AgTech: 3 examples of how artificial intelligence is transforming cattle breeding

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Digital technologies are revolutionising many sectors, including age-old professions such as agriculture. Atlantic France is home to many innovations in this sector. Below you can find out about 3 players which are changing the way breeders work.

Agriculture (particularly livestock farming) is a key economic sector in Atlantic France: the region represents 15% of French cow milk production and 18% of beef and veal meat production (Source: French Chambers of Agriculture). The use of new technologies is growing, as they can improve profitability, product quality or animal welfare.

Qwintal: a connected weight scale mat to follow the growth

The startup Qwintal is based in Angers and was created in 2021. The company invented a weigh-belt which was designed for weighing animals. The technology can automatically identify each animal on the mat, even if there are two on it, and record its weight every day. Qwintal therefore allows cattle breeders to follow the growth of their animals in real time on a mobile app, compare it with their objectives or with another herd, and also to detect problems rapidly, thanks to AI.

Prim’Holstein France: assess and breed dairy cows

The Prim’Holstein France association is also based near Angers. Since 2008, it no longer has a direct role in the regulation of the Prim’Holstein race, but aims to offer services to cattle breeders. For example, members of the association can measure the productivity and the economic classification of their dairy cows with the éCow software, and manage the renewal of their herd with a tool called illicow. Available on smartphones and tablets, the app offers breeders functionalities such as finding the best bulls for their females, based on their inbreeding percentage and characteristics.

AIHerd: visual and automatic analysis for livestock farming

Based in Nantes, AIHerd was created in partnership with veterinarians. Thanks to a network of cameras and AI which studies the animals’ behaviour, this programme can help cattle breeders to improve both productivity and animal welfare.

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