Early Detection of Cattle Pathologies Can Save 12 Billion Rubles
According to Anastasiya Grecheneva, Director of the Project Institute for Digital Transformation in Agriculture, early detection and elimination of lameness in cattle can help the dairy industry avoid losses of approximately 5 billion rubles per year. An additional 7 billion rubles, she says, can be saved through timely identification of diseases related to decreased body condition and metabolic disorders.
Grecheneva presented this data at the 28th Russian Agro-Industrial Exhibition "Zolotaya osen." The estimates pertain to a system being developed under the Large Livestock Project. It is designed for digital monitoring of cow health and assessment of their exterior characteristics.
The project includes two interconnected directions that utilize a common technological foundation, employing computer vision and artificial intelligence. A pilot version of the domestic platform is currently being tested and is intended to detect lameness and other deviations at early stages.
The platform also assesses the metabolic status of animals. Among the analyzed indicators are body condition score (BCS), changes in condition, behavioral characteristics, and signs of potential metabolic disorders. This data is used for predictive analytics of pathologies related to metabolism.
According to the project presentation, one cow with lameness loses at least 183 kg of milk per lactation, and in some cases, the reduction reaches 1289 kg. With approximately 3 million cows, the average percentage of animals developing lameness is estimated at 22.8%. The total unmet production amounts to about 125 thousand tons of milk.
The cost of these losses is calculated based on a price of 41.25 rubles per kg of raw milk and is estimated at 5.2 billion rubles. For metabolic disorders, the calculations use a clinical ketosis prevalence of 22.7%. Each cow with this condition experiences a productivity drop of 251 kg of milk, and the preventable reduction in milk yield is estimated at 7.1 billion rubles.
