Federico Duranovich
Doctor of Philosophy, (Agriculture & Horticulture)
Study Completed: 2020
College of Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Unveiling the potential of proximal hyperspectral sensing for measuring herbage nutritive value in a pasture-based dairy farm system
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
As farming becomes an increasingly competitive business, New Zealand farmers face the challenge of producing milk more efficiently from pasture. One opportunity to improve milk production efficiency is by improving the precision of feed allocation using its ‘herbage nutritive value’. Mr Duranovich investigated the potential of a rapid tool for measuring herbage nutritive value in a pasture-based dairy farm. He found the tool, called proximal hyperspectral sensing, had good measurement accuracy, and there was enough variation of herbage nutritive value and nutritional demand by milking cows to justify the tool’s use. The tool can therefore support competitiveness and sustainability of pasture-based dairy farming in New Zealand.
Supervisors
Professor Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos
Professor Nicola Shadbolt
Professor Ian Yule
Dr Ina Draganova
Professor Stephen Morris