System and method for managing animals on a dairy farm

A method for managing animals on a dairy farm, comprising the steps of:

• measuring, with an on-farm analyzer system (13,14), for each of said animals, values of protein and fat contents of milk from each said animal;
• receiving from the on-farm analyzer system, for each of said animals, the value of the protein content and the value of the fat content of milk from the animal as milked on said dairy farm;
• calculating, for each of said animals, a protein/fat ratio from a ratio of the values of said protein and fat contents of milk from the animal;
• fetching, for each of said animals, a reference protein/fat ratio from a database (18);
• comparing, for each of said animals, the calculated protein/fat ratio with the fetched reference protein/fat ratio;
• and
• notifying, through a notifying means, for each of said animals, a dairy farmer (24) of said dairy farm when an outcome of the comparison of the calculated protein/fat ratio and the fetched reference protein/fat ratio indicates a need to adapt feed to be supplied to the each said animal,
• wherein each of said receiving, calculating, fetching, comparing, and notifying steps is fully automated.

A system for managing animals on a dairy farm, comprising:

• an on-farm analyzer system (13, 14) provided for measuring, for each of said animals, values of protein and fat contents of milk from each said animal;
• receiving means (12) provided for receiving from the on-farm analyzer the value of the protein content and the value of the fat content of milk from each said animal as milked on said dairy farm;
• calculating means (19) provided for calculating a protein/fat ratio, for each said animal, from a ratio of the received values of said protein and said fat contents of milk from each said animal;
• comparing means (20) provided for fetching from a database (18) a reference protein/fat ratio, and, for each said animal, comparing the calculated protein/fat ratio with the fetched reference protein/fat ratio for said animal;
• and
• notifying means (21-23) notifying, for each of said animals, a dairy farmer (24) of said dairy farm when an outcome of the comparison of the calculated protein/fat ratio and the fetched reference protein/fat ratio indicates an altered rumen function for said animal and a need to adapt feed to be supplied to said animal,
• wherein said system is fully automated.