Ashley Perepelkin says she was born and raised a city girl, never thinking she害羞草研究所檇 sell fresh beef from cattle she raised on her own Alberta farm with the help of artificial intelligence.

害羞草研究所淚 met a boy, and this boy happened to be a farmer,害羞草研究所� she says.

Perepelkin, who spent most of her life in Red Deer, Alta., says she and her now-husband Andrew met in 2010, got married and began farming grain together.

When she decided to get cattle, it was a steep learning curve.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of things were learned, unfortunately, through trial and error,害羞草研究所� she says.

Perepelkin says she enrolled in a continuing education course through Olds College of Agriculture and Technology in Olds, Alta. That害羞草研究所檚 when she saw a video about what AI could do for farmers, and became excited.

害羞草研究所淓mployees are expensive, especially 害羞草研究所� when you don害羞草研究所檛 exactly know what you害羞草研究所檙e looking for at the beginning,害羞草研究所� she says.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 hard to train somebody.害羞草研究所�

The Perepelkins can monitor their cattle害羞草研究所檚 health, activity, nutrition and growth though cameras, thanks to facial recognition technology for animals called 360 Live ID, a platform developed by a startup called OneCup AI.

OneCup AI is the creator of Bovine Expert Tracking and Surveillance, or BETSY. CEO Mokah Shmigelsky says the technology has been on the market since 2022, and there are now 140 setups across Canada.

害羞草研究所淪o far our producers have been very excited about our system, and offering consistent feedback so that we can improve their user experience,害羞草研究所� she says.

Shmigelsky, who grew up near Calgary, says her extended family has been involved in ranching and farming for a long time.

She says the idea for BETSY came about when she and her husband were sitting around a campfire at a family reunion in Saskatchewan, discussing the 害羞草研究所減ain points害羞草研究所� in the cattle industry.

She says a cousin talked about wanting to identify cows without having to use tags and asked if it could be done using computers and cameras.

Shmigelsky害羞草研究所檚 husband, Geoff, who she says is the brains behind OneCup AI, responded that identifying cattle using AI would be no problem. That害羞草研究所檚 when they developed the system and tested it on their relatives害羞草研究所� cattle.

害羞草研究所淲hen BETSY sees an animal that害羞草研究所檚 calving, she害羞草研究所檒l send a text message to the producer,害羞草研究所� she says.

Perepelkin says her herd of 100 don害羞草研究所檛 start calving until January or February. She brings the animals into a closer pen around the end of December.

害羞草研究所淎t that point, (the cameras) will visually see their bedding packs, where I put straw out for the cows to sleep.害羞草研究所�

Perepelkin says a maternity pen is equipped with another BETSY camera that oversees its entire area.

She says instead of getting up every three or four hours in the evening to check if her cows are calving, she receives text messages, and can view the cameras through her phone or computer. The cameras watch for signs such as contractions to determine if a cow is about to give birth.

Perepelkin says BETSY can distinguish between two cows having babies side-by-side.

害羞草研究所淚f the cows did switch babies, we can switch them back and rectify the problem.害羞草研究所�

In November, BETSY won OneCup AI the business of the year honour at the Animal AgTech Awards at the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.

Perepelkin says a lot of what farmers and ranchers do comes down to experience and time.

害羞草研究所淎s everybody knows, time costs money, right?害羞草研究所�

Perepelkin says she knew her farm could be better if she only had an extra set of hands when calving out cows and detecting if one is injured or sick.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a little hard to explain if you害羞草研究所檙e not familiar yourself with cows and how they show some signs and symptoms of things.害羞草研究所�

Perepelkin says cows make a certain shape to their tail when they are contracting, but it害羞草研究所檚 similar to when they害羞草研究所檙e urinating or defecating.

害羞草研究所淭hat has probably been the hardest jump for (OneCup AI) to get past, is to identify the difference from to the other,害羞草研究所� she says.

Shmigelsky says dairy farmers are not only interested in calving alerts, but alerts when cows are in heat and are ready to breed.

害羞草研究所淵ou want to get those animals bred in an optimal window, essentially.害羞草研究所�

She says there should be enough camera coverage for where the animals are located, and that most places have four to six cameras depending on how many animals and pens they own.

Perepelkin says she also started selling meat right from the 害羞草研究所渇arm to table害羞草研究所� about five years ago.

害羞草研究所淚t absolutely blew the grocery store out of the park,害羞草研究所� she says.

She says she began providing meat to her urban friends and relatives.

害羞草研究所淕rowing up in the city, they never got to experience the farm-fresh beef.害羞草研究所�

The business has expanded into pepperoni, ground beef, smokies, sausages, steaks and roasts, and the Perepelkins hope to make a storefront on their property someday soon.