well-calf TFP follow-on

Ruminant production systems are under extreme pressure to deliver a quality product while drastically reducing their environmental impact and meeting society’s expectations on animal care and welfare. Disease in calves is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) experienced in calfhood affects productivity and health across the life course. Reducing early-life disease prevalence will improve animal productivity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce antibiotic use and improve societal acceptance of dairy farming.

WELL-CALF successfully developed the first calf-health monitoring tool combining animal sensing (Ear Tag – accelerometer and temperature sensing) with advanced data analytics (traditional and machine learning techniques were adopted). The current commercial offering has not yet adopted the machine leaning models – as further analysis/modelling refinements are required. Therefore the focus of this project will be to dive-deeper into the data captured on SRUC’s dedicated calf research facility and commercial farms, refine predictions of health using a range of machine/deep learning approaches, and refine the commercial offering. This offers the opportunity to augment the established animal sensor tools with improved predictions.