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Animals
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Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries
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Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal System and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 29103

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Nicole J. Olynk Widmar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Interests: animal welfare; decision making; economics; livestock; pets; public perceptions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many industries are experiencing an era of ‘much ado about data’, with data analytics and data-driven decision making remaining the focus of many of them, including the animal and agricultural industries. Livestock production systems are using data on animal movement, feed intakes, and/or volumes of production to make management decisions. Predictive analytics are being used to attempt to anticipate which animals may require intervention by producers to prevent/treat illness or improve performance. Market data for both inputs, such as feed, and outputs, such as milk and meat, are driving decisions about marketing on farms. Meanwhile, significant advances in pet and companion animal management have facilitated caretakers in collecting new types of data with pet animal fitness/movement trackers and cameras tracking movement of pets, even when no one is at home. Analytics on large datasets, or ‘big data’, often incorporating multiple types of data, such as financial data alongside biological performance data from animals, is changing animal industries.

We invite original research papers that employ data analytics to drive decision making in animal industries, including both livestock and companion animal industries. Topics of special interest are those in which economics and animal production or care intersect.

Prof. Dr. Nicole J. Olynk Widmar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal industries
  • animal product marketing
  • animal use
  • data analytics
  • decision making
  • economics
  • efficiency
  • livestock production
  • management
  • public perceptions of animal industries

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 1487 KiB  
Article
What Makes Consumers Purchase Fresh Eggs in Supermarkets: The Effect of Unrealistic Choice Set Matters
by Shang-Ho Yang and Widya Satya Nugraha
Animals 2021, 11(12), 3542; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123542 - 13 Dec 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3369
Abstract
Eggs are the crucial component of daily meals for almost everyone in Taiwan, while the multi-attributes of fresh egg products generate the challenges of marketing and promotions in supermarkets. This study analyzes the market segmentation and consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for fresh egg attributes [...] Read more.
Eggs are the crucial component of daily meals for almost everyone in Taiwan, while the multi-attributes of fresh egg products generate the challenges of marketing and promotions in supermarkets. This study analyzes the market segmentation and consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for fresh egg attributes (i.e., color, traceability, animal welfare, brand, and price). In particular, the effect of the unrealistic choice set is considered in this study. The data collection was distributed near markets, schools, and train stations across Taiwan from July to September in 2020. A total of 1115 valid responses were collected, and the Latent Class Model was used. Results show that fresh egg products in supermarkets reveal a strong preference for animal welfare label with the highest WTP, which is about 64.2 NT$ (≈US$ 2.29). Furthermore, traceability label, farm brand, and brown-color egg still exhibit positive WTP of about 33.4 NT$ (≈US$ 1.19), 32.6 NT$ (≈US$ 1.16), and 32.5 NT$ (≈US$ 1.16) in supermarkets, respectively. However, including the unrealistic choice set can potentially alter the final outcomes, and it provides a good example for researchers who may have the same situation. This research helps to know more about the complexity of attributes for fresh egg products in supermarkets, so marketers would be able to adopt the effective marketing strategies for fresh egg products in supermarkets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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28 pages, 12688 KiB  
Article
Introducing the World’s First Global Producer Price Indices for Beef Cattle and Sheep
by Mohamad Isam Almadani, Peter Weeks and Claus Deblitz
Animals 2021, 11(8), 2314; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082314 - 05 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4043
Abstract
While international beef and sheep meat price developments are usually measured with meat trade prices (provided by FAO), no comparable information exists on world average of national prices that producers receive for livestock. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing a [...] Read more.
While international beef and sheep meat price developments are usually measured with meat trade prices (provided by FAO), no comparable information exists on world average of national prices that producers receive for livestock. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing a set of global producer price indices representing cattle, lambs, and sheep prices as received by producers: the agri benchmark of weaner cattle, finished cattle, lambs and lambs and sheep price indices. These Laspeyres, production-weighted indices measure changes in global farm gate prices as provided annually by the agri benchmark Beef and Sheep Network, with this paper covering prices between 2000 and 2019. The results showed that growing Asian imports, local economic developments in South America, the interconnection with the dairy sector in Europe, growth of beef consumption in China and exchange rates shifts are the key factors that drove developments of global beef producer prices over the past 20 years. Droughts in Oceania and the rapid rise in China’s sheep meat prices are highly reflected in the Global Lambs and Lambs and Sheep Meat Price indices. The indices indicate whether cattle and sheep producers globally are receiving more, or less, for the commodity and may increase or reduce production and investment accordingly. This will be of more use if there were similar producer price indices for competing enterprises, such as dairy and cropping, and for competing proteins, such as pigs, poultry, and fish. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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16 pages, 2799 KiB  
Article
Economic Analysis of the Use of VCS2000 for Pork Carcass Meat Yield Grading in Korea
by Juntae Kim, Hyo-Dong Han, Wang Yeol Lee, Collins Wakholi, Jayoung Lee, Youn-Bok Jeong, Jeong Hwan Bae and Byoung-Kwan Cho
Animals 2021, 11(5), 1297; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051297 - 30 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2996
Abstract
Currently, the pork industry is incorporating in-line automation with the aim of increasing the slaughtered pork carcass throughput while monitoring quality and safety. In Korea, 21 parameters (such as back-fat thickness and carcass weight) are used for quality grading of pork carcasses. Recently, [...] Read more.
Currently, the pork industry is incorporating in-line automation with the aim of increasing the slaughtered pork carcass throughput while monitoring quality and safety. In Korea, 21 parameters (such as back-fat thickness and carcass weight) are used for quality grading of pork carcasses. Recently, the VCS2000 system—an automatic meat yield grading machine system—was introduced to enhance grading efficiency and therefore increase pork carcass production. The VCS2000 system is able to predict pork carcass yield based on image analysis. This study also conducted an economic analysis of the system using a cost—benefit analysis. The subsection items of the cost-benefit analysis considered were net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and benefit/cost ratio (BC ratio), and each method was verified through sensitivity analysis. For our analysis, the benefits were grouped into three categories: the benefits of reducing labor costs, the benefits of improving meat yield production, and the benefits of reducing pig feed consumption through optimization. The cost-benefit analysis of the system resulted in an NPV of approximately 615.6 million Korean won, an IRR of 13.52%, and a B/C ratio of 1.65. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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13 pages, 608 KiB  
Article
Economic Feasibility of Mixed-Species Grazing to Improve Rangeland Productivity
by Kayla Hintze, Courtney Bir and Derrell Peel
Animals 2021, 11(5), 1226; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051226 - 23 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3152
Abstract
Pasture and grazing land in the southern and central Great Plains is being invaded by woody species, especially eastern redcedar. As a result of woody plant encroachment, cattle production on native rangeland is becoming less profitable because stocking rates must be decreased. Eastern [...] Read more.
Pasture and grazing land in the southern and central Great Plains is being invaded by woody species, especially eastern redcedar. As a result of woody plant encroachment, cattle production on native rangeland is becoming less profitable because stocking rates must be decreased. Eastern redcedar encroachment can be controlled by grazing management, herbicide use, prescribed fire, mechanical control and mixed species grazing. This study utilizes traditional management practices, prescribed fire and three types of mixed species grazing operations to determine the most economically feasible way to manage redcedar encroachment on rangeland. The cost-benefit analysis in this study found that the source of redcedar management on rangeland with the highest net present value was the use of a breeding goat operation in which goats were grazed alongside cattle with the use of prescribed fire. This suggests that producers who are fighting redcedar encroachment will likely be able to implement a mixed species grazing operation with breeding goats to better manage their land and increase returns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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14 pages, 1960 KiB  
Article
Meat Demand Monitor during COVID-19
by Glynn T. Tonsor, Jayson L. Lusk and Shauna L. Tonsor
Animals 2021, 11(4), 1040; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041040 - 07 Apr 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4754
Abstract
Meat products represent a significant share of US consumer food expenditures. The COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted both demand and supply of US beef and pork products for a prolonged period, resulting in a myriad of economic impacts. The complex disruptions create significant challenges [...] Read more.
Meat products represent a significant share of US consumer food expenditures. The COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted both demand and supply of US beef and pork products for a prolonged period, resulting in a myriad of economic impacts. The complex disruptions create significant challenges in isolating and inferring consumer-demand changes from lagged secondary data. Thus, we turn to novel household-level data from a continuous consumer tracking survey, the Meat Demand Monitor, launched in February 2020, just before the US pandemic. We find diverse impacts across US households related to “hoarding” behavior and financial confidence over the course of the pandemic. Combined, these insights extend our understanding of pandemic impacts on US consumers and provide a timely example of knowledge enabled by ongoing and targeted household-level data collection and analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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23 pages, 1443 KiB  
Article
Camel Genetic Resources Conservation through Tourism: A Key Sociocultural Approach of Camelback Leisure Riding
by Carlos Iglesias Pastrana, Francisco Javier Navas González, Elena Ciani, Sergio Nogales Baena and Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo
Animals 2020, 10(9), 1703; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091703 - 20 Sep 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3762
Abstract
Camels are exotic elements, which can be comprised within adventure travel companies promoting ecotourism activities. Such recreations contribute to sustainable livelihoods for local communities and educational empowerment towards nature and its conservation. At present, some local camel breeds’ survival reduces to this animal-based [...] Read more.
Camels are exotic elements, which can be comprised within adventure travel companies promoting ecotourism activities. Such recreations contribute to sustainable livelihoods for local communities and educational empowerment towards nature and its conservation. At present, some local camel breeds’ survival reduces to this animal-based leisure industry and its reliability to perform and promote customized services accurately. By conducting an on-site questionnaire to customers participating in camelback riding tours, we assessed the motivational factors affecting participation, satisfaction, and loyalty in this tourism segment that may have made it socially differentiated. The sixfold combination of staff performance, culture geography, diverse and humane close interaction, camel behavior and performance, sociotemporal context, and positive previous experience involves the elemental dimensions that explain customer satisfaction and return intention probability within this entertainment business. Customer knowledge is essential for stakeholders to build personalized riding experiences and align profits with environmental sustainability and biodiversity mainstream concerns into their everyday operations. In turn, domestic camel tourist rides could be managed as a viable path to nature conservation by helping endangered local breeds to avoid their functional devaluation and potential extinction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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Review

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10 pages, 244 KiB  
Review
Veterinary Big Data: When Data Goes to the Dogs
by Ashley N. Paynter, Matthew D. Dunbar, Kate E. Creevy and Audrey Ruple
Animals 2021, 11(7), 1872; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071872 - 23 Jun 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5099
Abstract
Dogs provide an ideal model for study as they have the most phenotypic diversity and known naturally occurring diseases of all non-human land mammals. Thus, data related to dog health present many opportunities to discover insights into health and disease outcomes. Here, we [...] Read more.
Dogs provide an ideal model for study as they have the most phenotypic diversity and known naturally occurring diseases of all non-human land mammals. Thus, data related to dog health present many opportunities to discover insights into health and disease outcomes. Here, we describe several sources of veterinary medical big data that can be used in research. These sources include medical records from primary medical care centers or referral hospitals, medical claims data from animal insurance companies, and datasets constructed specifically for research purposes. No data source provides information that is without limitations, but large-scale, prospective, longitudinally collected data from dog populations are ideal for further research as they offer many advantages over other data sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data-Driven Decision Making in Animal Industries)
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