The use of cameras, microphones and other Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to automate data collection in the poultry house could proactively alert growers and integrators to potential health and welfare challenges.
“There are a lot of growers that are remote who have contractors working for them and walking in these houses,” Marcel Sarzen, president and CEO, AGL Technology, at the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit.
If something gets missed, “you’ve lost a lot of value there,” he added.
Precision farming can monitor around the clock to surveil a flock grow-out like the eyes and ears of an experienced veterinarian or operation manager. Algorithms detect and alert to changes in feed and water availability, energy usage, lighting and more.
Allowing for proactive decision-making
The sensor technology collects and analyzes sound and image insights from the poultry house, which are then pushed to a mobile app and cloud portal. Integrators and growers can use this information to make proactive decisions to prevent morbidity and operational failures.
The technology works similarly to a Ring doorbell at someone’s home. “We don’t have that on the farm,” explained Sarzen. Farmers get a notification and can decide whether it needs to be silenced or acted upon.
For example, precision farming can alert poultry producers to a cough that indicates sickness before signs of the disease occur or abnormal sounds in the poultry house before a piece of equipment breaks down.
It can even monitor for human error, such as someone forgetting to turn the lights off in a poultry house when they leave.
“If somebody comes in your house and screws with the lights or doesn’t return it back to the base schedule, you’ve got problems and you’ve impacted the grow out and productivity across the board.”
AGL Technology is looking to expand its strategic partner relationship development.
