A camera and digital identification system that has been efficiently used within the dairy sector to measure physique situation scores and mobility of cows is now being trialled within the beef trade.
The current Farmers Weekly survey of beef farmers revealed that solely 42% of respondents at the moment use farm software program to report key efficiency indicators (KPIs), whereas a bigger quantity (48%) depend on pen and paper.
Hoping to vary that and present the advantages of weighing expertise is the developer of Herdvision, which makes use of an algorithm to find out body weight good points and predict slaughter outcomes.
It combines camera expertise and information evaluation to offer real-time info on KPIs, delivered to a farmer’s telephone or laptop.
See additionally: Why radical change is required for sustainable beef trade
Data gathered can reveal alternatives for feeding, labour and time efficiencies, in keeping with expertise enterprise Agsenze, which has been growing the expertise for beef farmers for the previous 12 months, utilizing funding from Innovate UK.
“We imagine that is going to revolutionise how cattle develop and are managed, not simply right here within the UK, but in addition for a world viewers,” says Agsenze chief government Matt Dobbs.
Having key metrics handy on an app or net portal will enable farmers to make extra knowledgeable administration choices, he provides.
How it really works
A small, waterproof camera is positioned 2.8m above floor, inside a constructing or outdoors and related to an digital identification (EID) reader.
Research has been centered on pre-weaning, weaning and rising animals in a dairy beef system. The expertise measures an animal’s floor space and peak and makes use of these to calculate the animal’s weight.
“We’ve confirmed that our camera can work in any respect phases of progress,” Matt says.
On the Surrey trial farm (see “Farmer suggestions” beneath), the camera has been arrange parallel to the water trough. Barriers information the cattle to face at proper angles to the trough when consuming.
This aligns them completely beneath the lens whereas the EID reader identifies them. Future plans embody utilizing a camera capable of work at any angle.
© Agsenze
“We additionally know that we are able to [identify] the animal utilizing the 3D picture, so sooner or later we’d not want an EID tag,” he says.
The camera additionally comprises a microprocessor producing information that may be reported immediately to the farmer. Using infrared gentle, the lenses – each 2D and 3D – can work 24 hours a day.
And with poor rural connectivity in thoughts, it’ll function at low wi-fi frequency or will be setup with a 3G or 4G connection.
“Ground reality” information, collected by bodily weighing trial animals, present there’s lower than 4% deviation from the load estimated by the camera.
“I’d love to have the ability to get one out within the area as a result of no person desires to deliver cattle in from outdoors to weigh them. The camera is low energy, so solely wants a small photo voltaic panel,” he provides.
Informed administration choices
In addition to figuring out animals match for slaughter extra shortly, the speculation is that animals ought to hit specification earlier with higher administration and by lowering the unfavourable influence of bodily weighing cattle.
“We recognized that automated weight estimation for cattle can allow each day progress monitoring, which makes it simpler for farmers to ration meals and monitor their animals,” says Heather Sanders, head of science at Agsenze.
“We perceive there will be as much as two days’ progress loss because of the bodily stress of weighing, so an automatic, non-invasive system prevents that taking place,” she provides.
The each day updates, with information on every animal, would probably flag potential well being or welfare points, so farmers could take well timed actions to rectify any issues.
Changing beef sector
Gabby Emery from Agsenze says that with the UK solely 80.9% self-sufficient in beef, there is a chance to fill that hole with sustainable, environment friendly manufacturing.
And with dairy beef turning into a much bigger proportion of the general beef market, because of the elevated use of sexed semen, expertise can assist efficiency in that manufacturing system.
“We want to make sure that whereas [dairy beef cattle] are housed, and whereas inputs are going by the roof, we’re on prime of knowledge assortment from these animals,” she says.
A current analysis paper confirmed that if the typical age of slaughter can transfer from 27 months to 24 months, there’s a 30% discount in carbon emissions, she provides.
Route to market
“We’ve bought 70 dairy cameras put in and one other 50 getting into,” says Matt. “On the dairy aspect, we cost a per cow price for the usage of the expertise, which varies from £4-£10 a cow a 12 months, relying on the scale of the herd.”
The subsequent part of product growth is sourcing funds to additional refine the expertise and recruiting extra pilot farms from throughout the beef sector to check the Herdvision system.
Agsenze hopes that, offering it could actually safe funding, the system could be out there for beef farmers to buy someday subsequent 12 months.
Beef producers focused on turning into pilot farms for Herdvision ought to contact [email protected]
Farmer suggestions
Beef farmer Michelle Waterman, founder and director of beef provide chain Pathway Farming, has been trialling the camera at rearing units in Yorkshire and Surrey.
Pathway takes Angus-cross dairy calves from about three weeks outdated by to complete for a direct contract with retailer Marks & Spencer.
Efficiency is essential to the system, which goals to improve efficiency yearly and cut back environmental footprint, whereas sustaining a superb consuming expertise for customers.
“What farmers can get again from Herdvision is a weight, as typically as you need it, on the cattle standing in a pen,” says Michelle.
© Hayley Chapman
“On a ending farm, I believe you’ll all the time weigh them on arrival by the crush as a result of you have to deal with them for vaccinations anyway, however then you possibly can deploy the camera within the ending pen to maintain a detailed eye on weight achieve as a result of that’s while you need to hit spec.
“Laying down fats is inefficient in contrast with laying down protein, so there will likely be an optimum level to slaughter an animal when it hits spec and remains to be environment friendly, so that you’re not retaining them past that point and inputs are used much less effectively,” she explains.
Monitoring
Hugh Broom, who manages the Surrey rearing unit, says: “Only 20% of farmers weigh their cattle. There is not any level shopping for cattle except you’re going to weigh them.
“Using this camera to weigh each pen, each week, could ship in spades, by way of efficiency information.”
Farms working with Pathway end cattle to a slim weight, age and conformation specification throughout the UK to satisfy shopper expectations of a constantly high-quality steak.
“This just isn’t a vastly costly little bit of package, so I could think about the entire farmers we work with investing in it,” says Michelle.
“And if this expertise will be cell, it could be cool to have the ability to transfer it round pens and put the camera out within the area for a day a month to seize all of the weights of the youthful cattle.”
https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/beef/how-beef-units-could-improve-efficiency-with-camera-tech
