Early detection of cattle disease would cut costs for farmers

An innovative new project will develop automated and real-time monitoring of a cattle disease that costs the UK agriculture sector ￡80 million every year.

The research, involving SRUC , UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) , ROBOSCIENTIFIC LIMITED , Zoetis UK and Ritchie Agricultural , will focus on detection of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). This is a major issue facing beef and dairy farmers, causing significant costs through cattle mortality, veterinary bills , increased labour and reduced animal productivity.?

As part of the DETECT project, UKCEH scientists will take samples of the breath of cattle that are healthy and those that are confirmed to have BRD. They will then use a chemical ionisation mass spectrometer to identify which particular gases known as volatile metabolites are associated with healthy or diseased cattle.

This will inform the development of low-cost sensors that will be integrated into automatic calf feeders to monitor the breath of animals as they feed. Electronic ear tags allow the test results to be linked to individual animals.

This 'passive monitoring' method is an exciting new approach. Previously techniques to obtain a sample of breath have typically involved animal handling, such as the use of nasal swabs or fixing a mask to individual animals. A UKCEH-led-study last year established the method could work.

Innovate UK Business Connect has awarded a ￡700,000 grant to DETECT. It is one of 19 successful projects funded through the Farming Futures Automation and Robotics competition, part of Defra’s ￡270 million Farming Innovation Programme (FIP).

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