The agricultural sector is known for its conservative approach towards change and its reluctance to introduce innovations. It has taken more than 20 years for the poultry sector to fully recognize the importance of adding enzymes to increase bird performance or introducing in-ovo vaccination in the hatchery. Should the poultry and egg sector wait 20 years to become fully digital and utilize the knowledge gained through AI?

1. Accuracy of Data

The poultry sector is extremely rich in data that is collected daily in the chicken house, feed mill or hatchery. However, in most cases, the data is still recorded manually, using the old-fashioned “pen and paper” system. This method presents a number of problems: handwriting can be difficult to read, people forget to write down the information, or they write the wrong information. By using validated sensors and probes, digital data offers the opportunity to always see accurate data.

2. Continuous Monitoring of Flocks

A wide range of sensors and connected devices enable the automation of data acquisition. Digitization enables continuous monitoring of birds without losing data and flock information. It offers the opportunity to identify potential problems relating to animal husbandry, nutrition or diseases at an early stage. Continuous monitoring and recording of data also serves as solid evidence of compliance with farm management standards and protocols.

3. Better Insight and Support to Producers

Accurate, real-time data makes it possible to maximize the value of data by making predictions based on machine learning and other artificial intelligence-derived models. Better predictions enable better support for growers. Early detection of problems on farms will limit productivity losses. For feed manufacturers, nutritionists and veterinarians, early detection of potential problems on farms also means fewer complaints from producers.

These poultry professionals will also be viewed as innovators and early adopters of the latest technology. Finally, digitalization is the best way to ensure that all farm management team members have access to the same information. No more “silos” for data and information.

4. Ideal Tool for Investigation

When a problem arises on a farm, digital data can be easily accessed to quickly analyze historical data and herd records. Digital data improves the speed of investigating problems. It also helps you quickly identify key issues, uncover causes, and determine the best solutions. AI now provides access to chatbots that have been specially trained with thousands of documents and millions of words on the subject of poultry.

FFI Consulting has tested a chatbot developed by Intelia Technologies. The chatbot was asked a series of questions covering a wide range of topics. Nutrition, bird management, ventilation, production parameters on a specific day for a specific bird species, diseases, sustainability and more. This is a great tool that provides instant feedback to any questions from farm managers, nutritionists or veterinarians. Quick and accurate answers are essential for maximizing animal health and productivity.

5. Communication With Producers

Digital data offers great flexibility for reporting and visualizing information collected from farms or facilities. Some people prefer to look at numbers, others prefer to look at charts, others prefer to read a written report. With the help of AI, digital data is presented to farm managers and other poultry specialists in the way they prefer to see the information. With a click of a button, you can see the current production or compare the data with the production results of the last month or the last 5 years. Flexibility is the key to improving communication. And better communication makes it easier to analyze production results and significantly improves the decision-making process.

While farmers always keep their production data private, the data needs to be shared with artificial intelligence specialists to train models and develop algorithms. Therefore, protecting the integrity and security of all data collected on farms is a top priority for service providers that help growers maximize the insights gained from their production data.

6. Improve Farm Productivity and Sustainability

Continuous monitoring and analysis of data is the key to improving agricultural productivity. Daily recording and analysis of the weight of growing pullets or broilers is critical to improving flock uniformity. A flock with good uniformity (90% of the birds weighing less than 10% of the average weight) is much easier to manage as the ration offered covers the actual needs of 90% of the birds. The management of uniformity is crucial for the optimal management of pullets and the start of light stimulation for egg production. It is also crucial in broiler production as it allows processors to obtain birds of very similar weight and size.

Farms need to adapt their processing facilities less, which translates into shorter processing times. Time savings and efficiency gains. Intelligent analysis of feed consumption and future feed supply needs also maximizes time and savings. At the end of the production cycle, large amounts of feed waste no longer need to be processed. Improved productivity means that less feed is needed for the same amount of eggs or chicken meat; this leads directly to savings in valuable natural resources, making the poultry sector more sustainable. A “green” poultry sector must be digital.

7. Time Allocation and Time Saving

Access to instant data and artificial intelligence-driven data analysis makes it possible to identify where farmers, nutritionists and veterinarians need to focus their immediate attention. Automated planning of their activities reduces the time they need to find the relevant information and prioritize their day. Reporting on the key findings of a farm visit or meeting with the feed mill and nutritionist also saves time. Less time is wasted when reporting on farm visits without compromising the quality of the information reported.

8. Compliance With Standards

There are a growing number of regulations and standards for poultry and egg production, food processing and distribution. In many countries, animal welfare is at the heart of the efforts of regulators, major retailers and food manufacturers. For example, the density of birds housed in a barn or cage is strictly regulated and monitored. Digitalization enables a rapid response to potential health problems in a chicken barn. This rapid intervention is the crucial difference between a minor problem and a devastating health problem that requires treatment of the animals with antibiotics. Reducing the use of antibiotics not only lowers production costs, but also improves food safety and reduces the risk of antibiotic resistance.

Digitalization not only enables monitoring of proper compliance with all these standards, but also the rapid provision of requested information when the government or an important customer conducts an audit or survey.

9. Collaborative Intelligence

In many countries, people fear that artificial intelligence will take away their jobs and that their skills will no longer be needed. The poultry sector will always need farm managers, nutritionists or veterinarians. But digitalization and artificial intelligence will change their roles and become intelligent assistants that will increase the efficiency of the poultry industry. AI will help us sort through the huge amount of data available and focus on the most important questions. This approach is already widely used in human medicine, where machines work with doctors to better detect certain types of cancer. Even though artificial intelligence in the poultry sector, as in many other sectors, will not really take away jobs, it is obvious that people who use artificial intelligence will take away the jobs of people who do not use artificial intelligence.

10. Peace of Mind

The new technologies must help us identify problems before they impact productivity, give us constant access to accurate data and enable us to quickly evaluate a medical treatment or a newly introduced animal husbandry method. Other benefits of artificial intelligence include rapid alerting on important tasks and follow-up. The new technologies will allow us to work under less pressure and reduce the risk of overlooking important elements when analyzing data.