IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY OF PIG PRODUCTION IMPLEMENTING PRECISION LIVESTOCK FARMING TECHNOLOGIES: SELECTION OF INDICATORS FROM SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES TO MONITOR WELFARE, PERFORMANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMP

IN ANIMAL PRODUCTION, PHENOTYPES REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INFORMATION, AND A CORRECT INTERPRETATION IS INDISPENSABLE IN THE SEARCH FOR ANY IMPROVEMENT. HISTORICALLY, PHENOTYPING WAS PERFORMED BY PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS WHICH MAY LEAD TO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF BIAS AND RESULT IN INACCURATE EVALUATIONS. ALSO, WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS, THE PHENOTYPE CAN BE ONLY ASSESSED INTERMITTENTLY. AS A SOLUTION TO THESE LIMITATIONS, PRECISION LIVESTOCK FARMING (PLF) HAS EMERGED AS A REVOLUTIONARY TOOL TO MONITOR ANIMALS IN A CONTINUOUS AND SYSTEMATIC MANNER. EXISTING PLF SENSORS CAN BE USED TO ASSESS FEEDING PATTERNS, BEHAVIOUR AND ACTIVITY, FROM WHICH MANY OTHER PHENOTYPIC TRAITS CAN BE PREDICTED AND THEREBY CREATE A LINKAGE ENVIRONMENT, BUT ALSO TO MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS AT THE FARM. MOST OF PLF TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET ARE BASED UPON ANIMAL-BASED INDICATORS AND THEY CAN BE USED TO ASSESS ANIMAL WELFARE, AND EFFICIENCY AND ESTIMATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. MANY PLF TECHNOLOGIES ARE NOW COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FOR PIG FARMS SUCH AS LOAD CELLS TO MEASURE BODY WEIGHT (BW) AND FEED INTAKE, FLOWMETERS TO MEASURE WATER INTAKE, CAMERAS TO REGISTER ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR AND ACTIVITY, AND MICROPHONES TO DETECT ANIMAL SOUNDS LIKE COUGHS. PLF TECHNOLOGIES PRODUCE LARGE QUANTITIES OF DATA THAT, IF INTERPRETED CORRECTLY, MAY PROVIDE DECISIVE INFORMATION TO IMPLEMENT MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT. HOWEVER, DESPITE THE NUMBER OF SENSORS AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT YEARS, THERE IS A RISK OF MISINTERPRETATION OF DATA, BEING A CONSIDERABLE RISK OF TAKING WRONG DECISIONS ON IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES. THE OBJECTIVE OF SUBPROJECT 1 IS TO EXPLORE NOVEL INDICATORS BASED ON SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES TO MONITOR THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PHENOTYPE OF PIGS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT. THIS SUBPROJECT WILL IDENTIFY AND SELECT THE MOST PROMINENT INDICATORS THAT CAN BE OBTAINED USING PLF TECHNOLOGIES TO MONITOR THE PHENOTYPE OF PIGS, NAMELY THEIR BEHAVIOUR, NUTRITION, GROWTH, AND HEALTH STATUS. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY A) DETAILING A CATALOGUE OF INDICATORS THAT CAN BE MEASURED USING PLF TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ANIMAL WELFARE, PERFORMANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; B) MAKING A SELECTION OF INDICATORS (ICEBERG) THAT ARE MOST FEASIBLE AND ACCURATE; C) DEVELOP BIOMARKERS TO VALIDATE INDICATORS BASED ON NON-INVASIVE METHODS; D) VALIDATE THE ABILITY AND FEASIBILITY TO MONITOR SUSTAINABILITY IN COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE FATTENING PERIOD; ANDED) ASSESS THE IMPACT AND POTENTIAL OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MANAGEMENT AND NUTRITIONAL STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY IN PIG FARMS. DEVELOPMENTS MADE WITHIN PIGLF WILL HELP TO UNDERSTAND PIG BEHAVIOUR AT AN UNPRECEDENTED SCALE, OFFERING A NOVEL PARADIGM TO INVESTIGATE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES IN PIG FARMS MORE PRECISELY.