12 Nebraska Cattleman October 2023 AI C M By Tressa Lawrence, Contributing Writer How Technology Is Helping Producers With Productivity and Welfare Artificial intelligence, or AI, is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as "the science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior by computers or the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior." But of course, when chatting with someone within the cattle industry, if the term “AI” comes up, most of us assume we are talking about artificial insemination. However, as technology evolves and the beef industry adapts, it is important to clarify if “AI” stands for artificial insemination OR artificial intelligence. But what does AI mean for agriculture and, specifically, the beef industry? AI as a Tool Yijie Xiong is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) where she specializes in precision livestock management, an evolving research area where data is collected and evaluated on individual or small groups of animals to create new tools for real-time decision making for producers. “Precision livestock management is a tool or sometimes a set of tools,” Xiong explains. “We're looking at real-time or near-real-time data and, ideally, we can identify the responses from individuals or small groups of animals. “The ultimate goal is to help producers make more timely decisions to enhance their profitability. A lot of these different technologies have been designed or made to help producers, especially regarding the declining labor availability.” Xiong says that, despite the changes the industry has faced over the last few decades, such as herd consolidation and limited labor resources, cattle management and husbandry requirements are not that different. “Fifty or 60 years ago, herd sizes were smaller, and more people owned livestock. Since then, we have significantly consolidated herds, adding stress to the remaining producers who manage them,” Xiong says. “AI is like an extra set of eyes on the livestock. Its role is to assist with repetitive and tedious work so that the human workers can actually spend their time on more valuable quality control and quality assurance tasks to better aid cattle in productivity, health or welfare.” What AI Could Mean for Your Operation Some of the programs that Xiong works with focus on building tools to collect cattle responses and then utilizing the data to aid productivity. Examples include using a 3D camera to estimate cow body weight and body condition score; using a 3D camera to measure real-time feed consumption in feed bunks; and using GPS/virtual fence collars for herd tracking and grazing management. To explain how AI works for cattle operations at a glance, data is collected by sensors and electronic identification (EID) tags, which is then processed by a computer and used to create AI algorithms. Once the algorithm is “trained” satisfactorily, more data is continuously collected (i.e., how often cattle go to water or to feed). If the algorithm detects CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 A group of cows equipped with virtual fence collars walks in a pasture at the UNL Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory. Photo courtesy of Yijie Xiong.
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