Jeonbuk Province to Establish Korea's First ICT-Integrated 'Animal Welfare Farm'

Jeonbuk Province-Pulmuone-Seoul National University-Ratbio 'Join Hands'

Establishing Animal Welfare Future Farm and Strengthening Joint Research

The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province is partnering with companies and university-industry cooperation foundations for the first time in Korea to establish a future farm that integrates advanced information and communication technology (ICT) and enhances animal welfare, and to conduct joint research.

On the 27th, according to Jeonbuk Province, Governor Kim Kwan-young, Pulmuone Co., Ltd. CEO Lee Hyo-yul, Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation Director Kim Jae-young, and Rat Bio Co., Ltd. CEO Jang Gu gathered at the provincial government meeting room to join hands in establishing the animal welfare future farm and conducting joint research.

The agreement includes ▲establishing a standard model for an ICT-based animal welfare future farm ▲operating smart dairy farming technology education and management practice centers ▲joint research on livestock environment response and green bio-related technologies ▲developing and commercializing premium dairy products using animal welfare raw milk.

On the 27th, Jeonbuk Provincial Government signed a business agreement for the establishment of an animal welfare future farm and joint research.
[Photo by Jeonbuk Province]

To this end, a total of 2 billion KRW will be invested, with 1 billion KRW from Pulmuone and 1 billion KRW from other investments. The existing livestock barn at the Jeonbuk Livestock Research Institute located in Seongsu-myeon, Jinan-gun, will be remodeled. Jeonbuk Province will also establish a related budget in the 2025 main budget and actively proceed with the construction of the future farm and joint research.

The animal welfare future farm will minimize stress on cows and secure sufficient exercise area to allow natural behavior. The structure will be designed to enable free movement of individual animals, prioritizing animal welfare.

In addition, various smart ICT equipment such as robotic milking machines, robotic manure cleaners, automatic calf feeders, and automatic feed dispensers will be installed, presenting a fully automated system as the standard model for future farms.

The future farm is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2026. It is also expected to be used as an ICT-based management practice center where successor dairy farmers, new farmers, and young livestock farmers can receive smart dairy farming technology education.

Automation of the dairy system is expected to reduce production costs and generate high economic returns, significantly contributing to resolving the serious avoidance of the dairy industry caused by aging dairy workforce and long milking hours.

Along with operating the animal welfare future farm, the Jeonbuk Livestock Research Institute plans to promote joint industry-government-academia research on carbon reduction and climate change adaptation in response to changes in livestock environment policies.

Governor Kim Kwan-young of Jeonbuk said, "By presenting a future farm model that combines animal welfare and advanced technology, the dairy environment will improve, and a sustainable livestock foundation will be established, greatly enhancing the competitiveness of Jeonbuk's livestock industry. We will do our best to provide consumers with trustworthy food together with Pulmuone Co., Ltd., a leading company in healthy food."

Representatives of each institution also added, "This will be an important stepping stone to bring about innovative changes in the dairy industry. We will continue to unite our efforts through close cooperation and active participation among the agreement institutions to ensure the successful implementation of the project."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.