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Consortium aims to introduce precision farming into pork production A CONSORTIUM of academic and animal health industry partners has won funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, for a project that aims to develop visual imaging methods and digital technologies to help producers improve the health and wellbeing of pig herds and enhance production efficiency. The consortium is being led by the animal health company Zoetis. Over the course of the 42-month, US $3 million project, the partners will develop these technologies to analyse pig behaviour and performance, looking for early warning signs of disease or stress. They hope that this will allow treatment and care to be given earlier than has previously been possible. ‘This work has the potential to hasten the advent of precision farming in pork 520 | Veterinary Record | November 29, 2014
production and is a strong example of Zoetis’ commitment to innovative services and technologies for our customers,’ said Michelle L. Haven, senior vice-president, corporate development, alliances and solutions at Zoetis. ‘We have assembled leading UK-based partners with a complementary mix of capabilities needed to uncover new insights for veterinarians and pork producers to enhance animal wellness, bolster production efficiency, and improve profitability and competitiveness.’ The other partners in the consortium are Newcastle University, the Scottish company Innovent Technology, and RAFT Solutions, a specialised veterinary consultancy. Nigel Woolfenden, food futures director at RAFT Solutions, commented: ‘We see this project as a prime opportunity to demonstrate the
sustainability and profitability outcomes that can be achieved when on-farm data enables preventive healthcare and wellness initiatives.’ Ilias Kyriazakis, professor of animal health and nutrition at Newcastle University, said that the team believed that a combination of video imaging and datamining technologies could act as a basis for continuous improvement in animal health and sustainable farming. ‘Armed with these data, veterinarians, animal scientists and producers can focus more on preventive medicine and health strategies to capture production efficiencies, making the most of finite resources. We envision this project serving as a catalyst for innovation in the pig farming industry both in the UK and the broader European community.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.g7251
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 5, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Consortium aims to introduce precision farming into pork production Veterinary Record 2014 175: 520
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7251 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/21/520.2
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To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports
research
Consortium aims to introduce precision farming into pork production A CONSORTIUM of academic and animal health industry partners has won funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, for a project that aims to develop visual imaging methods and digital technologies to help producers improve the health and wellbeing of pig herds and enhance production efficiency. The consortium is being led by the animal health company Zoetis. Over the course of the 42-month, US $3 million project, the partners will develop these technologies to analyse pig behaviour and performance, looking for early warning signs of disease or stress. They hope that this will allow treatment and care to be given earlier than has previously been possible. ‘This work has the potential to hasten the advent of precision farming in pork 520 | Veterinary Record | November 29, 2014
production and is a strong example of Zoetis’ commitment to innovative services and technologies for our customers,’ said Michelle L. Haven, senior vice-president, corporate development, alliances and solutions at Zoetis. ‘We have assembled leading UK-based partners with a complementary mix of capabilities needed to uncover new insights for veterinarians and pork producers to enhance animal wellness, bolster production efficiency, and improve profitability and competitiveness.’ The other partners in the consortium are Newcastle University, the Scottish company Innovent Technology, and RAFT Solutions, a specialised veterinary consultancy. Nigel Woolfenden, food futures director at RAFT Solutions, commented: ‘We see this project as a prime opportunity to demonstrate the
sustainability and profitability outcomes that can be achieved when on-farm data enables preventive healthcare and wellness initiatives.’ Ilias Kyriazakis, professor of animal health and nutrition at Newcastle University, said that the team believed that a combination of video imaging and datamining technologies could act as a basis for continuous improvement in animal health and sustainable farming. ‘Armed with these data, veterinarians, animal scientists and producers can focus more on preventive medicine and health strategies to capture production efficiencies, making the most of finite resources. We envision this project serving as a catalyst for innovation in the pig farming industry both in the UK and the broader European community.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.g7251
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 5, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Consortium aims to introduce precision farming into pork production Veterinary Record 2014 175: 520
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7251 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/21/520.2
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
