Observe and analyse animal production and animal response to the environment : performance, productivity, health and behaviour indicators
Basis of performance evaluation based on indicators measured on farm
This part of the course aims to :
- Bring out the importance of indicators to evaluate the performance of different functions performed by species of zootechnical interest
- Provide informations on the calculation of key performance indicators
Keys performance indicators are based on automatic recording data, easily measurable, from the environmental conditions of livestock or directly from the animals' behavior and physiology.
These metrics are quantitative or qualitative variables which are relevant, reliable and always expressed with their units.
Thanks to these indicators, the farmer can analyse the performance of his livestock farming by comparing with standards (from his own farm or from gold standard). He/she can then identify the means of action or levers to optimise animal and livestock performances and the use of the resources at its disposal (feed, time, animals,...).
Click below to discover main indicators and the way to calcultate it :
Key indicator by functional target
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To obtain data from animal during the all life is usefull to better undertand animal phenotype and adaptation towards its genetic potential. In the animal production chain, advantages of these collecting indicators can be shared by different stakeholders (as farmers, genetics suppliers, researchers, veterinarians, etc.), integrated in PLF technology by monitoring animal during growth.
Method : Strategies to use indicators as phenotyping data
The phenotyping program of livestock involves the definition of complex phenotypes obtained from data integration at different levels (from molecules to herds)
Two phenotyping strategies can be adopted : Precision VERSUS Quantity of data
a vertical strategie : the aim is to collect data supporting a fine-grained description of the major functions of living species. These data caracterised individually animal phenotype as the expression of its genome expression and regulation. Thus genetics markers linked to animal characteristics can be identified and used to improve genomic selection.
a horizontal strategie : the aim is to collect a large number of data easy to collect on farm. By collecting these data, modelisation of animal growth, health or behavior can be possible, integrated in animal monitoring and decision making tools.
Thus, definition of each common traits need to be the same between different stakeholders.
You can find and contribute to the definition of phenotypic traits of farm animals in the reference ontology ATOL (Animal Trait Ontology for Livestock).
Complement : For animal welfare, 12 indicators were defined in the EU Welfare quality Project
Click below to learn more on animal welfare assessment
