The Challenge

At 1,050 Holstein cows milked three times a day through a large rotary parlour, Highfields Farm is not a small operation. It is a high-performing, professionally managed dairy in south Cheshire and consistently hitting very strong yields.

But size creates its own issues, and lameness is one that grows in direct proportion to a herd. With cows going through the parlour in a continuous cycle, relying on staff to spot subtle changes in gait across more than a thousand animals is a challenge. The farm's existing protocol provided valuable snapshots, but as a responsible farm business they were seeking greater frequency and consistency. For example, a cow that began showing early signs of lameness in the days after a scoring visit may progress from something easily managed to something that required more intensive treatment, a longer recovery, and result in a prolonged hit on milk production and reproductive performance.

The farm's hoof health protocols were already robust. The real gap was the daily picture of which cows were moving differently, which scores were trending upward, which animals needed the foot trimmer's attention before they got worse rather than after.

Why 91¶¶Òõ

The installation at Highfields positioned the camera at the exit of the rotary parlour, in the race leading to the sorting gate. As each cow exits and walks underneath, 91¶¶Òõ's AI analyses thousands of data points relating to her gait ¡ª back posture, stride length, walking speed, movement asymmetry ¡ª and assigns a mobility score. Following an initial training period, the system identifies individual animals by recognising each cow's unique combination of body shape and coat pattern, a process that takes around seven days to complete when a new herd comes on board.

Scores then feed into the farm's 91¶¶Òõ dashboard, which syncs directly with the herd management software already in use. Herd manager John Riley's daily routine became looking at the lame cow, checking which animals had been seen, tracking whether cows that had received treatment were improving on schedule, and producing trim lists for the foot trimmer's regular Monday and Tuesday visits.

Individual cow scores can be displayed for staff to track trends and pick up affected feet before they jump up a score. That progression matters enormously in practice. A cow moving from a score of 1 to 2 is a very different clinical and economic proposition from a cow that has already reached a 3.

The Results

Over 18 months of use, Highfields Farm achieved an 8% reduction in overall lameness prevalence. That figure matters more in context than it might appear in isolation. The farm was already operating to a high standard when 91¶¶Òõ was installed. This was not a turnaround story. It was an incremental, sustained improvement in a herd that had little obvious room to improve.

The farm was identifying problems early, before animals were reaching score 2 or 3. Earlier intervention means shorter recovery times, lower treatment costs, and fewer cows spending extended periods with compromised mobility - all of which protect milk yield, reproductive performance, and the productive lifespan of the animal. Independent research from the University of Liverpool's Stride Project values each lameness case at ?330 once the full cost of reduced milk production, treatment, extended calving intervals, and culling risk is accounted for.

Trimming schedules, treatment approaches, and vet involvement remained consistent. What changed was the quality and frequency of information the team had access to. Lameness prevalence dropped to a low-teens percentile since the camera was installed, with cows showing persistently poor mobility scores progressively managed out of the herd. The system didn't replace good management, it made already good management more precise.

In Their Own Words

"It's really easy to use, easy to install ¡ª gives us a reassurance that cows are being monitored every day. 91¶¶Òõ is really something that I wouldn't be without on the farm."

John Riley, Highfields Farm

What this farm shows

The 8% reduction in lameness came not from plugging an obvious gap but from adding consistent, objective, daily data to a system that was already functioning well. The farm didn't need 91¶¶Òõ to tell them lameness was a problem. They needed it to show them exactly where it was developing before it became one, across more than a thousand animals, every single day of the year. That is a problem that experienced staff and periodic vet scoring cannot solve alone, regardless of how capable either might be.