Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Wala Group
collected in these workshops in the past
7
years, it is possible to conclude that one of
the main limitations for the application of
modelling techniques in the poultry indus-
try is knowledge related to statistical con-
cepts for fitting non-linear or multiple linear
regression equations, data analyses in gen-
eral, and training on concepts of growth and
development. Additionally, bad experiences
with previous models that were offered rais-
ing expectations way above their capabil-
ities have caused many problems and an
aversion towards the use of these tools.
Many people in the poultry industry
were consulted on this topic and the most
common reason for scepticism as to their
use was related to the lack of knowledge on
how each model has been developed, its ac-
curacy, and a lack of familiarity with what
potential users called 'black boxes'. Those
black boxes often had outputs that were
not expected based on the potential user's
general knowledge. However, most of the
models available are based on concepts that
have been published or discussed in many
forums. One step that may not be clearly
understood by the general public is the way
that a model's theory and equations are or-
ganized in the software, but this information
is often proprietary to the model's develop-
ers. The author also discussed this issue
with modeller colleagues, and the opinions
of Bryan Fancher (Aviagen Inc.), Frank Ivey
(Feed2Gain), Greg Page (Nutreco) and Phil-
lipe Lescoat (INRA) are included in the fol-
lowing paragraphs.
Every person involved in this topic in-
dicated that attempts to market biological or
even business models in the poultry indus-
try have had multiple challenges. Through
the years it has been observed that many
poultry producers have invested heavily in
transactional accounting, database and sup-
ply chain management systems, especially
on the processing side of the business, but
far fewer have integrated biological models
into their information technology systems.
This is partially explained by a general lack
of familiarity with biological models among
poultry producers and even poultry profes-
sionals, and hence lack of confidence in the
software. However, with increasing volatility
This company based in Shoreview, Minne-
sota, USA (walagroup.com; solve@walagroup.
com), is the developer of
CAMERA
®
sys-
tems, a business model for broiler and tur-
key operations, and
Layerite
®
a business
model for egg production. The Wala Group
has been developing integrated life sciences
and 'supply chain optimization' technolo-
gies to enable meat and egg producers and
growers to improve their bottom line results
for over
30
years. The company also pro-
duces and markets EZ-Stats, a poultry live
production and processing, monitoring and
tracking tool, and CAMERA Vision Egg
®
, a
margin enhancement technology for inte-
grated egg operations. The Wala Group has
taken patented Life Science Algorithms to
develop the CAMERA
®
Analytics software
for integrated broiler and turkey companies.
CAMERA
®
optimizes the production pro-
cess with respect to the net income of the
operation. This optimization enables pro-
duction managers to improve their bottom
line results by line tuning' the many
trade-offs and inter-dependencies of earn-
ings at risk between cost reduction and rev-
enue generation. CAMERA
®
utilizes the
patented growth algorithm to enable man-
agers to achieve a higher level of alignment
and integration among hatchery, feed mill,
purchasing, grow out and processing busi-
ness units.
Limitations on Applying Modelling to
Commercial Conditions
There are several opinions on the reasons
that have prevented modelling in poultry
from advancing and being adopted and im-
plemented as it has been for other species.
An extension programme called the Poultry
Decision Makers Workshop Series has been
conducted at North Carolina State Univer-
sity, since 2006 with the objective of pro-
moting mathematical modelling techniques
for decision making in commercial poultry
production and research
(www.poultry.
workshop-series/
). Based on the experiences
