H2020 ClearFarm Project: Co-designed welfare monitoring platform for pigs and dairy cattle

A new precision livestock farming platform keeps all stakeholders informed. Holistic data on the welfare, environmental, and economic sustainability of pig and dairy cattle farming is securely shared throughout the value chain for greater transparency and impact. Animal welfare is a growing priority for both farmers and consumers, many of whom consider animal treatment when making decisions. Currently, animal welfare assessments are typically conducted once or twice a year through on-site visits. Increasing the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of welfare monitoring requires automated, real-time collection of accurate data through sensors and digitalization. These systems will be especially important for small farms, which lack the same knowledge and resources as larger operations. A wealth of technology exists, especially for cattle farming, but it has been underutilized for a variety of reasons.

The EU-funded ClearFarm project developed a precision livestock farming platform (GAP) for pig and dairy farming using a co-design approach. ‘Design thinking’: Human-centered design As ClearFarm wanted to increase transparency across all parts of the value chain, the team surveyed the needs and preferences of a wide range of stakeholders. A “design thinking” approach to problem-solving and innovation was used to understand stakeholder needs and integrate them with what is technologically feasible and economically viable. Stakeholders included consumers, farmers, agricultural cooperatives, processors and slaughterhouse operators, retailers, consultants and researchers, and animal welfare groups. Furthermore, design thinking is an iterative process.

ClearFarm not only worked closely with these stakeholders during the definition phase, but also obtained their feedback on the first version, which was key to making technical and conceptual improvements more in line with the stakeholders' visions. "One of the main things we learned from the project was that people have mixed feelings about using PLF on farms to assess animal welfare. While they are generally positive about it, they have some concerns about the use of private data and the impact it could have on the human-animal relationship," notes project coordinator Xavier Manteca of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. ClearFarm's PLF platform for pig and dairy cattle farming collaborated with universities, research institutions, and private companies, leveraging the expertise of diverse specialists such as scientists, animal welfare experts, data processors, sensor technologists, sociologists, and environmentalists. He addressed the issue of data sharing with other livestock producers for benchmarking purposes, with auditing and certification organizations, with retailers, with market innovators, with government agencies, and for monitoring purposes.

The result is a functional digital platform that enables stakeholders to provide animal welfare data (AWD) in pig and dairy farming. It integrates data on health, nutrition, well-being, emotional state, and natural behavior, as well as environmental and economic sustainability. “The ClearFarm platform for animal AWD integrates a wealth of data and ensures more efficient data collection and analysis using AI. It enables pioneering harmonized data exchange, connecting stakeholders beyond the farm level in the value chain,” explains Manteca. The future of AWD ClearFarm overcame the significant hurdles of COVID-19 restrictions and produced an unexpectedly high number of peer-reviewed articles.

The team is currently working on integrating the platform into existing dairy cattle welfare assessment programs. In pig farming, where existing technologies were less advanced, the team is developing improved and validated sensors for comprehensive welfare monitoring. However, Manteca concludes: "PLF technology can be extremely useful for assessing welfare, but it will never replace good herd management: a demonstrated affinity and empathy for cattle, combined with patient, stress-free handling."