Module 3: Importance of Data for Breeding, Survival and Mortality

Data-driven decision-making

The first two modules of this course have focused on collecting and storing meaningful data. As you have seen, data is a powerful tool that can help you gain information about your system. In this module, we will explore ways of using data to inform the decision-making process, and see how to assess impacts over time. 

How to get started with data?

Though you now understand what "data" means, and why the use of data is beneficial for farmers and others in the livestock sector, it can still be challenging to know where to begin. The following video will provide practical suggestions for getting started with data:

Breeding for continuous improvement

Data for animal breeding, performance, and health

In this video, Professor Geoff Simm, Director of the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems, discusses the history of breeding, and how data has informed selective breeding over time, leading to positive outcomes in terms of farm productivity and animal health and wellbeing. 

Data-driven breeding

Dr Nicola Lambe, a geneticist from SRUC's Hill and Mountain Research Centre, discusses the use of data in selective breeding of sheep, including what variables they keep track of, and how they make decisions based on those data. 

The importance of data for neonatal survival

Improving lamb mortality through good record keeping

In this video, Professor Cathy Dwyer, the Director of the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education, explains how data can provide robust, meaningful information to help farmers minimise mortality in their flocks. 

Mortality data in poultry

Particularly when taking care of many animals, which is often the case with poultry flocks, it is very difficult to accurately assess the impacts of mortality through observation alone. Dr Laura Dixon, a Poultry Scientist at Scotland's Rural College, will explain how simple data collection allows flocks to be monitored accurately over time. 

Data Tutorials

Keeping track of mortality data for your flock or herd

The following tutorial will provide a step-by-step explanation of how to monitor mortality data for a flock or herd. This will include calculating daily mortality rates, cumulative mortality, and total mortality.

As with all the data tutorials, the process will be shown using the free online version of Excel. 

We suggest you make sure to have watched the data tutorials in Module 1 and 2 before this one, as they provide the foundations we are now building upon.  

After watching this tutorial, you will have the skills to keep track of mortality data for your own flock or herd using free spreadsheet software.

If you prefer, you can download a template here, which comes with the formulas pre-populated:

 

Creating line graphs to monitor changes over time

While data contained in well-organised spreadsheets is useful, it can be easier to interpret data that have been visualised in graphs or charts. The following tutorial will show you how to create simple line graphs that will enable you to monitor changes in a variable, such as mortality rate or growth rate, over time. 

Additional Material

• FAO report | Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (pdf)
• Agri-EPI Video | Healthy Heifer: A precision solution for dairy farmers (5min): A video that introduces the Healthy Heifer project, which uses real-time data to improve the health and productivity of dairy cows, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve a target of 95% of heifers reaching first lactation at 24 months, benefiting the UK dairy industry.

 

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