System and method for animal production optimization

• US 20060036419A1
• Filed: 07/29/2004
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cargill, Inc. (Agricultural Services Division), Can Technologies, Inc. (Cargill Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Can Technologies, Inc. (Cargill Incorporated)
• Inventors: Knudson, Brian J., Barziza, Daniel, Cook, David A., Newcomb, Mark D., Martinson, Wade S., Messman, Michael A., Engelke, Gregory L., Burghardi, Steve R., McGoogan, Bruce Brim, Giesting, Donald W., Ligt, Jennifer L.G. van de, Hahn, John J.
• Application Number:
  US10/902,504
• Publication Number:
  US 20060036419A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/11
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/02 Automatic devices automatic identification devices for stock A01K11/006
• CPC Class Codes: A23K 10/00 Animal feeding-stuffs
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A system for generating optimized values for variable inputs to an animal production system. The system includes a simulator engine configured to receive a plurality of animal information inputs and generate a performance projection, wherein at least one of the animal information inputs is designated as a variable input and an enterprise supervisor engine configured to generate an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on at least one optimization criteria and an animal feed formulation.

Claims

1. A system for generating optimized values for variable inputs to an animal production system, comprising:

a simulator engine configured to receive a plurality of animal information inputs and generate a performance projection, wherein at least one of the animal information inputs is designated as a variable input; and

an enterprise supervisor engine configured to generate an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on at least one optimization criteria and an animal feed formulation.

2. The system of claim 1, further including a formulator engine, the formulator engine configured to receive animal feed ingredient information and generate the animal feed formulation composed of the animal feed ingredients based on the performance projection.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein generating an optimized value for the at least one variable input includes providing a projected effect of the modification to the at least one variable input.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the variable input is one of an animal factor, an environmental factor, and an economic factor.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the variable input is an environmental factor and includes at least one of a thermal environment, an animal population environment, a photoperiod environment, a feeding environment, an animal comfort environment, an animal structural environment, and an animal microbial environment.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the variable input is an animal factor and includes at least one of an animal species type, an animal job, an animal genotype, and an animal composition.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the variable input is an economic factor and includes at least one of a market timing, an animal feed price, an animal product valuation, and a market location.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulator engine includes an animal performance simulator configured to generate an animal performance profile based upon the animal feed formulation information and the animal information input including at least one variable input.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the enterprise supervisor engine is configured to actuate the simulator engine based upon variations in the variable input to generate a plurality of animal performance profiles.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the enterprise supervisor is further configured to select an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of weight gain per day, weight per week, value of product per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, survival rate, environmental impact, cycles per year, animal size, stocking density, water exchange rate, total biomass of production, and product form.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulator engine further includes an animal environment performance simulator configured to generate an animal performance profile based upon variations in a variable input associated with the environment for at least one animal.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the enterprise supervisor engine is configured to actuate the simulator engine based upon variations in the variable input to generate a plurality of animal performance profiles.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the enterprise supervisor is further configured to select a preferred value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of productivity per unit of nitrogenous waste released, productivity per unit of phosphorous released, balance of bypass nutrients, water exchange rate, and aeration rate.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulator engine further includes an animal economic performance simulator configured to generate an animal performance profile based upon variations in a variable input associated with economic factors for at least one animal.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the enterprise supervisor engine is configured to actuate the simulator engine based upon variations in the variable input to generate a plurality of animal performance profiles.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the enterprise supervisor is further configured to select a preferred value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of value of biomass per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, value of product per hour of labor, return on investment, return on working capital, and value per kilogram of product produced.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulator engine further includes an animal performance simulator, an animal environment performance simulator, and an animal economic performance simulator configured to generate a comprehensive animal performance profile based upon the animal feed formulation information and the animal information input including at least one variable input.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the enterprise supervisor engine is configured to actuate the simulator engine based upon variations in the variable input to generate a plurality of animal performance profiles.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the enterprise supervisor is further configured to select a preferred value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of weight gain per day, weight gain per week, value of product per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, survival rate, environmental impact, cycles per year, animal size, stocking density, water exchange rate, product form, productivity per unit of ammonia released, productivity per unit of phosphorous released, water exchange rate, aeration rate, biomass produced per cost of feed, value of biomass per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, value of product per hour of labor, return on investment, return on working capital, and value per kilogram of product produced.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the animal performance profile is generated based on at least two of animal performance, animal environment, animal economics.

25. A method for determining optimized values for inputs to an animal production system, comprising:

receiving a plurality of animal information inputs, wherein at least one of the animal information inputs is designated as a variable input;

generating at least one performance projection based on the animal information inputs; and

generating an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on the at least one performance projection and an animal feed formulation and at least one optimization criteria.

26. The method of claim 25, further including generating at least one animal feed formulation composed of the animal feed ingredients based on the at least one performance projection.

27. The method of claim 26, further including optimizing the at least one animal feed formulation according to at least one optimization criteria.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein generating an optimized value for the at least one variable input includes providing an effect of the modification to the at least one variable input.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the variable input is one of an animal factor, an environmental factor, and an economic factor.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the variable input is an environmental factor and includes at least one of a thermal environment, an animal population environment, a photoperiod environment, a feeding environment, an animal comfort environment, an animal structural environment, and an animal microbial environment.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the variable input is an animal factor and includes at least one of an animal species type, an animal job, an animal genotype, and an animal composition.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the variable input is an economic factor and includes at least one of a market timing, market pricing, and a market location.

33. The method of claim 26, further including generating a plurality of animal performance profiles based upon the animal feed formulation information and the animal information input including at least one variable input.

34. The method of claim 33, further including generating a plurality of animal performance profiles based on variations in the at least one variable input.

35. The method of claim 34, further including selecting a preferred value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of weight gain per day, weight per week, value of product per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, survival rate, environmental impact, cycles per year, animal size, stocking density, water exchange rate, and product form.

37. The method of claim 25, further including generating an animal performance profile based upon variation of a variable input associated with the environment for at least one animal.

38. The method of claim 37, further including iteratively generating a plurality of animal performance profiles based on variation of the at least one variable input.

39. The method of claim 38, further including selecting a preferred value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of productivity per unit of ammonia released, productivity per unit of phosphorous released, water exchange rate, and aeration rate.

41. The method of claim 25, further including generating an animal performance profile based upon variations in a variable input associated with economic factors for at least one animal.

42. The method of claim 41, further including generating a plurality of animal performance profiles based on variation of the at least one variable input.

43. The method of claim 42, further including generating an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of value of biomass per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, value of product per hour of labor, return on investment, return on working capital, and value per kilogram of product produced.

45. The method of claim 25, further including generating a comprehensive animal performance profile based upon the animal information input including at least one variable input and at least two of an animal performance profile, an animal environment performance profile, and an animal economic performance profile.

46. The method of claim 45, further including generating a plurality of animal performance profiles based upon variation of the at least one variable input.

47. The method of claim 46, further including generating an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of weight gain per day, weight per week, value of product per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, survival rate, environmental impact, cycles per year, animal size, stocking density, water exchange rate, product form, productivity per unit of ammonia released, productivity per unit of phosphorous released, water exchange rate, aeration rate, value of biomass per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, value of product per hour of labor, return on investment, return on working capital, and value per kilogram of product produced.

49. A system for generating an animal feed formulation, comprising:

a simulator engine configured to receive a plurality of animal information inputs and generate animal requirements based on the animal information inputs;

a formulator engine, the formulator engine configured to receive a plurality of animal feed ingredient inputs and generate at least one animal feed formulation composed of the animal feed ingredients based on the animal requirements, wherein at least one of the animal feed ingredient inputs is designated as a variable input; and

an enterprise supervisor engine configured to optimize the at least one animal feed formulation according to at least one optimization criteria, and further configured to generate an optimized value for the at least one variable input based on the at least one optimization criteria.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein suggesting a modification to the at least one variable input includes providing an effect of the modification to the at least one variable input.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the variable input is the nutrient content of an ingredient.

52. The system of claim 49, wherein the simulator engine further includes an animal performance simulator configured to generate an animal performance profile based upon the animal feed formulation information and the animal information input including at least one variable input.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the enterprise supervisor engine is configured to actuate the simulator engine based upon variations in the variable input to generate a plurality of animal performance profiles.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the enterprise supervisor is further configured to select a preferred value for the at least one variable input based on application of the at least one optimization criteria to the plurality of animal performance profiles.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the optimization criteria includes at least one of weight gain per day, weight per week, value of product per cost of feed, value of product per unit of space, survival rate, environmental impact, cycles per year, animal size, stocking density, water exchange rate, and product form.

56. An animal production optimization system, comprising:

an optimization engine, having an objective function program therein, configured to receive a feed formulation input; and

an animal production modeling system configured to

receive animal information input, including at least one variable input,

receive feed formulation input, and

provide modeling output to the optimization engine,

wherein the optimization engine optimizes the objective function to provide an optimized solution for the at least one variable input based on the modeling output.

57. The animal production optimization system of claim 56, further including a user interface configured to allow the selection, by a user, of one or more variable inputs.

58. The animal production optimization system of claim 56, further including a formulator engine configured to generate to the feed formulation input.

59. The animal production optimization system of claim 56, wherein optimizing the objective function includes iteratively generating modeling output based on variations to the one or more variable input.

60. The animal production optimization system of claim 56, wherein the variable input is one of an animal factor, an environmental factor, and an economic factor.

61. The animal production optimization system of claim 60, wherein the variable input is an environmental factor and includes at least one of a thermal environment, an animal population environment, a photoperiod environment, a feeding environment, an animal comfort environment, an animal structural environment, and an animal microbial environment.

62. The animal production optimization system of claim 60, wherein the variable input is an animal factor and includes at least one of an animal species type, an animal job, an animal genotype, and an animal composition.

63. The animal production optimization system of claim 60, wherein the variable input is an economic factor and includes at least one of a market timing, animal product valuation, and a market location.

64. A method for generating optimized values for variable inputs to an animal production optimization system, comprising:

receiving animal information input, including at least one variable input;

generating modeling output based on the animal information input;

receiving a feed formulation input to the objective function;

generating an objective function based on the modeling output and the feed formulation input; and

optimizing the objective function to provide an optimized value for the at least one variable input.

65. The method of claim 64, further including receiving a selection, by a user, of one or more variable inputs.

66. The method of claim 64, wherein optimizing the objective function includes iteratively generating modeling output based on variations to the one or more variable input.

67. The method of claim 64, wherein the variable input is one of an animal factor, an environmental factor, and an economic factor.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the variable input is an environmental factor and includes at least one of a thermal environment, an animal population environment, a photoperiod environment, a feeding environment, an animal comfort environment, an animal structural environment, and an animal microbial environment.

69. The method of claim 67, wherein the variable input is an animal factor and includes at least one of an animal species type, an animal job, an animal genotype, and an animal composition.

70. The method of claim 67, wherein the variable input is an economic factor and includes at least one of a market timing, animal product valuation, and a market location.