Connor: Innovation Driven By Necessity and Opportunity, Part Two
4. Reproduction
Future innovations will allow producers and practitioners to monitor unexpected reproductive failure in sows predicted to farrow, Connor said. Synchronization of estrus, estrus detection, farrowing synchronization and timed single insemination can improve reproductive performance.
“We haven’t put them together to capture all the value, but that will change,” Connor said.
“Electrical impedance spectroscopy can be used to predict estrus,” he added. “It will allow some of the other drivers such as the farrowing time to be more predictable and, thus, more tightly managed, which improves farrowing-facility utilization and potentially reduces the number of stillbirths per litter.”
Advanced reproductive technologies will allow semen sexing to reach the point of commercial validity, and additional technologies will further drive the leveraged impact of elite individuals, he said.
5. Imaging technology
Imaging technology presents great opportunities in pork production, Connor said. The ability to scan animals has multiple benefits, including yield on slaughter loads, muscle percentage and animal health.
“We’re on the threshold of one or more companies having hand-held technology that would finally allow us to do that on an individual pig basis,” Connor said. “When that is available, we will be able to link that information to the growing phase of the pig and determine if the pig is on the correct growth curve.”
Weight per day of age; diagnostics, including validation of pneumonia lesions; and sow body condition are other valuable real-time uses of imaging technology.
6. Genomics
“We’re seeing tremendous incorporation of genomics. We have access to increasing utilization of sequencing information to understand complex genetic architecture,” he said. “Gene editing delivers precision changes to unlock genetic potential for disease resistance.
“In addition, digital phenotyping increases available data on existing and new traits,” he continued. “We will have efficient and objective data on more animals and access to new traits, with objective and real-time information like structure and behavior.”
7. Human development
New technology will make it easier to monitor caregiver activity within the barn. “The pork industry is increasingly incorporating outside industries to help us understand human development within our systems,” he said.
“As an example, when we monitor people movement in the barns, we frequently find that we’re moving more pigs within the farrowing room than what we thought before,” he said. “It might be against our standard operating procedures, but it might be a normal habit that employees just fall into. Another example is walking the pens every day. When we track caregiver habits, we can tell how much time is being spent in those pens. This is an area where we can collect information and use it to derive better outcomes.”
The reduction of repeatable tasks and minimizing emotional involvement are other innovations the industry will see in human resources, Connor said.
8. Predictive modeling
Artificial intelligence will help manage intervention thresholds on the farm, Connor said. “We’ll continue to drive toward using the information that we have, but predictive models will give us those early warning signs that would then drive our decisions back to the farm level.”
“Algorithms will continually update as data flows,” he said. “Veterinarians will arrive on-site with herd data and area-specific data in hand, which will allow them to be much more predictive.
“We’ll be able to get ourselves aligned to interventions and continue to look at costs and predictive outcomes. There is a natural progress of analytic tools that can revolutionize how we manage swine operations.”
The industry is constantly evolving and learning how to incorporate new innovations to the benefit of veterinarians, producers and consumers, and Connor said the industry is on the cusp of even more improvements.
“It’s easy to look backward and say we’ve had innovation, but it’s extremely exciting to look forward,” Connor said.
