Fast forward and imagine we are in 2030. Somewhere in the world, a pig farmer wakes up and opens a personal assistant on their smartphone. Still in bed, they already know whether anything extraordinary happened in their automated barn overnight. Way before breakfast, this farmer checks information collected in real time, processed and analyzed. They can access an accurate panorama of current conditions, define their priorities for the day and optimize time management. Picture this: full understanding of every animal movement, feed and water consumption, unusual activity levels or any increased coughing. An increased respiratory distress that eventually triggered an automated rope-sample taking for advanced diagnostics. How about having results of those samples already available? This future vision is possible – all thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim's integrated health management services.
This efficient future is actually happening right now. Digitalization is coming to farms all around the world in an expanding veterinary digital market, which is expected to be worth US$ 4.6 billion by
2024. Tools such as microphones, cameras, sensors, data sets and mobile devices are no strangers to a swine team eager to bring this connected scenario to life. Artificial intelligence is just one technology among others to be used in order to push the industry from simple prevention to prediction… and beyond!
“What we are delivering is an increased support in decision-making and automation, and information transparency for suppliers and consumers," explains Stephan Lange, Global Head of Swine. "Actually it’s even more. We are not merely preventing disease; we are building the capacities to precisely predict diseases – and better still ensure that the pigs stay healthy in the first place."
Precision livestock farming: the fourth Industrial Revolution
Market research suggests a few trends. Not only are farms becoming larger and driven to reduce costs and improve competitiveness, but also societal concerns are playing a bigger role in shaping the future of precision livestock farming. Together with an increasing demand for animal protein, there are equally growing concerns on the environmental footprint left behind - and vocal pleas for more transparency about animal welfare.
Artificial intelligence, data collection and monitoring in real time offer solutions to these issues. That is why Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health’s teams are working towards bringing integrated health management systems to the market, able to provide smart identification and tracking of the animals: smart sensing and detection to record data; analysis platforms and even smart dosing mechanisms.
“Integrated health management is embedded within precision livestock farming, which is animal agriculture’s version of the fourth Industrial Revolution. It is about integrating smart technologies, hardware, software and intelligent analytics into the daily routine of livestock protein production businesses,” shares Dale Polson, Global Technical Manager, Diagnostics and Monitoring. “All of these technologies serve one overriding purpose: to enable more informed, more confident and real-time decision making; both in the barn and the farm management.”
Collecting data to improve farming efficiency
No good decision-making occurs without reliable data. As connected barns and services are increasing new data streams across the swine production chain, it becomes easier for producers to identify potential health issues, better manage farm resources, and increase efficiency in both costs and quality. Moreover, these tools add transparency to final customers interested in knowing more about the meat they consume.
Big chunks of important information can be clustered into three core areas: barn data, health data and genetic data. Under barn data, producers can evaluate factors such as feed, temperature and piglets’ movements. Health data relate to developments such as coughing, body temperature and disease diagnosis. By combining clinical signs and pathogen detection, herd veterinarians can make better-informed decisions. Finally, genetic data, which provide insightful information on the origin of the animals, from which parents and which farms, in order to map previous breeding and eventual problematic outcomes.
Integrated health management system for sustainability and animal well-being
Artificial Intelligence will analyze complex data from all these sources to detect trends, signals or actionable information to support those making daily decisions on the farm. By using an integrated health management system, pork production can deliver better outcomes. For the farmer, in terms of a more predictable and profitable enterprise. Pork consumers have the confidence of transparent and verifiable sources of their food. The planet also wins, as precious resources are managed sustainably – and most importantly: pigs under our care can live with their well-being put at the center of a fully integrated farm.
“This is becoming increasingly valuable for farmers across large integrated producers running complex systems with hundreds or even thousands of animals across multiple sites,” notes Justin Gale, Global Lead Digital Projects. “To support the development of digitalized barns, it is critical that we cross-collaborate: we need to join forces both with key participants in the value chain to access data and also with new technology providers within our industry to bring innovative solutions to market”.
Stephan Lange seconds that.
“It is our ultimate goal to support cutting-edge research, enhance our vaccine portfolio and offer more and more personalized solutions for every customer, every herd and every animal. Definitely, partnering is an important path to offer modern integrated health management systems and bring all our ambitions to life,” he concludes.
