Artificial intelligence could ‘transform UK beef sector’

Bold plan to secure profitable future

Beef farming could be transformed by using artificial intelligence to make livestock production more profitable, say researchers.

Feed efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and animal welfare could all be improved by harnessing the benefits of AI, according to scientists behind the £1.2m UKRI-funded BeefTwin project.

The project brings together experts in biosciences, environmental sciences, business management, computing, and livestock production. The goal is to leverage data-driven technologies to boost the UK beef industry.

Challenges

The BeefTwin initative is being led by  Professor Xiao Ma, director of the Centre for Business and Industry Transformation (CBIT) at Nottingham Business School, part of Nottingham Trent University.

UK beef producers face a raft of challenges. These include low profitability due to factors like inconsistent beef quality, lack of precision farming practice and an imbalance of power within the supply chain.

Prof Ma said: “Due to yield-driven beef grading, the industry’s low margins, and value being extracted later in the food supply chain, for example by supermarkets and abattoirs, UK farms often rely on subsidies to survive.”

Beef farming also contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it is hard to collect real-time data from grazing livestock on animal health, feed conversion, and their environmental impact.

‘Smart farming’

Prof Ma said “smart farming nations” such as South America and Southeast Asia had already seen profitability increase after upskilling rural communities and the agricultural workforce. The UK could follow suit, he suggested.

“The UK needs to catch up and if we do it right then we can protect our small farm model and keep local people in their farms by improving the value chain and making farming self-sustainable.”

BeefTwin will develop an AI-powered DigitalTwin for each cow in the herd. This will create a virtual representation of the farming system – including real-time data, simulation, machine learning and real time tracking of emissions.

Farmers will be closely involved in the project. Scientists will measure production beef rates and develop a more efficient production system by adapting farm practice accordingly, says Prof Ma.

Manure management

Areas for study include analysing cattle slurry and manure waste to understand feed conversion rates and productivity in terms of meat and methane emissions, which will be monitored and tracked.

Grazing patterns will be scrutinised to assess their impact on farm productivity and efficiency. Data will also be collected on cattle weight, behaviour, growth patterns, farming practice variations and methane emission tracking.

Meanwhile, a management sciences team will monitor and reconfigure farm practice to create a more efficient and optimised production system that benefits the entire farming value chain – including farmers.

Prof Ma says this will lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, improved feed conversion efficiency, better beef farming productivity; and enhanced animal welfare and reduced calf mortality rates.

“By fostering collaboration and innovation, BeefTwin aims to create a more environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socially responsible future for beef farming.”

For more details about the BeefTwin project, please visit cbit@ntu.ac.uk