“At the time, little information was available on the economic performance of pasture-based automatic milking systems. The only thing being used were models and assumptions,” he said.

Five years later, the Argentinian-born NSW DPI Development Officer is leading the way for Australian dairy automation and precision technology with his ground-breaking research and the development of a world-first automated milking systems decision support tool that has earned both national and international acclaim.

Like many who are a part of the dairy industry, Dr Gargiulo’s passion for the sector runs in the family.

“My grandfather emigrated from Italy to Argentina to work in a small dairy processing business which then became one of the largest in the country,” he said.

“He started making mozzarella, ricotta and provolone cheese and then worked transporting dairy products. Currently, my father is also involved in the logistics of dairy products across the country.”

Dr Gargiulo said it wasn’t until he was studying a bachelor of Agricultural Science did he embrace a career in the dairy industry.

“I thought that working as a scientist or consultant in dairy would be exciting and challenging because you must understand how to maximise feed production, but also manage cows to maximise their ability to turn feed into milk,” he said.

“I started working close to farmers in a dairy consultancy company and six years as a field officer for Argentina's leading dairy processing company. In these roles, I acquired a global perspective of the industry and vast experience liaising and providing advice and support to dairy farmers.”

In 2017, Dr Gargiulo was offered a four-month internship with the University of Sydney’s Dairy Science group.

“During this experience, I worked with Nico Lyons, then Leader Dairy in NSW DPI, analysing the current and future precision technology adoption in the Australian dairy industry,” he said.
“This research was published in the Journal of Dairy Science and became one of the top 100 articles for 2021 in this journal.”

In 2018, Dr Gargiulo was awarded a scholarship in 'Automation and Robotics for Dairy Production', where he officially relocated to Australia to start a PhD at the University of Sydney.

“My studies were focused on investigating the applications and impacts of automation in pasture-based dairy systems and were part of industry projects funded by NSW DPI and other industry organisations,” he said.

Of his many accomplishments in dairy research, Mr Gargiulo said his involvement with The Milking Edge Project has been his most significant achievement to date.

“It represents an example of the successful integration of research, development, extension, adoption and education to address key industry needs,” he said.
“The project aimed to develop tools and resources for farmers considering, investing, or operating automatic milking systems (AMS) in Australia.”

Working initially as a PhD student, then as a Development Office Dairy with NSW DPI, Dr Gargiulo’s work on the project included the publication of his PhD thesis, three research publications   in high-impact scientific journals, and the development of a decision-support tool for automatic milking systems.

The Integrated Management Model draws from commercial farm data obtained across multiple locations and years to help farmers plan and optimise performance of the system.

“It allows you to benchmark many key performance insights against all the data that is behind the tool,” Dr Gargiulo said.
“It can also be used to identify ways to optimise performance by targeting higher litres of milk per robot, a key driver of farm profitability.”

Dr Gargiulo said the tool has been tested by farmers using AMS from Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand with extremely positive and encouraging results, with most farmers valuing this tool and considering it to be useful and easy to use.

“I really enjoy contributing to these projects with my expertise in dairy systems, farm business management, precision dairying and data management,” he said.
“But what I love most about my job is the opportunity to work collaboratively with farmers, researchers, the private sector and industry organisations on different projects to address key industry needs.”

Juan Gargiulo’s Research

• Investigations into the applications and impacts of automation in pasture-based dairy systems
• Physical and economic comparison of pasture-based automatic and conventional milking systems
• The AMS Integrated Management Model: A decision-support system for automatic milking systems
• Optimising profitability and productivity of pasture-based dairy farms with automatic milking systems