Birdsong technology used to track wildlife on poultry and pig farms

Pilgrim’s Europe has used AI-powered birdsong technology on 40 UK livestock farms to create a biodiversity baseline and show how everyday farm management affects wildlife.

The large-scale monitoring trial covered 10 broiler farms in Lincolnshire and 30 pig farms in Norfolk.

Pilgrim’s Europe said the project had provided new insight into birdlife across its UK farming supply chain.

The trial used acoustic monitoring technology from Chirrup.ai to record birdsong on participating farms.

Devices were deployed for 21 days, capturing continuous recordings of bird populations.

The recordings were then analysed using artificial intelligence to identify species and assess biodiversity levels.

Pilgrim’s Europe said the findings had established a clearer baseline for biodiversity across the farms involved.

The company said bird populations can act as a practical indicator of wider ecosystem health.

Birdlife can reflect the condition of habitats, food sources and the wider environmental health of farms.

The results could help guide decisions on hedgerow management, grass cutting and tree planting across the company’s supply chain.

Pilgrim’s Europe said everyday farm decisions could play an important role in shaping biodiversity outcomes.

The trial covered both poultry and pig farms, giving the business data from different livestock systems and landscapes.

The company said the data would be used to guide future biodiversity work across its supply chain.

Anna Ganiford, sustainable agriculture manager at Pilgrim’s Europe, said the project had helped the business better understand the role of farm management in supporting wildlife.

“Our farmers are already doing incredible work to look after their land, and this project gives us a new way to recognise and build on that,” she said.

She said the technology had helped make biodiversity easier to measure.

“By trialling Chirrup.ai’s technology, we can start to listen to nature and make biodiversity something measurable, not just visible,” she said.

Ms Ganiford said the trial had provided greater clarity on biodiversity across the participating farms.

“What this trial has really given us is clarity,” she said.

“We now have a much better understanding of biodiversity across our farms and the role that everyday farm management plays in shaping that.”

She said the new baseline would help the company track progress and decide where to focus future action.

“Importantly, it gives us a baseline we didn’t have before – so we can track progress and make more informed decisions about where to focus efforts going forward,” she said.

The biodiversity trial sits alongside Pilgrim’s Europe’s wider work on emissions, soil health, legumes and land use.

This includes NUE-Leg, or Nitrogen Utilisation Efficiency in Legumes, Breed4Change and Land Use for Net Zero.

Pilgrim’s Europe said these programmes were designed to reduce emissions, improve soil health and build resilience across its UK supply base.

The company said the baseline would allow it to measure changes over time and target future biodiversity action more effectively across participating farms.