Grazing livestock a sectorpoorly equipped with digital tools with specific needs
Résumé
This article presents the results ofa study about the use ofdigital tools by grazing livestock farmers. The study was based on an online survey of 41 farmers, the results of which were analyzed and interpreted in the light ofadditional qualitative interviews. This article presents the digital tools used in the sector, the main types of use, as well as the obstacles to adopt such tools expressed by the different actors.
The farmers interviewed are generally not very well equipped with digital tools. The main uses are smartphone applications and traceability software. Sensors are not widely used and are mainly used to control and monitor reproduction and feeding. Although pasture management is identified as an important need by the various actors in the sector, digital tools for this purpose are also little used. This paradox can be explained by adoption barriers common to many agricultural sectors, such as the cost and complexity of tools. In particular, the actors interviewed expressed the view that the tools are not adapted to field conditions and to the diversity of livestock farms. Although some tools are being tested or are in the research phase, farmers do not feel involved in their development, which, according to them, contributes to the marketing oftools that are not adapted to their needs. Some ofthe people interviewed also question the adequacy between the use ofdigital tools and the meaning ofthe job and the link to the animal.