Is precision livestock farming an engineer's daydream or nightmare, an animal's friend or foe, and a farmer's panacea or pitfall?

This paper reviews the development of precision livestock farming (PLF), from the view point of the engineer, the farm animal and the farmer; PLF is the principal means by which ‘smart’ sensors will be used in livestock farming. It considers the technological principles upon which PLF is based, give...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and electronics in agriculture 2008-11, Vol.64 (1), p.2-10
Main Authors: Wathes, C.M., Kristensen, H.H., Aerts, J.-M., Berckmans, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
animal behavior
animal husbandry
Animal productions
animal welfare
Bioethics
Biological and medical sciences
broiler chickens
engineers
Environment
farmers
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health
human-animal relations
livestock
livestock production
precision agriculture
Precision livestock farming
Production
sensors
Terrestrial animal productions
Vertebrates
Welfare
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Summary:This paper reviews the development of precision livestock farming (PLF), from the view point of the engineer, the farm animal and the farmer; PLF is the principal means by which ‘smart’ sensors will be used in livestock farming. It considers the technological principles upon which PLF is based, gives several examples of PLF, considers which livestock processes are suitable for the PLF approach, addresses whether PLF constitutes technology push or market pull, and stresses the need for a prospective bioethical analysis of PLF. We conclude that PLF is an embryonic technology with great promise but one that requires considerable research and development before uptake.
ISSN:0168-1699
1872-7107
DOI:10.1016/j.compag.2008.05.005