Precision animal husbandry

The dairy farming sector in Italy is today facing challenges concerning the sustainability of productions, the reduction of environmental impact, the safeguarding of the welfare of animals for zootechnical use, the safety of food for animals and humans, the opposition to emerging health problems. In this, as in many other agrozootechnical fields, the decision-making level assumes a significant importance and must therefore make use of instruments capable of supporting the choices. The birth and development of the so-called precision farming is the answer to this growing need. It is based on the programmed, accurate and systematic collection of information and data that, once placed in open archiving systems, are subjected to analysis and processing aimed at supporting the decision-making phase in terms of targeted and maximally effective choices. While in the agronomic field, complex operating systems have already been developed and are in use, in the zootechnical field the available models and tools are still limited, in particular those related to health aspects. The adaptation of the dairy farm to the new production strategies requires a significant improvement in the effectiveness of the company processes and the optimization of the results. It is therefore necessary to start introducing in this sector operating systems that start from reliable data and information and, passing through coherent, sustainable and aware choices, lead to the development of actions based on validated and recognized protocols. Just about this last aspect, the fight against the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance is becoming an absolute priority, even in the agri-food sector.