Next-Level Lameness Detection: How Aurora Oakwood Dairy Uses AI to Catch Problems Earlier
Why Manager Greg Kowalewski Says SmartSight Helps Them See What the Human Eye Can’t
From Herdsman to Manager in a Rapidly Changing Tech Landscape
Greg Kowalewski has spent seven and a half years at Aurora Oakwood Dairy in Central New York, beginning as a herdsman before moving into management of the 2,300-cow operation. His role evolved alongside a fast-growing wave of dairy technology and he says the shift has been exciting. “I’ve always loved new tech… something that’s going to make us more efficient and streamline processes on the farm.”
Even early on, the dairy had sort gates, milk weights and rumination tech. These tools changed their fresh-cow routine dramatically. He explains how they went from locking up every fresh cow to looking at one to two cows a day for ten minutes.
Why They Adopted AI Lameness Detection
Before implementing SmartSight, the farm relied on spot-checking cows entering the parlor or on pushers noticing issues. They could not consistently evaluate every cow every day. When Nedap approached them about a trial, Greg saw the potential with the mindset of continuous improvement on the dairy.
Now the cows receive a 0–100 score, building trend lines that trigger flags when movement declines.
What the Camera Sees That People Don’t
The trimmer repeatedly found early lesions that cows did not yet show to the human eye all because of the new technology. Catching issues early prevents cows from becoming severely lame, reducing production loss and improving recovery outcomes.
“This camera has just been able to allow us to step up our game…find issues before they become large issues.”
Efficiency and Cost Savings
Greg says, hiring someone to watch every cow three times a day would cost three to four times more than the camera system in the long run. Plus, the system doesn’t call in sick or take days off. A true benefit that producers rely on.
The system also changed how they schedule trims. Instead of trimming on preset days, they now rely fully on software recommendations.
To hear the full story from Greg Kowalewski, stream the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or watch the complete interview below.
