SIP11
Smart Health and Efficiency Enhancement through Prediction and Conductimetry for Animal Reproduction and Evaluation (SHEEPCARE)
Sector: Livestock / Dairy Sheep – Reproduction and Milk Quality
Country of the Pilot: Spain
About the SIP
SHEEPCARE tackles two critical challenges in the dairy sheep sector, mastitis and inefficient reproduction management—by combining artificial intelligence and portable sensing technologies into a single, farmer-friendly system. The pilot takes place in Castilla y León, Spain, with farmers from the GENOVIS cooperative, where maintaining milk quality and breeding efficiency is essential for profitability and animal welfare.
The SIP develops a dual-function Agricultural Digital Solution (ADS) for Somatic Cell Count (SCC) estimation in milk and estrus detection in ewes, using real-time data collected from portable devices. This approach supports early disease detection, reduces milk losses, and improves reproductive timing, helping farmers make better decisions directly on the field.
The Problem
Spanish sheep farms face recurring productivity losses due to high somatic cell counts (SCC), which reduce milk quality and market value, and low breeding efficiency linked to late or missed estrus detection. Traditional methods are slow, invasive, and require laboratory analysis or continuous supervision.
Small and medium-sized farms in rural areas often lack access to advanced monitoring systems or stable internet connectivity, making the need for affordable, offline-capable digital tools especially urgent.
The Solution
SHEEPCARE delivers a hybrid cloud/edge monitoring system that integrates portable NIR spectroscopy (NIRS) and vaginal electrical resistance (VER) devices with AI-driven data analysis:
- Cloud-based ADS – Farmers use a portable NIR device to analyze milk samples and a conductimetry tool to assess estrus. Data is transmitted to the cloud for AI-based prediction and stored securely. Results, SCC values or estrus detection status, are then displayed on a smartphone or laptop interface.
- Edge-based ADS – Both devices connect via Bluetooth or USB to a local laptop or tablet, where pre-trained ML models process data offline. This allows immediate, on-site results even without connectivity, with automatic synchronization to the cloud once online access is restored.
Both versions are interoperable with OpenAgri OS Services, including:
- Weather Data Service, to assess environmental influence on milk quality and reproduction;
- Gatekeeper, for secure data sharing;
- Reporting Service, for automated reporting;
- Farm Calendar, to store and visualize daily records.
By combining portable hardware, predictive modeling, and open-source interoperability, SHEEPCARE enables over 90% accuracy in estrus detection, improves milk quality, and reduces losses associated with high SCC levels, empowering dairy farmers to manage herds more efficiently and sustainably.