Project: Integrated EU Mobile Broiler Data ? Optimising Broiler Chicken Management, Health and Welfare through use of integrated EU data
Broiler chicken are the most abundant farmed animal in the EU, and a very important component of EU food supply. Abundant data is ALREADY COLLECTED by the member states (MS), predominately at slaughter plant level, regarding the application of the Broiler Directive 2007/43/EC. Data acquisition in itself is, however, of little value unless data collected are standardized among MS and data are further processed to produce outputs that can be use to achieve the ultimate goal of improving broiler health and welfare, and hence offering the potential to reduce antimicrobial use across the EU, a real and current concern for producers and legislators in the EU. The iMBDatA project has partners from 6 EU countries FI, ES, IT, UK, NO, FR with a strategic North to South geographical spread iMBDatA will develop and validate a cloud based central data server provided with analytical capabilities and Apps. Through creation of algorithms and data-mining using trial data already available to the project partners, we will test (with participation from MS veterinary agencies) the use of the prototype tool on farm, during transport and slaughter. The iMBDatA system will allow producers and officials to obtain updated information on factors affecting the health and welfare of broiler flocks, and will provide them with practical tools to improve flock performance by better managing health and welfare. We will validate the data based tool against a recognized method of on-farm welfare assessment (the transect) to ensure that iMBDatA can detect health and welfare effects, and can communicate these in an effective way to the producer. We will test how use of iMBDatA alongside targeted interventions can result in positive health and welfare change. iMBDatA has 5 work packages - WP1 focuses on the technical assessment of data currently available from the partners? countries, WP2 will create the cloud based app system, WP3 will test iMBDatA with producers and at slaughterhouses in the partner countries, and use iMBDatA in experimental settings to test if targeted interventions, and environmental enrichment indicated by iMBDatA supports positive welfare change. In WP4 MS officials will be invited to trial iMBDatA and the app on selected farms in their member countries, and WP5 co-ordinates stakeholder meetings to ensure that iMBDatA provides information that is of value to farmers and government in promoting positive health and welfare changes.
Project partner
