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Supporting the Development and Adoption of Automatic Lameness Detection Systems in Dairy Cattle: Effect of System
Tim Van De Gucht1,2, Stephanie Van Weyenberg3, Annelies Van Nuffel4
1Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research-ILVO, Technology and Food Sciences Unit, Burg, van Gansberghelaan 115, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. tim.vandegucht@ilvo.vlaanderen.be.
Abstract:
Most automatic lameness detection system prototypes have not yet been commercialized, and are hence not yet adopted in practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to simulate the effect of detection performance (percentage missed lame cows and percentage false alarms) and system cost on the potential market share of three automatic lameness detection systems relative to visual detection: a system attached to the cow, a walkover system, and a camera system. Simulations were done using a utility model derived from survey responses obtained from dairy farmers in Flanders, Belgium. Overall, systems attached to the cow had the largest market potential, but were still not competitive with visual detection. Increasing the detection performance or lowering the system cost led to higher market shares for automatic systems at the expense of visual detection. The willingness to pay for extra performance was €2.57 per % less missed lame cows, €1.65 per % less false alerts, and €12.7 for lame leg indication, respectively. The presented results could be exploited by system designers to determine the effect of adjustments to the technology on a system's potential adoption rate.
