Automatically collected data in cattle, pig and poultry farming

Generating a large amount of data offers many opportunities for optimising animal husbandry. To facilitate production and animal management, the manufacturers of sensor technology define target characteristics to be captured. Automatic components and entirely automated systems are implemented in barns to determine key indicators related to the productivity, health status, fertility status and behaviour of animals. In addition, they capture data on the technology used to control animal movements and other processes. Automated data collection thus allows the continuous evaluation of animal-related data, climate/environmental data and data on the technical equipment. A comprehensive database was compiled on sensors for „automated data collection in livestock husbandry“ (AutoDatTier) in order to identify and describe sensor technologies for each of the animal species: cattle, pigs and chickens. The database includes additional information on the sensor type, functional principle, measurement type, data type and quality as well as the source of the data and evaluation (a total of 19 criteria). Sensors are technical components that use physical or chemical effects to capture physical, chemical or electrochemical variables and convert them into electrical signals. Depending on the manufacturer or software, the data can be output in graphical, tabular or text formats. Evaluations of the sensor technology used in agricultural animal husbandry provide detailed insights into the current spectrum of manufacturers and sensor systems on the market. Based on this information, opportunities and deficits in livestock husbandry can be derived, and future research projects can be aligned accordingly.