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China’s pig farms introduce face recognition technologies

16 December 2020

After long-lasting swine fever outbreak, Chinese pig farms aim to minimize possible losses by making their production sites more automated. As a result, the market of precision farming technologies for pork production is actively growing. Currently, one of the most implemented solutions on the Chinese pig farms is the face recognition technology (FRT). The technology monitors pigs from birth to slaughter and can identify when they feel sick or distressed. In particular, the software tracks pigs’ snouts, eyes and ears, as well as pulse and sweat rates. In addition, the face recognition technology can help pig farms to optimize feeding schemes and estimatedly reduce feed waste 20%.

However, due to high implementation costs, this technology might potentially benefit only large-scale farms leaving smaller producers behind. Installation costs can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars while the costs of monitoring pigs’ faces are estimated at $7 per pig, as opposed to traditional tagging worth $0.30 per pig.

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