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Author: slquinlan

Monitoring Cage-free Hens’ Pecking with Deep Learning

US Egg production is transitioning from conventional cage to cage-free system. While cage-free system allows birds to perform natural behaviors such as dustbathing, foraging, and perching, an inherent challenge is feather pecking (FP, Figure 1). Pecking is one of the primary welfare issues in commercial cage-free hen houses as that…
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Tracking Broiler Chickens at Different Ages with Deep Learning

Broiler production and issues: The world’s population is expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2050 and the requirement for animal products (e.g., meat, eggs, and milk) will be increased by 70% as compared to 2005 levels. As indicated, it is challenging to improve animal production efficiency and product quality under…
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Robots for Precision Poultry and Egg Production

Broiler production management with robots

Currently, the United States is the world’s largest broiler producer with the annual sales of $40 billion. Modern broiler production is facing emerging challenges of animal health, food safety, environmental impact, and increasing concern from the general public on animal welfare. Fast growth rate and…
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A Precision Method for Tracking Cage-free Hens on the Floor

Daily routine evaluation of chickens (e.g., broilers and layers) are critical for maintaining animals’ health and welfare in commercial poultry houses. For laying hen production, it is becoming more challenging under cage–free production systems (Figure 1) as compare to conventional caged hens (Figure 2) because birds have freedoms to move…
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Spray Drones – Regulations and Operational Considerations

Until now, drones have been primarily used for crop monitoring – especially scouting – in agriculture. However, with recent advancements in aerial application technology and the weather challenges limiting timely pesticide applications with ground equipment, the use of drones for spraying pesticides is gaining significant interest in the United States….
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Technology Checklist for Cotton Harvest Preparation

With cotton harvest approaching, growers need to start performing necessary maintenance and adjustments to get the cotton pickers ready. One of the most often overlooked areas during this preparation is harvest technology i.e. the yield monitoring components. As cotton yield data is increasingly being used by crop consultants and growers…
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Precision Soil Sampling: Grid Size Efficacy Vs. Cost Considerations

Variable-rate application of lime and fertilizer is a common practice to address soil nutrient variability within the agricultural fields. When it comes to precision soil sampling to determine site-specific nutrient requirements, grid sampling still remains one of the most widely used methods due to its ease of implementation and not…
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