Using Machine Learning To Predict Disease In Cattle Might Help Solve A Billion-Dollar Problem

One of the challenges in scaling up meat production are issues of disease for the animals. Take bovine respiratory disease (BRD), for example. This contagious infection is responsible for nearly half of all feedlot deaths for cattle every year in North America. The industry's costs for managing the disease come close to $1 billion annually. Preventative measures could significantly decrease these costs, and a small team comprising a data scientist, a college student and two entrepreneurs spent the past weekend at the Forbes Under 30 Agtech Hackathon figuring out a concept for better managing the disease.