Importance of decision making tools for managing livestock farming systems
Livestock farming system operation is the result of the interaction between (Madelrieux and Dedieu, 2008) :
a farmer
equipment facilities
production system components including herd (s), resources, crop surfaces...
The management of the production system depends on :
The characteristics and the productive potentialities of the production system components such as the herd, the animals, the resources, the lands
Constraints and possibilities delivered by equipment facilities (equipment, farm buildings, agricultural machinery...)
The motivations of the farmer.
From his motivations such as maximizing his income, maximizing the production outputs, freeing up more time-off..., the farmer develops management strategies which are expressed by the definition of production objectives.
The link between the farmer and the production system is made by the management. According to his strategies and production objectives on the one hand and to equipment facilities on the other hand, the farmer elaborates and sets up practices to manage the production system components. The farmer's management is updated daily through data collection, depending on the short-term changes in the production system components.
In the past, data collection has been based almost entirely on the observation, judgment and experience of the farmer (Frost et al., 2003). Some parameters from the production system can be measured and/or recorded and integrated in different decision making tools which help farmers. PLF technologies contribute to farmer's management via automated and continuous data collection, control of parameters relevant to the animal and its environment, aggregation of those information.
With continuous updates, the farmer can adapt his production system management and practices.
