What you should know about the commercial relevance of nutritional models

R&D
Sustainable precision farming
2021
Swine

This August, Neil Ferguson, Animal Modelling scientist at Trouw Nutrition, shared his expertise on nutritional models in animal production at the International Swine Nutrition Conference in the USA. This conference is aimed at the swine industry and academia, and covers the latest developments in swine nutrition and what the future will hold for the industry. Did you miss it? Not a problem – we've got you covered with an outline of Neil’s presentation on the commercial role and relevance of nutritional models.

17/08/2021

The growing potential of animal models  

Over the last five decades, it has been demonstrated that integrated nutrition models based on a sound biological framework will continue to help pig producers, integrators, and animal nutrition companies retain sustainable profitability. As our understanding of animal biology and nutritional metabolism continues to improve, so too does the accuracy and applicability of these models.

Specifically, scientific advancements now enable us to accurately predict post-weaning growth and feed intake, as well as to incorporate gut health additives into mechanistic animal models. As a result, the role of models has expanded beyond providing only nutrition solutions, to providing practical day-to-day management advice to improve efficiency and profitability.

An example of hybridization in animal modelling

Embracing the industry’s changing technology landscape does not mean accepting every digital solution offered, but rather understanding the commercial and technical risks and developing appropriate mitigation strategies. Where these strategies optimise both mechanistic and machine-learning models, they will improve the welfare of people, planet, and profit
Neil Ferguson, Animal Modelling Scientist

Embracing a changing technology landscape    
 
​​​​​​​With the expansion of the Internet of Things and the increasing application of digitalisation to animal production, a new frontier has opened: science and technology have combined to increase automation and enable more rapid real-time decision-making options. As these resource-demanding technologies advance, the animal nutrition industry’s challenge is investing wisely in a way that extracts value for customers and company.

Sensibly assimilating data and biology, rather than blindly embracing a technology-driven agenda, could provide huge opportunities for innovation in the animal nutrition industry. Embracing the industry’s changing technology landscape does not mean accepting every digital solution offered, but rather understanding the commercial and technical risks and developing appropriate mitigation strategies. Where these strategies optimise both mechanistic and machine-learning models, they will improve the welfare of people, planet, and profit.

Conclusions

About Neil Ferguson

Dr Neil Ferguson completed his PhD at the University of Natal, South Africa in 1996 and was offered a faculty position in the Animal and Poultry Sciences Department of the same institution. His main areas of research were quantitative swine nutrition, particularly modeling growth and feed intake in growing animals, and wildlife biology including lion ecology, cheetah conservation and crocodile behavioral research. In 2003, Neil moved to Canada to manage swine nutrition and modeling research initially for Maple Leaf Foods, and then Trouw Nutrition Canada (Nutreco). During this time, he focused on the development of a stochastic model for optimizing growth, nutrient requirements and management strategies in growing pigs. In 2018, Neil took charge of the Global Modeling Science team within Trouw Nutrition and together with Data Scientists are generating innovative solutions for commercial application. He has been involved in establishing models as a part of the business culture within Trouw Nutrition.