado: The implementation of new digital technologies related to precision livestock farming will facilitate animal management. Within this action, the possible estimation of the weight of the animals through images obtained by cameras will be studied, in order to optimise the fattening of the animals through growth monitoring. In addition, through different sensors (temperature, pH, conductivity) it will be possible to obtain health indicators directly (fever, digestive problems) or indirectly (subclinical mastitis).

Lead: UEVORA
With the participation of: CICYTEX

 

The work carried out within the scope of this action will be disseminated in:

• 76th European Association for Animal Production Annual Meeting Innsbruck (Austria), 25-29 August 2025