Marks & Spencer (M&S) is using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor the welfare of dairy cows across its entire milk pool.
The technology, developed with Cattle Eye, is being deployed across 46 dairy farms supplying M&S. Cameras capture footage of cows when they are indoors, with an algorithm trained alongside veterinary experts analysing the footage in real time.
The AI-powered video analytics creates an individual health profile for each animal, tracking factors including mobility and body condition over time. It also monitors lying and feeding times, social interactions and movement to generate a ‘cow comfort score’, providing farmers and vets with objective data to support assessments of individual animals.
The daily monitoring is designed to complement regular in-person welfare checks carried out by independent vets, while body condition scoring can provide an indication of nutritional status and changes in health.
Terry Canning, CEO of Cattle Eye, said: “Changes in body condition are early indicators of metabolic health, fertility, and overall wellbeing.
“Tracking those changes more regularly, across every cow, gives farmers a level of insight that was previously unavailable outside research environments.
The algorithm has been tested against trained welfare assessors and found to perform to the same standard, according to M&S.
The technology has already been trialled at a selection of M&S dairy farms, where farmers have used the data to make changes to individual animals’ care.
For example, measurements of lying times have prompted changes to bedding to improve comfort according to individual cows’ size and shape. Feeding schedules have also been adapted to reduce the time cows spend standing, while some stalls have been redesigned to improve comfort.
Peter Kennedy, head of agriculture at M&S Food, said the technology would help the retailer continue to develop its welfare standards while supporting British farmers.
“M&S has always had market-leading welfare standards, and as we continue to support British farmers in this latest evolution of welfare monitoring, powered by AI, it will support farmers to give the best care to dairy cows,” he argued.
Jenny Allan, veterinary consultant at farming tech and data intelligence company Map of Ag, which works with several supermarket chains, said M&S has focused on animal health and welfare for more than 15 years. AI monitoring, she said, will provide “valuable insights” into cow comfort and health parameters across all 46 farms.
For Cattle Eye, the scale of the deployment is significant. Canning noted M&S had “set a standard that the rest of the industry will be measured against”, adding that deploying AI welfare monitoring across an entire supply chain was a first.
The initiative forms part of M&S’s Plan A for Farming programme. The retailer has invested more than £7m in agricultural innovation over the past decade, with a further £7m available over the next five years.
Previous projects have included trials of new flooring at an upgraded milking parlour, methane measurement among Aberdeen Angus cattle to support lower-emission breeding, and technology-enabled parsnip farming designed to increase yields and quality while reducing carbon emissions.
M&S milk is 100% British and sourced directly from 46 dairy farmers in its Select Farm milk pool, with the retailer describing these long-term partnerships as central to its approach to animal welfare, environmental protection, and the future resilience of British farming.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
