18: Precision livestock feeding, principle and practice

Abstract

Precision livestock farming (PLF) is proposed to the livestock industry as an essential tool to enhance sustainability and competitiveness • Precision livestock feeding is part of PLF and can have a great impact in livestock profitability due the ability of feeding pigs with diets tailored daily to their nutrient requirements. •Precision livestock feeding can decrease livestock environmental impacts by optimizing the use of dietary nutrients and animal nutrient utilization efficiency which results in less nutrient excretion. •Mathematical models developed for precision livestock feeding must be designed to operate in real-time using system measurements. These models are structurally different from traditional nutrition models. •The success of PLF is dependent on the precision livestock feeding integration into the system, as well, the adaptability and training of the farmers to use PLF systems.

Non-Destructive Imaging and Spectroscopic Techniques for Assessment of Carcass and Meat Quality in Sheep and Goats: A Review

“…Permanent access to information related to CT images and databases of the composition traits must also be considered as valuable [ 14 ]. It should also be noted that CT, as a non-invasive technique, allows the modelling of the body composition of the same animal over time, which adds precision to the decisions about breeding and nutrition [ 36 , 37 ]. Table 2 presents a summary of works that use CT for prediction of carcass or body composition of sheep and goats.…”

Prospects for sustainability of pig production in relation to climate change and novel feed resources

“…Similar to crop production, the sustainability of this high‐input high‐output system is further improved through the use of modern monitoring and control systems that allow for precision livestock farming (PLF), a term coined in 2004 describing ‘a management system based on continuous automatic real‐time monitoring and control of production/reproduction, animal health and welfare, and the environmental impact of livestock production’ . Because feed accounts for 60 to 70% of the overall production costs of livestock production, precision livestock feeding is an important component of PLF, which consists of providing, in real‐time, the individual amount of nutrients required that maximizes nutrient utilization without loss of performance, and takes into consideration changes in nutrient requirements that occur over time and variation in nutrient requirements that exits among individual . Thus, according to PLF, dietary requirements form a dynamic process in function of the animal's own intrinsic (e.g.…”

“…Precision feeding is accomplished through automatic measurement devices for the collection of data (e.g. feed intake, body weight, analytes), data processing and computational methods that estimate the nutrient requirements based on these inputs, and feeding systems that are capable of providing (individually) the adequate amount and precise diet formulation that maximize the desired production trajectory . For example, by modeling the individual nutrient requirements of sows and growing pigs, feeding strategies can be formulated on a per animal basis, thus optimizing efficiency and performance .…”

“…73,74 Because feed accounts for 60 to 70% of the overall production costs of livestock production, precision livestock feeding is an important component of PLF, which consists of providing, in real-time, the individual amount of nutrients required that maximizes nutrient utilization without loss of performance, and takes into consideration changes in nutrient requirements that occur over time and variation in nutrient requirements that exits among individual. 75 Thus, according to PLF, dietary requirements form a dynamic process in function of the animal's own intrinsic (e.g. genetics, health, nutritional status) and extrinsic (environmental and social stressors) factors that can be monitored in real-time.…”

Measures Matter—Determining the True Nutri-Physiological Value of Feed Ingredients for Swine

“…As precision animal production practices are adopted, farm profitability, efficiency, environmental sustainability, animal health, and welfare are also improved [ 22 ]. Precision animal nutrition and feeding is a core component of precision animal production systems, and involves providing customized diets that meet the changing nutrient requirements of animals over time while also accounting for differences in requirements among individual animals within contemporary groups [ 23 ]. However, achieving precision nutrition requires accurate determination of the true nutritional value and physiological responses of various feed ingredients used in diets formulated for precision feeding programs [ 24 , 25 ].…”