AI, Data & Tech

The farmer who uses AI to understand his cows

September 1, 2025 | 3 min read

What a dairy farmer learns about empathy, efficiency and the power of patterns

Every morning, Marc, a man in his fifties from West Flanders, slides open the barn door. It’s quiet. No bellowing animals, no chaos. His fifty dairy cows lie calmly, chewing their cud.

But even before he lays eyes on a single animal, Marc already knows which one isn’t quite herself.

A notification appears on his smartphone: “Cow 227 – abnormal rumination pattern + elevated temperature.” One tap further reveals: restlessness during the night, reduced movement, heart rate 7% above baseline.

Marc doesn’t need more. He knows Cow 227 is on the verge of developing mastitis. In the past, he would have noticed it two days later, when her milk production had already begun to drop. Today, he intervenes before things take a serious turn.

Not just because of his experience. But because of artificial intelligence.

From gut feeling to data

Marc isn’t an academic or a programmer. But for the past few years, he’s been using a system that collects sensor data from his cows, through ear tags, leg bands and cameras in the barn.

This data feeds into an AI platform that learns to recognize behavioral patterns: eating, sleeping, chewing cud, movement, temperature and heart rate. Everything is measured, but more importantly, it’s interpreted.

Where Marc once relied purely on instinct, the system now helps him detect patterns beneath the surface. It doesn’t raise an alert based on a single value, but on combinations of signals. Not just because a cow eats a little less, but because she also moves less, sleeps shorter and shows a slightly elevated heart rate.

That’s the difference between raw data and real insight.

Not science fiction

What Marc uses isn’t unique. Systems like Connecterra, SmaXtec and CowManager are already in use by thousands of dairy farmers around the world. But the real difference lies in how the technology is used.

Some farmers see it as a tool for control or optimization. Marc sees it differently:

“I know my animals better since using AI. Not because I watch less, but because I watch differently.”

And that shift in perspective makes a real impact. Since implementing the system:

  • Antibiotic use has dropped by 30%
  • Milk yield per cow has increased by 12%
  • Reports of serious illness have fallen by nearly 

From empathy to efficiency (and back again)

Here’s the paradox: the more technical the system becomes, the more human the care gets. AI doesn’t replace Marc, it enhances his ability to care.

He couldn’t be present 24/7 before. Now, he knows exactly when to step in. And that shifts his role: from constant monitoring to purposeful, targeted action.

AI doesn’t tell him what to do. It simply points. The decision is still his.

What can other sectors learn?

Agriculture is often seen as slow and traditional. But precisely because of its nature, rich in data, full of variables, and operating on tight margins, it’s an ideal environment for AI.

And the lessons go far beyond farming:

  • In healthcare: AI can help caregivers sense when a patient is declining, even before symptoms appear
  • AI can detect when a student is disengaging, not based on grades, but on subtle behavioral cues.
  • In education In HR: AI can pick up early signals of burnout or disengagement, long before the exit interview.

Time and again, we see the same truth: The value of AI lies not in automation, but in attunement.

Six insights from a barn full of algorithms

1. Trust comes before technology Marc had no background in AI, but he trusted the process. He started small: one sensor, one cow, one alert. It grew from there. Start small. Build trust.

2. AI is a magnifier for empathy The best AI doesn’t replace human feeling,  it enhances it. By organizing information in the right way, it helps you sense more, not less.

3. Interpretation remains human work Marc makes the decisions. Always. AI suggests, flags, hints, but the human chooses. In every sector, AI must remain an advisor, never a dictator.

4. Pattern recognition is more powerful than incident management A single spike in heart rate means little. But a series of subtle signals? That’s where AI shines, seeing connections where we see noise.

5. Continuous feedback makes the system smarter Marc confirms whether alerts were accurate, and the system learns. Without feedback, there’s no intelligence. Make sure your organization enables feedback loops.

6. Not saving time, but spending it better Marc still works the same hours, but differently. Fewer emergencies. More prevention. More calm. That’s productivity: the right energy at the right moment.

Leadership is pattern recognition

What if your team is sending signals, but you’re not picking them up? What if your organization shows symptoms, low morale, high pressure, blinking lights in customer behaviour, but no one feels them, or has time to feel them?

Marc now has an AI assistant that sees what his experience didn’t yet detect. Not to replace him. But to strengthen him.

No robot in the barn. Just a farmer who’s learning to see better.

Do you want to discover how AI can enhance your expertise? Join our Masterclass AI & Strategy for Executives. Contact Wendy van Haaren for more information.

Wendy van Haaren
Wendy van Haaren
Program Adviser
+311 346 63 982
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