Deliverable D4.8 Demonstration of a precision feeding system for growing pigs at a commercial farm operation to demonstrate practical feasibility

On-farm demonstration activities have been organised to validate the prototypes of automatic feeders, to refine their characteristics under field conditions, and to promote the adoption of this technology by farmers. For this purpose, two kinds of precision feeder systems have been developed or adapted during the last phase of the project for demonstration and validation purposes: a) a system for growing pigs fed ad libitum and b) a system for growing pigs under restricted feeding. For growing pigs fed ad libitum, a pre-industrial precision feeder system was developed based on the integration of components and technologies developed in the previous tasks of the project. The system was capable to manage the amount and composition of feed to be distributed according to the nutrients requirements of individual pigs and capable to operate under commercial farm conditions. To build this precision feeding system, the three main components need to be integrated in a robust way: precision feeders (PF) manufactured by Exafan, a DSS to determine the individual nutrient requirements in real-time developed by INRAE, and a controlling module to integrate these components, devices and sensors, developed by the University of Lleida. A suitable pig farm was identified where the demonstration activities could be performed, and the demonstration activities (i.e., Open days, multimedia virtual tours, and writing materials) were conducted by Gran Suino Italiano Interprofessional Organization. For growing pigs under restricted feeding, the prototype of a precision feeder available at IFIP was adapted to be integrated with a DSS and a controlling module. For demonstration purposes, two complete fattening cycles were carried out to perform a comparative analysis of daily multi-phase precision feeding with a commercial three-phase fattening system. Video material was produced for the demonstration activity. Some demonstration activities were organized as part of the final Feed-a-Gene conference to favour uptake of Feed-a-Gene results by different stakeholders. The pre-industrial precision feeder system for growing pigs was shown in operation and accessible to visitors during the meeting