ISHS Acta Horticulturae 566: II International Symposium on Application of Modelling as an Innovative Technology in the Agri-Food Chain; MODEL-IT
MAXIMISATION OF GROSS MARGIN IN INTENSIVE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION |
| Authors: | P.C.H. Morel, D.L.J. Alexander, R.L. Sherriff, G.R. Wood |
| Keywords: | Ascent method, genetic algorithm, growth model, linear programming, Monte Carlo, Nelder-Mead algorithm, simulated annealing, tabu search |
| Abstract:
Diets for intensive pig and poultry farming have traditionally been formulated by minimising feed cost while satisfying certain nutritional constraints. More recently, computerised growth models have allowed rapid simulation of the effects of various dietary programmes on total gross margin. This approach is now extended, by solving the diet formulation problem using developments in the field of mathematical optimisation. In this way, more realistic and complex models of the farming situation can be treated. The advantages of this solution process are demonstrated via analysis of the objective function and comparison with a pure random search method. Application of the results and some limitations of the material in this paper are also discussed. | |
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