Precision livestock feeding: matching nutrient supply with nutrient requirements of individual animals

• Main Author: M.J. Zuidhof
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-03-01
• Series: Journal of Applied Poultry Research
• Subjects: precision feeding; nutrient requirements; smart technology; nutrient excretion; sustainability
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1056617119323190

Summary: Precision livestock feeding aims to match nutrient supply precisely with the nutrient requirements of individual animals, based on real-time feedback from sensors. The benefits include greater economic returns, reduced excretion to the environment, and improved efficiency of resource utilization. Animal models must be further developed and integrated with new and existing smart machines designed to deliver the right amount of the right feed to the right bird at the right time. This will require real-time sensing technologies to provide input about the feed and feed ingredients, the environment, and the birds themselves. Sensor data will allow precise estimation of nutrient requirements of each bird in real-time, to be delivered immediately to that bird by a capable machine. Precision livestock feeding will strengthen the economic, environmental, and social responsibility pillars of sustainability.