By Janan Shoja Doost
A University of Guelph researcher is helping Canadian farmers shape the future of dairy farming by combining artificial intelligence (AI), animal welfare science and social science to ensure new technologies improve cow welfare and are practical for real-world farms.
Dr. Helen Hambly, a professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, Ontario Agricultural College, is part of WELL-E, a multi-institution research initiative focused on animal welfare and AI that is led by McGill University and Université du Québec à Montréal and brings in Ontario-based researchers and extension specialists at U of G, as well as dairy industry partners.
Begun in 2023, WELL-E brings together an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers from Quebec and Ontario to explore how advanced digital technologies can support the health and well-being of dairy cattle while strengthening the industry’s sustainability. Hambly leads the project’s social science research, examining how farmers, researchers and industry partners collaborate to ensure new technologies are practical, ethical and widely adopted.
“Inclusive innovation means checking in with what is really happening in the real world,” says Hambly. “It means designing research so the results are more ready to be taken up by the people who will actually use them.”
AI for Dairy Cow Welfare
Today’s on-farm environment includes a growing digital ecosystem in modern dairy barns, where sensors, cameras and connected monitoring systems track animal behaviour, milk output, barn conditions and human-animal interactions.
WELL-E uses AI and machine learning tools to analyze these data streams in real-time, helping farmers optimize housing environments and identify early signs of health or welfare concerns.
For Hambly, technological efficiency is secondary to animal welfare.
“You want the health of the animals to come first, because it is the health of the entire farm business, the dairy industry and Canadian dairy products,” she says.
Looking Ahead
WELL-E partners aim to expand beyond dairy into other agricultural settings, including beef and crop systems, while keeping a strong focus on responsible innovation, animal welfare and secure data management.
“We do not want to see digital transformation in agriculture lead to bigger problems,” Hambly says. “From the outset, we have to approach this with responsibility and ethical perspectives to ensure we are creating benefits to society.”
WELL-E is a five-year initiative funded through NSERC Alliance and Prompt and industry partners, including Novalait, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Les Producteurs de lait du Québec and Lactanet, with additional University of Guelph support from Food from Thought.
