Lely very recently introduced a new product called the Lely Zeta. An extra set of intelligent eyes monitoring barns 24/7. Zeta generates and collects a wide variety of data and insights from the barn, which are useful for decision-making on the farm of the future.
Challenges
Working on average over 60 hours a week (Teagasc, 2019), farming is extremely labor intensive. And more and more farmers wish to have a better quality of life and want to be able to spend more time with their family (Teagasc, 2019). But how is this possible while still maintaining an efficient farm and keeping productivity high, and most importantly how does one harbor the well being of the animals.
The Zeta
This is where the most recent solution of Lely comes into play. The Lely zeta utilizes camera’s, Led lighting, AI and algorithms to track cows, and other moving barn robots. Not only are the cameras tracking the cows but they are actually monitoring their behavior. More specifically the movement patterns and heatmaps of cows in estrus, and where they are spending the most time within the barn. If a farmer determines that a cow needs more attention they can have the system place a spotlight on the cow, through the aforementioned led lights. They don’t have to spend any time looking for a specific cow, currently this is problematic at large scale farms.
Animal welfare
So the cows in estrus get that they need exactly when they need it. This is where the AI part comes into play, the zeta is trained to detect contractions in pregnant cows and subsequently attach a contraction score to this cow. When the calving starts, a notification is sent to the farmer phone, also when the process goes wrong or takes too long a notification is sent. This allows the farmer to continue other activities if everything goes according to plan.
Horizon
All of this information is in the farmers pocket on his phone on Lely’s horizon platform. Very comparable to the John Deere case we discussed in class. This proves that even the most traditional industries cannot escape the grasp of digitalization. And subsequently the creation of digital platforms. This very platform is what farmers are looking for as mentioned in the beginning. Farms have become ever so efficient and the animals are taken care of in the best possible sense. This is where Lely’s latest solution, the Zeta, becomes invaluable. Especially in combination with the data of other robots like feeding, cleaning and milking robots.
Dependencies
The benefits are very clear, but now the question remains what if the system malfunctions? At what point in the future have people become too dependent on technology. In this case, will the farmer be able to manage their farm using traditional or analog methods? And what if they aren’t able to handle it? how big will the damages and consequences be?
Teagasc. (2019). Dairy – Becoming the 50-hour farmer – reducing workload on dairy farms – Teagasc | Agriculture and Food Development Authority. https://www.teagasc.ie/news–events/daily/dairy/becoming-the-50-hour-farmer—reducing-workload-on-dairy-farms.php
