HerdView: Automated weight tracking for beef cattle

养殖户需要准确了解肉牛的体重，以便管理生长和预测最佳育肥时间--即生长速度达到峰值时，由于FCR下降，动物产生更大的碳足迹。目前，牛每隔6-8周称重一次，这很耗时，而且动物在物理称重后的2天内不会生长良好，正在进行的自动体重估计为农民提供了一个更容易的称重替代方案。有了自动系统，在避免称重的时间和中断的同时，给出准确的每日重量，农民可以更好地管理饲料，降低劳动力成本和减少排放。自动化的每日体重监测使农民能够精确地管理饲料，减少浪费，最大限度地实现增长。选择合适的屠宰日期可以降低动物屠宰时的年龄，从而降低动物对环境的整体影响，因为每天消耗的饲料中有66%纯粹用于维护，而不是生长。目前，几乎没有成本效益高的系统可以自动准确地定期测量每日体重，也没有已知的系统将其与身体状况评分准确结合。现在，HerdView项目将评估采用Agsenze技术跟踪奶牛每日生长并预测肉牛的体重/等级/脂肪信息的可行性。从而使农民能够更好地管理饲养，同时减少工作量和动物痛苦。

Farmers need accurate knowledge of beef cattle weight in order to manage growth and predict optimal finishing time - ie the point at which growth rate has peaked and the animals generate a larger carbon footprint because FCR decreases. Currently, cattle are weighed at 6-8 week intervals, this is time-consuming and animals do not grow well for the following 2 days after a physical weighing, Ongoing automated weight estimation gives the farmer an easier alternative to weighing. With an automated system that gives accurate daily weights while avoiding the time and disruption of weighing, the farmer can better manage feed, reduce labour costs and reduce emissions. Automated daily weight monitoring enables farmers to precisely manage feed, reducing waste and maximising growth. Selecting appropriate slaughter date reduces age of animals at slaughter, therefore their overall environmental impact, given that ~66% of feed consumed per day is purely for maintenance, rather than growth.There are currently few cost-effective systems which can automatically accurately and regularly measure daily weights, and none known to accurately combine this with a body condition score. Now, the HerdView project will assess the feasibility of adapting Agsenze technology to track daily cow growth and predict weight/grade/fat information for beef cattle. Thereby enabling farmers to better manage feeding while reducing effort and animal distress.