The ‘precision’ in Precision Livestock Farming is not the same as that of precision engineering in high-tech industry. It’s not about micro- and nanometers, but about the precise control of farming management with the aid of sensing and data processing. However, there is overlap in the technological domain, for instance regarding sensors and robots. So, both worlds can learn from each other. That’s why in Den Bosch, mechanical engineering students pursuing a minor in ‘Machines in Motion’ are working on a farming application. Mikroniek offers a sneak preview.
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In the last decade, the concept on interactions between humans, animals and their environment has drastically changed, endorsed by the One Health approach that recognizes that health of humans and animals are inextricably linked. Consideration of welfare of livestock has increased accordingly and with it, attention into the possibilities to improve livestock health via natural, more balanced nutrition is expanding. Central to effects of healthy nutrition is an optimal gastrointestinal condition which entails a well-balanced functional local immune system leading to a resilient state of well-being. This project proposal, GITools, aims to establish a toolbox of in vitro assays to screen new feed ingredients for beneficial effects on gastrointestinal health and animal well-being. GITools will focus on pig and chicken as important livestock species present in high quantities and living in close proximity to humans. GITools builds on intestinal models (intestinal cell lines and stem cell-derived organoids), biomarker analysis, and in vitro enzymatic and microbial digestion models of feed constituents. The concept of GITools originated from various individual contacts and projects with industry partners that produce animal feed (additives) or veterinary medicines. Within these companies, an urgent need exists for straightforward, well-characterized and standardized in vitro methods that provide results translatable to the in vivo situation. This to replace testing of new feed concepts in live animal. We will examine in vitro methods for their applicability with feed ingredients selected based on the availability of data from (previous) in vivo studies. These model compounds will include long and short chain fatty acids, oligosaccharides and herbal-derived components. GITools will deliver insights on the role of intestinal processes (e.g. dietary hormone production, growth of epithelial cells, barrier function and innate immune responses) in health and well-being of livestock animals and improve the efficiency of testing new feed products.
The growing awareness of consumers of the increasing problem with livestock and meat production due to the high nitrogen emissions and the related impact on climate change drives consumption of plant based vegetarian alternatives. Similarly there is also an increasing demand for animal-free, eco-friendly alternative vegan leather. Consequently there has been significant interest in developing leather-like vegan materials from multiple plant sources, such as mango, pineapple and mushroom based materials. However, the commercialization and the growth of sustainable vegan leather production is hampered significantly by the difficulty of achieving the needed quality for the various consumer products as well as the high prices of the vegan alternatives. In the Growing Leather project two SMEs, BioscienZ and B4Plastics, will combine forces with Avans University of Applied Sciences to develop vegan leather from the mushroom based material called mycelium. BioScienZ is a biotech company with strong expertise and capacity to produce low-cost and consistent quality mycelium. B4Plastics is a material development company, with strengths in designing and distributing eco-plastic products. In this project Avans University will use several mycelium types (produced by BioscienZ), and with the guidance of B4Plastics, it will test various additives under many different conditions, to ultimately develop an environmentally friendly, vegan material that will have comparable material characteristics to animal leather and is competitive in price.
Het HAS lectoraat ‘Precision Livestock Farming’ van Dr. Ir. E. van Erp-van der Kooij richt zich op het tijdig opsporen van afwijkingen van gedrag en fysiologische parameters met sensoren om diergezondheid en welzijn te verbeteren. Het huidige voorstel bouwt hierop voort, waarbij de focus ligt op het vroegtijdig opsporen van hittestress bij melkvee. De laatste jaren is er veel aandacht voor hittestress bij melkkoeien in Nederland. Hittestress treedt op wanneer de warmteproductie van een koe groter is dan haar vermogen om warmte kwijt te raken. Klimaatverandering zorgt in Nederland voor warmere zomers en meer risico op hittestress. Hittestress zorgt voor problemen op het gebied van gedrag, gezondheid en vruchtbaarheid. De kennis die in dit project wordt verzameld kan een bijdrage leveren aan het ontwikkelen van bruikbare indicatoren voor hittestress. Deze indicatoren kunnen ervoor zorgen dat er vroegtijdig maatregelen getroffen worden (op kudde- of koeniveau) om negatieve gevolgen van hittestress te verminderen. Om een sterke verbinding tussen onderzoek en onderwijs te bewerkstelligen wordt het onderzoek uitgevoerd door de postdoc (Dr. Ir. J. Roelofs) én door studenten in diverse studententeams onder begeleiding van de postdoc. Door gebruik van sensoren komen veel gegevens beschikbaar. Voor studenten is het belangrijk dat zij, naast kennis over de biologie en fysiologie van het dier, een gedegen basiskennis hebben van sensoren en van het werken met (big)data en nieuwe analysetechnieken. De postdoc heeft als taak onderwijs te ontwikkelen en verzorgen waarin basiskennis en vaardigheden m.b.t. sensoren in de veehouderij en werken met (big)data aan bod komen. De postdoc is mede verantwoordelijk voor de versterking van de leerlijn ‘Onderzoeksvaardigheden’ bij de opleiding Veehouderij. Daarnaast maakt de postdoc een overzicht waar onderzoeksvaardigheden terugkomen in het curriculum en draagt er zorg voor dat dit voldoende en op consistente wijze gebeurt door begeleiding van studenten én docenten.
