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GEA is expanding its digital dairy farming capabilities with the opening of a new software lab in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The facility will add 20 research and development (R&D) roles focused on advancing the company’s AI-powered livestock monitoring platform, CattleEye, alongside other digital solutions within GEA’s DairyNet farm management portfolio.
The Belfast lab reflects the company’s broader push to scale digital technologies across dairy production, using data analytics and AI to improve animal health, operational efficiency and sustainability outcomes.
Andreas Seeringer, CEO of GEA Farm Technologies, said: “With our new software lab in Belfast, GEA is strengthening its role as a technology leader in digital dairy farming. By improving animal health and well-being through AI-based solutions like CattleEye, dairy farms become more efficient, more sustainable and ultimately more profitable.”
The CattleEye platform uses computer vision and machine learning to detect early signs of lameness in dairy cows and assess body condition scores, enabling farmers to intervene earlier and manage herd health more effectively.
According to the company, the system is currently deployed on more than 140 farms across the UK, Europe, the United States and Australia, monitoring over 200,000 cattle across 23 countries.
GEA acquired CattleEye in 2024 as part of its strategy to integrate advanced digital technologies into its next-generation dairy equipment and farm management solutions.
The new Belfast facility will support further AI integration and expand the system’s capabilities, while also enhancing the functionality and user experience of the DairyNet mobile app used by farmers to manage herd data.
The investment highlights Northern Ireland’s role in GEA’s global digital agriculture strategy, combining a strong dairy farming heritage with a growing technology sector.
“The new software lab will be a significant milestone in integrating CattleEye fully into our state-of-the-art herd management systems and will extend our digital footprint in farming,” said Terry Canning, CattleEye co-founder and senior director at GEA.
The technology is also expected to support sustainability goals by helping farms optimise animal health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The project has received financial support from Invest Northern Ireland, the region’s economic development agency. The funding is partly backed by the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund.
Speaking at the opening, Vicky Kell, director of innovation, research and development at Invest NI, said: "This investment in R&D is a vote of confidence in our talent, infrastructure and capabilities in Northern Ireland. The CattleEye solution shows how innovation can deliver competitive advantages in the global agri-tech market.”
