High tech facial recognition for cattle

Cargill announced in a press release Jan. 31 that it and Cainthus, a Dublin, Ireland-based machine vision company, are reshaping how animal producers make decisions for their livestock through a strategic partnership that will bring facial recognition technology to dairy farms around the world. The deal includes a minority equity investment from Cargill. Terms were not disclosed. Cainthus uses predictive imaging to monitor the health and wellbeing of livestock. Their proprietary software uses images to identify individual animals based on hide patterns and facial recognition and tracks key data such as food and water intake, heat detection and behavior patterns. David Hunt, president and co-founder, Cainthus, said, “Cargill is a natural partner for us, given their focus on bringing a world-class digital capability to the market and their understanding of how technology will truly help farmers succeed.” Scott Ainslie, vice president and group director, Cargill Animal Nutrition, said, “It’s important for us to invest in emerging digital technologies that drive value for our customers and for the industry. As an industry leader in this space, we are committed to using technology to address the biggest challenges facing the food system.” — WLJ