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Jones A, Takahashi T, Fleming H, Griffith B, Harris P, Lee M. Quantifying the value of on-farm measurements to inform the selection of key performance indicators for livestock production systems. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16874. [PMID: 34413417 PMCID: PMC8377011 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96336-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of key performance indicators (KPIs) to assist on-farm decision making has long been seen as a promising strategy to improve operational efficiency of agriculture. The potential benefit of KPIs, however, is heavily dependent on the economic relevance of the metrics used, and an overabundance of ambiguously defined KPIs in the livestock industry has disincentivised many farmers to collect information beyond a minimum requirement. Using high-resolution sheep production data from the North Wyke Farm Platform, a system-scale grazing trial in southwest United Kingdom, this paper proposes a novel framework to quantify the information values of industry recommended KPIs, with the ultimate aim of compiling a list of variables to measure and not to measure. The results demonstrated a substantial financial benefit associated with a careful selection of metrics, with top-ranked variables exhibiting up to 3.5 times the information value of those randomly chosen. When individual metrics were used in isolation, ewe weight at lambing had the greatest ability to predict the subsequent lamb value at slaughter, surpassing all mid-season measures representing the lamb's own performance. When information from multiple metrics was combined to inform on-farm decisions, the peak benefit was observed under four metrics, with inclusion of variables beyond this point shown to be detrimental to farm profitability regardless of the combination selected. The framework developed herein is readily extendable to other livestock species, and with minimal modifications to arable and mixed agriculture as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy Jones
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, EX20 2SB, Devon, UK.,University of Bristol, Langford, BS40 5DU, Somerset, UK
| | - Taro Takahashi
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, EX20 2SB, Devon, UK. .,University of Bristol, Langford, BS40 5DU, Somerset, UK.
| | - Hannah Fleming
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, EX20 2SB, Devon, UK
| | - Bruce Griffith
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, EX20 2SB, Devon, UK
| | - Paul Harris
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, EX20 2SB, Devon, UK
| | - Michael Lee
- Harper Adams University, Newport, TF10 8NB, Shropshire, UK
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Lyons G, Sharma S, Aubry A, Carmichael E, Annett R. A preliminary evaluation of the use of mid infrared spectroscopy to develop calibration equations for determining faecal composition, intake and digestibility in sheep. Anim Feed Sci Technol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2016.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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