Bitesize Biosecurity: A tool and framework for curating and summarising expert biosecurity advice for farmers using...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Veterinary Medicine
• Artificial Intelligence

Background:

• Biosecurity practices are crucial for mitigating disease risk in livestock farming.
• Variable adoption and implementation of biosecurity measures by farmers present a significant challenge.
• Effective communication of biosecurity information is key to improving uptake, reducing disease, and enhancing farm productivity and animal welfare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a framework utilizing large language models (LLMs) for transforming complex biosecurity guidance into accessible information for livestock farmers.
• To create a proof-of-concept system targeting specific UK livestock health challenges (sheep scab, liver fluke, Johne's disease) for cattle and sheep.
• To improve the dissemination and practical application of evidence-based biosecurity recommendations.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging large language models (LLMs) to process and condense expert biosecurity advice from UK government and veterinary sources.
• Developing a purpose-built platform to host condensed, accessible biosecurity summaries.
• Focusing initial implementation on three prevalent diseases affecting cattle and sheep in the UK.

Main Results:

• A centralized repository, 'Bitesize Biosecurity,' was established, offering farmers easy access to evidence-based recommendations.
• The system successfully transforms complex scientific literature into practical, actionable guidance.
• Scientific integrity is maintained while ensuring information is presented in an accessible format for farmers.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework addresses critical gaps in agricultural knowledge transfer between research and practice.
• The system's scalable architecture allows for future expansion to more diseases, farm types, and geographical regions.
• This approach has the potential to significantly transform biosecurity information communication across the entire agricultural sector.