Questions/Answers

The dairy industry in Thailand and the public service of the artificial insemination have been started since 1961. The dairy industry has been slowly adapted to involve more technology like other industries. However, only a few farmers during that time used the database system to manage their farm. The one who did usually use a paper-based system to record the data. Others didn’t have any clue about how to keep the important data. This could cause a delay or difficulty for officers when services. So, by the time they had the production, all of the incomes did not cover all the costs and they didn’t have the data to improve or plan the solution. The Bureau of biotechnology in livestock production, DLD foresees the problem and wants to support the program to every farmer in Thailand so BBLP has developed the Dairy farm management system or 3i from a dairy database system that uses for the Tropical Holstein breeding evaluation. Since 2015, this program has been established in a new transformation on the internet to have accessibility from all sectors in the dairy industry. The 3i consists of iFarmer, iService, and iDairy which can help farmers, officers, veterinarians, dairy cooperatives and other stakeholders to get some awareness from their realtime data and reports. Farmers who regularly use this technology can earn higher incomes by optimizing feed, improving the cow reproductive program and performance, often checking the milking system and getting closer to a veterinary officer. These well-round management tools can predict and increase the productivity from breeding programs and can benefit to the domestic economy.

This initiative promotes digital transformation in the Dairy industry in Thailand. From the government side, the Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production, Department of Livestock Development wants to maximize the potential of information and communication technology and to enhance the performance and providing agricultural services by using the Dairy farm management system or 3i. Additionally, this program can improve the structure of production, increase the competitiveness of livestock to compete with international, hold on to the standards, friendly with the environment and increase the average income of dairy farmers especially the small-scales.

Dairy farm management system or 3i has strongly supported the 2nd SDGs; No hunger especially it can increase productivity and incomes of farmers who use this initiative. During the 3i operative, some of the important reproductive indexes have significantly changed. One example is the calving interval (the period between each calving), this index has reduced at least 10 days from the beginning. That’s mean the farmers can save about 2000 baht per milking cow that they have. Therefore, the productivity of milking cows had increased by rising the average of lactation per cow (hence more milk). So, Dairy farmers can reduce their costs and gain their incomes by continually using the Dairy farm management system or 3i.

This dairy database system has been developed for more than 3 decades by the Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production and the government has been promoted to every dairy stakeholder. It becomes the biggest dairy database using in Thailand and the officers continue using this technology over the old paper reports. Furthermore, the 3i program can easily assessable from any smart devices with the internet (web-based) and has a plan to extend into a native application to serve more needs from the farmers.

From the dairy database system, DLD, the dairy farmers own mostly middle to small scale farms (less than 100 milking cows) that locate in the countryside. Before using this initiative, the public service would likely take on farmers who live near the AI center or have direct contact with officers. With the 3i system, every farmer who wants public services can register their farm on the system and after the first time, everyone using the 3i program in the area can see the data and reports in order to work on that farm.

This 3i program has been developed to serve everyone that includes in the dairy industry especially dairy farmers who in need. It covers all farms in Thailand using the internet. The information from the Thailand livestock statistic shows Eighty percent of the dairy farmers in Thailand are women and has an average age of 57 years old.

Dairy farmers in Thailand are the main target group of the program. It helps dairy farmers and cooperatives to track their own production, manage their farm easily, and monitor milk production by themselves. The 3i program has been adding effectiveness to their work. They can save time from so many proceeders such as AI on the best time of the cow's heat assuring the conception, the farmers can monitor cow's next heat with the system notifications and when there is no heat, the veterinarian can come to pregnancy check with ultrasound at 30 days after AI. The 3i system can also calculate all the production and quality of the milk where farmers can get the report to improve their feeds and with this well-round management system, the farmer can improve their incomes by both reducing the cost and increasing the profit.

The Bureau of biotechnology in livestock production has improved the existing database that first developed by Thailand National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (Nectec). This program is called Client &Server, constructed to record every aspect of dairy management offline. Since 2008, the internet was introduced and used widely in the country. Therefore, the government then wanted to change the work steps from paper-based to computer or internet-based but the transition period took about a decade. After getting the difficulty to operate by the officers and farmers in the fields for the first few years, the programs had been changing during the time due to users’ feedbacks until it could work just fine. Additionally, the researchers and veterinarians in this program would occasionally have some new knowledge to improve some of the indexes in the report to have a better calculation. Thus, this system is an internet-based, however, it restricted access from the stakeholders in the dairy industry such as dairy cooperatives during the program development. In order to increase system performance and develop the management of the dairy farm in all aspects by 2015. Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production agreed to share the database of dairy cows on the Internet that has accessibility from all sectors. The new 3i system was designed to be more efficient and can reduce the cost of dairy implementing nationally and can be efficiently competitive with the ASEAN community.

During the developing of the initiative (2009), there were countless obstacles but the main problem was the availability of the internet and the slow network. When this project had started, there were few internet providers that can work in the countryside of Thailand so the developers would have to divide into teams and use a private phone to communicate and put the data into the system one by one.

The development of the 3i systems for dairy farms in Thailand has initiated at the same time as the internet network had arrived in the country. The system was well-constructed by people in the dairy industry. Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production was provided accessible in different interfaces called iFarmer for farmers, iService for officers/veterinarians, and iDairy for dairy cooperatives or other stakeholders. The users can record and manage any activities such as artificial insemination, milk production in quantity and quality, feed intakes, treatments and prevention of diseases from smart devices of both public officers and farmers.

The dairy farms in most developed countries use database systems to manage their farms that also included in some large scale dairy farms in Thailand. The department has seen the benefit of using the database system not just their regularly high productivities but it can develop the farm genetically through the times. Accordingly, the 3i system was established to be a public service to every dairy farmers in Thailand for free.

This initiative can be transferred or easily adapted to other species or other countries. This year, the Thai government by the Department of Livestock Development has welcomed government officers from Bhutan in Dairy value chain study visits that they had learned our dairy management system or 3i and had an interest in making their own. In another country such as New Zealand, we have known that they use the commercial dairy database system as well. So all of their farmers can use the system to manage their own farm. However, there are price to be paid.

This system has a simple concept to adapt to another context. It consists of at least 3 important parts. First, ID of the animal, second, veterinary knowledge of that species. (Or what record do you need and why? Or can it answer your questions?) And lastly, the developers have to create a well-design structure of the system (to collect all the data from the beginning and forever). The additional part is the data scientists who can communicate well with the developers and users. The government can help to promote and express its advantages to other stakeholders as well.

Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production had been approved in principle for this project in 2015 from the committee's consideration, CIO of the Department of Livestock Development and executive and computing system supportive director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. With a total budget of over 3 million baht, we had signed a contract with a bid winning company that has program engineers to implement the 3i system. Additionally, the veterinary officers in the BBLP office were the main consultants and program testers.

For over four years of developing and using the initiative, the Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production appreciated every feedbacks and comment from users range from dairy farmers to the directors of the organization. By continue support financially to improve the usability of the program and assure the security system of the stored database, it can guarantee that the users will maintain using this 3i system for their whole career of dairy farming. Moreover, the government will have the benefit of forecasting the dairy business through the database over time.

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The evaluation of this initiative was made by Phimai Dairy Cooperative LTD. Where all farmers in the cooperative use this system for over 3 years. All the reproductive indexes and production indexes have been recorded and calculated with the system. All the indexes in the record can describe farm performance in terms of health management and milk production.

The best indicator for this evaluation was the calving interval (day). They had been decreased this number for more than 13 days during the time they using the initiative. Each cow would eat around 200 baht per day. So with a total of 2000 milking cows, they could save up to 5.2 million baht or 1.73 million baht per year. Additionally, they would have a higher production per year and better milk quality.

The connection and the first impression were the absolute keys for this initiative to run the work with Phimai Dairy Cooperative. The manager was very open mind to let BBLP officers introduce the 3i program to every farmer after the first few contacts. Dairy farmers in the cooperative can get benefit from recording any important events on their farm, tracking their products, managing the dairy reproductive system easier, getting faster public services to Al or ultrasound the pregnant and monitoring milk production by themselves. This evaluation has valued the financial benefit from using the program that might be another way to communicate with other farmers and cooperatives. Also, the farmer can get the accurate evaluation and advice by agricultural extension officer and veterinary officers that based on the statistics of exact dairy production on the farm.

This program can support the officers and farmers to record the data from the artificial insemination, milk production, dairy, nutrition, herd health, breeding program, and farm management to help in dairy management and provide a full range of services. Together with the information system of dairy farms to contribute all the stakeholders in the dairy industry such as Thai school milk project, dairy cooperatives and farmers for participating to use the services by all kinds of currently devices. Further, the Department of Livestock Development plans to reduce duplication of data and support more information links for all partners in the dairy industry.

Bureau of Biotechnology in Livestock Production, DLD is the project manager of the 3i system for the comprehensive management of dairy cows in Thailand. The initiative was introduced to BBLP officers to service farmers for the first few years and the reports of the system were evolved by their useful comments. Other stakeholders like farmers and dairy cooperatives were introduced with 3i later when the program was stable and yet the developers still listened to their appropriate feedback to develop other reports that can reduce the duplication of their work. Dairy farmers and cooperatives can track their products, manage their farm easily, and monitor milk production by themselves through the Internet. Trading of milk in the market will depend on theoretical and statistics dairy production support by the program which can reduce the waste to improve their farms. The valuation is based on the statistics of exact dairy production. The advantages of this system are well-organized plans and policies for the milk marketing and the milk industry in Thailand. Additionally, breeding selection of Dairy cows will be more efficient and produce enough milk for domestic consumption. Whereas the potential competition in the free market of ASEAN (AEC) will be encountered.

After the 3i program launching, our biggest partners, the dairy farmers didn’t use the program by themselves much but they are the key man that necessary for import all the important data into the system. The next goal is to make a program in an application form (Native application) that really easy for dairy farmers to use that they can put the data in and manage their dairy farm by themselves using their own devices (Apples or Andriod) anywhere they want. Also, add convenient functions such as the notification system to remind the farmers of an important date or upcoming events and urgent veterinary call or chat to have helpful advice in time will empower the tool that we have.