Evaluating a precision feeding decision support system for improving growth performance of growing-finishing pigs on a commercial farm
Abstract
Optimisation of slaughter weight is crucial for efficient farm management in all-in-all-out systems, but growth variability within pig batches complicates uniform marketing. This study aimed to reduce heterogeneity by developing a decision support system (DSS) for precision feeding, improving BW performance, thereby reducing batch variability. A 103-day commercial trial involving 365 pigs compared conventional 3-phase feeding with individual precision feeding (IPF). Two control groups, Control A and Control B (n = 81 each, six pens/group), received diets with stepwise standardised ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) concentrations (8.80, 9.80, 10.60 g/kg and 9.00, 10.00, 10.80 g/kg, respectively) from traditional feeders, with feed intake recorded manually. In contrast, the IPF group (n = 203, nine pens) utilised robotic feeders to provide individually tailored diets. These were formulated in real-time by blending high (11.83 g/kg) and low (6.59 g/kg) SID Lys feeds. A DSS, integrating a nutritional model, stakeholder directives (minimum and limited daily decreases in the SID Lys concentration), and a qualitative model, calculated each pig's requirements based on automatically collected real-time BW and feed intake data. Performance metrics were similar across all groups. However, the IPF group (18.55 g/kg) was more efficient in utilising SID Lys, requiring less per kg of live weight gain than Control A (19.67 g/kg) and Control B (19.71 g/kg). When pigs were classified by…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Diagnosis and management of glutaric aciduria type I – revised recommendations
- EZH2 Codon 641 Mutations are Common in BCL2-Rearranged Germinal Center B Cell Lymphomas
- Consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pyridoxine‐dependent epilepsy due to α‐aminoadipic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency
- Systemic Metabolomic Changes in Blood Samples of Lung Cancer Patients Identified by Gas Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
- Human OTULIN haploinsufficiency impairs cell-intrinsic immunity to staphylococcal α-toxin
- Discovery of Novel Recurrent Mutations in Childhood Early T-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by Whole Genome Sequencing - a Report From the St Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.