Industry 4.0 and Precision Livestock Farming (PLF): An up to Date Overview across Animal Productions

Abstract

Precision livestock farming (PLF) has spread to various countries worldwide since its inception in 2003, though it has yet to be widely adopted. Additionally, the advent of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) have enabled a continued advancement and development of PLF. This modern technological approach to animal farming and production encompasses ethical, economic and logistical aspects. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of PLF and Industry 4.0, to identify current applications of this rather novel approach in different farming systems for food producing animals, and to present up to date knowledge on the subject. Current scientific literature regarding the spread and application of PLF and IoT shows how efficient farm animal management systems are destined to become. Everyday farming practices (feeding and production performance) coupled with continuous and real-time monitoring of animal parameters can have significant impacts on welfare and health assessment, which are current themes of public interest. In the context of feeding a rising global population, the agri-food industry and industry 4.0 technologies may represent key features for successful and sustainable development.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; animal production; internet of things (IoT); precision livestock farming (PLF).

Figure 1

Percentage of the most used sensors per each area of interest in PLF.

Figure 2

Number of articles related to PLF published worldwide in relation to the species (blue: cattle; orange: swine; green: sheep and goat; yellow: poultry).