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Virtual farm technology can transform dairy industry: What is it?
22 Oct 2025

Researchers at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) have developed an innovative virtual farm technology, called Farm-twin.

The free-to-download code allows farmers to create a model of their entire farm system, from individual animals to infrastructure.

The system uses real-time data sensors and provides an "at-a-glance view" of the whole operation, helping detect health issues or productivity drops before they escalate.

Digital Dairy Chain scheme
Proactive approach

The Farm-twin project is part of the larger Digital Dairy Chain scheme, which explores the use of Digital Twin technology.

This tech creates a virtual model of a physical system, updated in real-time with data from sensors.

According to SRUC data scientist Dr. Mazdak Salavati, "The real power of farm data lies in combining different sources to uncover insights that a single system alone can't provide."

Open-source system
Data integration

Farm-twin tackles the challenge of data integration by bringing together information from various technologies into a single platform.

It pulls near real-time data from different sources, including animal health records, milk production, feed intake, and environmental conditions.

The system is completely open-source, allowing anyone to download, use, modify and distribute the code freely.

Potential impact on dairy industry
Innovation boost

SRUC agri-tech scientist Dr. Matt Broadbent believes that the open-source nature of Farm-twin "ensures transparency, fosters innovation, and lowers the barriers for adoption across the industry."

Wayne Powell, CEO of SRUC, said this system could lead to a "more productive, resilient, and sustainable future" for dairy farming.

The potential impact of Farm-twin on the dairy industry is significant as it paves way for more informed decision-making and improved farm management practices.