From Tradition to Precision: Leveraging Digital Tools to Improve Cattle Health and Welfare

Andra-Sabina NECULAI-VALEANU ^1,2* CATALINA SANDULEANU ^1,3* Ioana Porosnicu ^1,4

• ¹ Research & Development Station for Cattle Breeding, Dancu, Romania, Iasi, Romania
• ² The Academy of Romanian Scientists, Bucharest, Romania, Bucharest, Romania
• ³ Department of Animal Resources and Technologies, Faculty of Food and Animal Resources, Iasi University of Life Science, Iasi, Romania, Iasi, Romania
• ⁴ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Iasi University of Life Science, Iasi, Romania, Iasi, Romania

Traditional cattle production practices relied heavily on manual observation and empirical decision-making, often leading to inconsistent outcomes. In contrast, modern approaches leverage technology to achieve greater precision and efficiency. Advancement in technology has shifted to a new dimension of predictive and monitoring in cattle health management. This review aims at highlighting the available and current digital technologies in cattle health, evaluate their utility in practice, and identify possible future advancements in the field that can potentially bring even more changes to this industry. The paper highlights some of the barriers and disadvantages of using these technologies, such as data security issues, high capital investments, and skills gap. The integration of these advanced technologies is set to play a fundamental role in enabling the livestock industry to meet the rising global demand for high-quality, sustainably produced products. These technologies are essential for ensuring compliance with ethical standards and best practices in cattle care and wellbeing. In light of these advancements, the application of digital innovations will support the achievement of socially responsible cattle production, while simultaneously maintaining optimal levels of animal health and welfare.