UNDERSTANDING PRECISION LIVESTOCK FARMING ADOPTION IN THE U.S. SWINE INDUSTRY: EXAMINING NEEDS, PERCEPTIONS, AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY OF USERS AND CONSUMERS

Our over-arching goal is to work with U.S. swine industry stakeholders (from conception to consumption), to understand their perceptions, needs, and barriers relative to Precision Livestock Farming to improve adoption of useful PLF on swine farms through the following 5 objectives.Our interdisciplinary team of animal and welfare scientists, veterinarians, social scientists, economists and extension personnel will work with an industry-relevant advisory board composed of stakeholders, farmers and technology developers who will provide prospective and retrospective advice on our research and extension.We will survey farmers and veterinarians to understand their needs for PLF to manage pigs on farm and the drivers and constraints underlying their adoption of PLF.We will interview influential stakeholders across the swine industry to examine their perceptions of and needs for PLF and the data it generates for uses ranging from genetic improvement to welfare certification.We will survey farmers and consumers to assess their willingness-to-pay for PLF.We will convey this information back to farmers and influencers in the swine industry to facilitate development and adoption of useful and usable PLF on farms to improve welfare.