A Deep Dive On Individual Animal Data

There is no disputing on-farm decisions are crucial for the success of animal agriculture. These decisions impact the health, productivity, and welfare of individual animals, as well as the overall profitability of the farm. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of using individual animal data to inform these decisions and a growing number of means by which to collect it. In this blog post, we will explore the reasons why individual animal data is critical for on-farm decisions and discuss some of the ways it can be used to improve animal welfare and productivity.

What is individual animal data?

Individual animal data refers to information collected about each individual animal on the farm. This information may be stored against a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) or against a visual ID tag. This data can include a range of traits, such as age, weight, body condition score, reproductive status, health status, and genetic information. Collecting this data can involve a range of tools and techniques, including manual recording, electronic monitoring, and data analysis software.

Why is individual animal data important?

Using individual animal data is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it allows producers to make informed decisions about the health and welfare of each animal. By tracking individual animal data over time, producers can identify patterns and changes in an animal's health or behaviour, and take action to address any issues before they become more serious. This can help to improve animal welfare and on farm and ensure the farm is compliant with any biosecurity or verification programs.

Secondly, individual animal data is important for optimising productivity. By tracking performance metrics such as weight gain, fertility and feed conversion, producers can identify which animals are performing well and which may need extra attention. This can help to improve overall productivity and profitability on the farm and enable producers to make decisions proactively. 

Finally, individual animal data is important for genetic improvement. By collecting and analysing data on individual animals' genetic makeup and performance, producers can make more informed decisions about which animals to breed from, and which to cull. This can help to improve the overall genetic quality of the herd over time, leading to better performance and productivity in future generations.

Still on the fence and need some more concrete examples of how individual animal data would be useful on your farm?

Reproductive management: By tracking individual animal data including foetal age, lactation status, breed, age and weight producers can optimise breeding decisions to improve reproductive success rates. Easily identifying those breeders that continue to fall pregnant yet never rear a calf can save the company an average of $1500 per breeder.

Growing management: By tracking individual animal data such as weight, average daily gain and age, producers can adjust grazing rotations to ensure animals are getting the nutrition they need to meet sales specifications. Turning off animals in optimal condition and timing it with market value and grid price can mean a difference of profit $75 per head. 

Genetic selection: By tracking individual animal genetic data, such as parentage, genotypes, and performance metrics, producers can make informed decisions about which animals to breed from, and which to cull. Pairing genomic information with on farm animal measures ensures that important and long lasting decision, such as bull purchases, are informed by data and lead to more accurate profitable genetic choices. 

By collecting and analysing data on individual animals, producers can make more informed decisions about health, welfare, productivity, and genetic improvement. This can lead to improved animal welfare, productivity, and profitability on the farm, as well as better outcomes for animals and the environment.

To dive deeper into how to get started with individual animal data get in touch or jump to this blog post.