Increasing livestock productivity through innovative solutions

Animal welfare and productivity can be affected by factors like disease and climate conditions in buildings housing livestock. For this reason, diseases should be diagnosed as early as possible, before they render animal unproductive and, of course, before the disease spreads to the other animals in the same farm. Failure to diagnose a disease early enough can result in the need to treat animal with appropriate medicines and in financial losses. At the same time, the conditions prevailing at an animal farm have a serious impact on the living conditions, health and productivity of livestock. The techniques that can help solve these problems – improving the welfare and productivity of livestock – are innovative technologies that can be applied to animals as well as facilities. Specifically, through the use of smart livestock farming, each animal is fed when, as much as and for as long as they should be. These systems can significantly reduce animal feed costs and lead to the raising of healthier animals. Additionally, they can help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and ammonia.

For the early prediction of diseases, there are systems that record environmental data in the livestock buildings and physiological indicators of the animals. On the basis of these data, the use of appropriate models and algorithms can predict potential disease outbreaks. Implementation of these systems leads to a significant reduction in the use of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, and to improved animal welfare. Moreover, optimisation of environmental monitoring can be achieved through sensors and the appropriate models for optimum control of environmental conditions. Use of such systems leads to improved animal welfare and a significant reduction in pollutants and energy consumption. The need to use state-of-the-art systems for recording conditions and problems on animal farms will keep increasing, and successful incorporation of the above technologies into the production chain requires that livestock farmers be properly informed and educated.