Some day, body condition scoring might be as easy as the click of a digital camera. Researchers at the Agricultural College Crichton Royal Farm in Scotland used a camera to take digital pictures of cows as they passed through a weigh station.
Hook angle, posterior hook angle and tail head depression were significant predictors of body condition score (BCS). “When the full data set testing only the angles around the hooks were used, 100% of predicted BCS were within 0.50 points of actual BCS, and 93% were within 0.25 points,” say the authors in the September issue of the Journal of Dairy Science.
“This research demonstrates the potential for using digital images for assessing BCS,” says the authors. For more information, go to: http://jds.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/91/9/3439?etoc
