- Challenges
Livestock systems are changing and diversifying. This necessitates a re-evaluation of animal breeding objectives. The breeding goals shall take into consideration of social dynamics between animals and digitally-driven herd management methods. Notably, the use of sensor-based measurement of traits remains underexploited in current breeding objectives.
- Solution
The potential of digital technologies to revolutionize animal breeding practices will be explored. A comprehensive literature review will elucidate the current landscape of digital technology utilization in animal breeding. Engaging stakeholders through workshops will help us to define phenotypes and identify viable proxies, paving the way for scalable digital solutions in animal breeding. Promising technologies such as electronic nesting for poultry, computer vision for parentage tracking (see CS-C), genomic tools, and on-field weighing for sheep are promising avenues for exploration.
- Outcomes
a) Enhanced integration of novel traits into breeding objectives, thereby granting farmers access to genetic reservoirs which are better aligned with current and future agricultural paradigms. b) Empowering food chain stakeholders to collaborate and to benefit from individual tracking data. Efforts will be dedicated to specify data and devise acquisition modalities, including establishing pertinent ontologies and metadata frameworks.
- Replicability
Developing data acquisition and exchange concepts that ensure interoperability can be replicated across diverse agricultural landscapes in Europe, thereby fostering widespread adoption of best practices.