Chapter 18Security and Privacy Issues in the Internet of Cows
Amber Adams-Progar1, Glenn A. Fink2, Ely Walker1 and Don Llewellyn3
1Washington State University, Department of Animal Sciences, USA
2Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA
3Washington State University, Benton County Extension, USA
18.1 Precision Livestock Farming
Precision agriculture (PA) is a farming management approach that uses continuous sensing to compare intergroup and intragroup process responses in operational husbandry. Usually automated measuring and provisioning systems are used to count animals, examine crops, feed, water, and care for animals and plants. The results of variations in location, treatment, and subject are compared to determine the best husbandry processes.
PA began to take hold in the United States in the early- to mid-1980s primarily for crop science. Grid sampling was used to create recommendation maps for fertilizer application and pH correction. Yield sensors on the ground coupled with GPS receivers gave farmers precise readings for sustainable agriculture and profit maximization. Since fertilizer is very expensive, and richness of soil nutrients varies, yield sensors could create maps enabling farmers to vary the spread of fertilizer to match the needs of the growing crops. Today with the near ubiquity of wireless coverage, there are autonomous tractors that are capturing both machine and agronomic data to enable growers to better manage their operations (PrecisionAG, 2016). ...