Predicting Dairy Calf Body Weight from Depth Images Using Deep Learning (YOLOv8) and Threshold Segmentation with Cross-Validation and Longitudinal Analysis
This addresses labor-intensive weight monitoring in dairy farming, offering a non-contact solution, but it is incremental as it applies existing deep learning methods to a specific agricultural domain.
The study tackled automated body weight prediction for dairy calves using depth images, finding that YOLOv8 segmentation outperformed threshold methods and XGBoost achieved high accuracy (R^2=0.91, MAPE=4.37%) in single-time predictions, with LMM excelling in longitudinal analysis (R^2=0.99, MAPE=2.39%).
Monitoring calf body weight (BW) before weaning is essential for assessing growth, feed efficiency, health, and weaning readiness. However, labor, time, and facility constraints limit BW collection. Additionally, Holstein calf coat patterns complicate image-based BW estimation, and few studies have explored non-contact measurements taken at early time points for predicting later BW. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop deep learning-based segmentation models for extracting calf body metrics, (2) compare deep learning segmentation with threshold-based methods, and (3) evaluate BW prediction using single-time-point cross-validation with linear regression (LR) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and multiple-time-point cross-validation with LR, XGBoost, and a linear mixed model (LMM). Depth images from Holstein (n = 63) and Jersey (n = 5) pre-weaning calves were collected, with 20 Holstein calves being weighed manually. Results showed that You Only Look Once version 8 (YOLOv8) deep learning segmentation (intersection over union = 0.98) outperformed threshold-based methods (0.89). In single-time-point cross-validation, XGBoost achieved the best BW prediction (R^2 = 0.91, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) = 4.37%), while LMM provided the most accurate longitudinal BW prediction (R^2 = 0.99, MAPE = 2.39%). These findings highlight the potential of deep learning for automated BW prediction, enhancing farm management.