Do you know the estrus by AI? The “brain” that changes agriculture in the world is 17:59 on March 11

Milk, dairy products, and beef to enrich your everyday dining table. All can benefit from dairy and livestock. However, the problem facing the whole country is the shortage of human resources. Taking care of the creature 24 hours is a burden for the bearer. How can you reduce the burden?
An IT venture company headquartered in the Tokachi region of Hokkaido, which has been spotlighted on the NHK serial TV novel "Natsuzora", has set out to solve the problem. The key is AI = artificial intelligence. From Tokachi to "become a brain that will change the world's agriculture," we will approach the challenge of this company. (Makoto Kato, Obihiro Broadcasting Station Reporter)

New device for determining the "estrus period"

The Tokachi region of Hokkaido has a vast plain. In January, I visited the ranch of Hiroaki Watanabe, a dairy farmer in Sarabetsu Village, in the middle.

When you show me a cow that has 180 cows, something strange is on my neck.

This is a collar-type “terminal”. A device called an "acceleration sensor" can record the movement of each cow for 24 hours.

It is important to breed cows that have reached the breeding season, and to find out signs of estrus and to breed them as soon as possible. Cows do not produce milk unless they have children, so a faster birth cycle is directly linked to an increase in milk production.

Mr. Watanabe, who introduced this system four years ago, has a smartphone. If you look at this, you can tell at a glance if you are in estrus.

Mr. Watanabe showed the cow in estrus and said, "That cow is now in estrus. So far, we have judged the estrus by looking at other cows, Sensors can help me tell me even the most subtle fidgets that the human eye can't tell. "

Developed IT venture from Tokachi

The system was developed by Farm Note, an IT venture company headquartered in Obihiro.

We asked Eiji Shimomura, managing director of the business, how the estrus period is known.

First, the AI ​​obtains information from the sensor at the cow's neck, and accumulates data on the cow's "activity" and "rest", and the "ruminant" situation where food swallowed in the stomach is returned to the mouth and chewed again. .

In the estrus period, cows are fidgety and calm, and their “activity” increases, and the time of “rumination” decreases.

For this reason, AI can find cattle that have entered estrus from the vast amount of data.

The estrus of cows visits every 21 days on average, but a single estrus lasts only about 8 hours. Often visited during the night hours, dairymen have to be monitored for sleeplessness in order to reduce oversight.

On the other hand, according to the company, dairy farmers were troubled by overlooking estrus once, which would result in a loss of 94,000 yen due to a decrease in raw milk production and the cost of food during that time.

"I want to free dairymen from the burden"

The ability to determine estrus without having to look around at night has relieved dairymen of this burden. The company was awarded the Japan Venture Awards for the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award, and the Japan Manufacturing Award for excellent human resources who support Japanese manufacturing.

“This service is worth it”
Mr. Shimomura was convinced from the experience of training at the livestock farm for several months at the time of the foundation.

Mr. Shimomura said, “At the ranch we entered at the time, the veterinarian turned it over with a veterinarian simply by keeping a work record of the elderly woman's fertility, when she was fertilized, and when she was fed. At that time, I felt strongly that I could use my technology to contribute to dairy and livestock in Japan. "

Expanded to 4,000 units introduced

Since its establishment in 2013, the system has been introduced to 4,000 households nationwide, accounting for 6% of livestock farmers in Japan. Recently, there has been a concerted move in which the town of Kimotsuki in Kagoshima Prefecture subsidizes and introduces 20 young beef cattle farmers.

Furthermore, the company is considering new services using big data collected from a large number of cattle. For example, they are considering catching the epidemic of livestock infectious diseases and calling attention by comparing the entered disease diagnosis records with cattle behavior data.

Mr. Shimomura said, "We believe that various developments are possible, such as improving the effect of feed for beef cattle in cooperation with agricultural cooperatives."

Aim is "the brain of world agriculture"

The company is now aiming to expand services overseas. We have already begun experiments from last fall to winter.

Mr. Shimomura said of his business goals overseas, "We want to be the brain of the world's agriculture. By collecting data, for example, what happens to cows that do not emit much methane gas, which causes global warming? I can suggest whether I can make it. "

With the hope that a young venture company from Tokachi, Hokkaido, will showcase the world's leading dairy and livestock industries, I would like to pay more attention to future trends.

Obihiro Broadcasting Station Reporter Makoto Kato

Every Tuesday broadcast "Natoku Tokachi!"