By Caleb J. Grohmann, 2021-2024 FFAR Fellow
at the University of Missouri
Livestock producers make several critical decisions daily that impact the health of animals and the farmer’s bottom line. Yet the supply of quality livestock technicians and managers who can make these decisions is decreasing across all sectors of animal agriculture, especially in the United States swine industry. Precision livestock farming technologies offer an interesting opportunity to provide support in making accurate decisions that positively impact the productivity and sustainability of swine operations. In my Ph.D. research at the University of Missouri–Columbia, we are striving to build tools to help pig farmers proactively and positively impact pig survivability in wean-to-finish pig barns.