AI Case Study
Farmers are able to track cows and monitor their activity and optimise food production through machine learning
A partnership between Amsterdam-based startup Connecterra and Google’s open-source technology Tensorflow has enabled Hart Agriculture’s Seven Oaks Dairy farm in Georgia, USA to leverage 'Ida'. The Intelligence Dairy Farmer’s Assistant (Ida) is a machine learning based wearable tracker and app which provides farmers with information about their cows' activity. Farmers are able to track them and collect data on their behavioral patterns, heat stress, digestive disorders from feeding. This further enables them to take more informed decisions, such as optimal insemination time, and optimise food production. There are currently more than 20+ farms using Ida in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Asia.
Industry
Consumer Goods And Services
Food Beverage And Drugs
Project Overview
"The tracker, worn around the cow’s neck, helps farmers track, monitor activity, and optimize food production. Ida is already being used in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Asia, with 20+ farms currently on board.
Ida allows Dr. Watson and other farmers to see each cow as an individual on the dashboard, as it records its activity level, behavioral patterns, heat stress, digestive disorders from feeding, plus the best time to inseminate as the tracker has a 93 percent accuracy rating. Over time, the machine learning platform gets to know the cows and optimizes suggestions for the farmer." (hypepotamus)
"IDA uses a motion-sensing device attached to a cow’s neck to transmit its movements to a program driven by AI. The sensor data, when aligned repeatedly with real-world behaviour, eventually allow IDA to tell from data alone when a cow is chewing cud, lying down, walking, drinking or eating. Those indicators can predict whether a particular cow is ill, has become less productive, or is ready to breed – alerting the farmer to changes in behaviour that might otherwise be easily missed." (theglobeandmail)
Reported Results
Proof of concept; results not yet available
Technology
"Underlying IDA is Google’s open-source TensorFlow programming framework, a language built on top of the commonly used Python code that helps connect data from text, images, audio or sensors to neural networks – the algorithms that help computers learn."
Function
Operations
General Operations
Background
"As production per cow continues to go up and naming each cow in a large herd is no longer possible, monitoring and diagnosing health issues can take longer — there may be 80-100 cows per farmer, according to Dr. Watson. Seven Oaks Dairy farm has 2,500 cows on site." (hypepotamus)
Benefits
Data
activity level, behavioral patterns, heat stress, digestive disorders from feeding