UK supermarket Marks & Spencer has become the first retailer to use AI-powered technology to monitor the welfare of the dairy cows that supply it: all 46 of its dairy supplier farms in Great Britain have installed the system, The Fence Post reports.

Cameras capture footage of cows indoors, and an algorithm trained alongside vets analyses it in real time, building an individual health profile for each animal — tracking mobility and body condition scoring over time — and generating a cow comfort score from lying time, feeding time, social interactions and movement to support vets' assessments. Regular in-person checks by independent vets continue, enhanced by the daily monitoring.

'Changes in body condition are early indicators of metabolic health, fertility and overall well-being,' said Terry Canning, chief executive of CattleEye, one of the technologies used. 'Tracking those changes more regularly, across every cow, gives farmers a level of insight that was previously unavailable outside research environments. Deploying AI welfare monitoring across an entire supply chain is a first.' The algorithm has been tested and found to perform to the standard of a trained welfare assessor.

During trials, lying-time data led farmers to change the bedding of individual cows to suit their size and shape, adjust feeding schedules to cut standing time and redesign some stalls for comfort.

'M&S has always had market-leading welfare standards, and as we continue to support British farmers in this latest evolution of welfare monitoring, powered by AI, it will support farmers to give the best care to dairy cows,' said Peter Kennedy, head of agriculture at M&S Food, placing the scheme within the retailer's Plan A for Farming. M&S says it has invested more than GBP 7 million in agricultural innovation over the last decade, with a further GBP 7 million available over the next five years.

Source: The Fence Post