Sensors In Vertical Farming

The demand for a more sustainable food production increases every year. To live up to this, food producers must keep enhancing their production and make sure that the animals have the best living conditions possible in order to avoid mortality, enhanced FCR, and poor meat quality. This calls for accurate real-time data.

Accurate Real-time Data

Constantly monitoring the climate in livestock houses is essential to create optimal animal welfare and the most efficient production. It is no longer enought to measure the temperature, humidity, CO2, and ammonia once in a while. Climate sensors of the future provide accurate real-time data allowing for more timely and effective decision-making, when it comes to managing the production, since the farmer or farm manager get an up-to-date picture of the production.

The Importance of Accurate Data

One of the key benefits of using climate sensors in poultry houses is that they can help prevent the spread of disease. Poultry are particularly susceptible to respiratory infections, which can be exacerbated by poor air quality. By monitoring the levels of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and humidity, you can make sure that the air inside the poultry house is fresh and free from harmful gases.

In a poultry production, the temperature and humidity play an important role during the entire life of the chicken from hatchery and hatching until they are sent to slaughter. Chickens are very sensitive to temperature changes. If it is too cold, the chickens might eat more and stick together to keep warm, meaning they produce more fat than meat due to the combination of high feed consumption and low movement. A low temperature might also cause egg laying problems.

Whether the data from the climate sensors is accurate or not has a huge impact on the production. As mentioned, temperature and humidity have a great effect on the production and animal welfare which makes it vital that the measurements are accurate. Accurate data can lead to less stress on birds and thus greater productivity.

Feed accounts for up to 70% of total production costs in poultry farming, making it the single largest expense for most producers. With fluctuating ingredient prices and increasing competition, finding effective ways to reduce feed costs—without compromising bird health or productivity—is essential for profitability.

Here are five expert strategies to help you cut feeding costs and improve efficiency on your poultry farm.

1. Consult Poultry Feeding Experts for Smarter Formulation

One of the most effective ways to cut feed costs without hurting performance is to work with qualified poultry nutritionists or feeding experts. These professionals understand how to balance nutrients efficiently while using locally available and affordable ingredients.

A feeding expert can:

• Help you design least-cost rations that meet your birds’ nutritional needs.
• Identify suitable alternative feed ingredients (like cassava, sorghum, palm kernel cake, or sunflower meal).
• Analyze ingredient nutrient profiles to ensure you’re not overfeeding expensive nutrients.
• Continuously adjust feed formulas as market prices and ingredient availability change.

By relying on expert advice instead of guesswork, farmers can achieve better feed efficiency, maintain bird health, and save significantly on overall feed expenses.

2. Minimize Feed Wastage

Even the best feed formulation is useless if much of it ends up on the floor. Feed wastage can silently drain profits, sometimes accounting for 5–10% of total feed losses.

Here’s how to reduce waste:

• Use feeders with proper design and adjustable height to minimize spillage.
• Fill feeders only up to two-thirds full.
• Raise feeder levels as birds grow to avoid scratching out feed.
• Keep feed storage areas dry, cool, and pest-free to prevent spoilage and contamination.

Simple management changes like these can save thousands of dollars over time.

3. Adopt Phase Feeding Programs

Birds have different nutritional needs at each stage of growth. Using the same feed throughout their life leads to waste and inefficiency.

Phase feeding means adjusting feed composition based on the bird’s age and production stage—for example:

• Starter, grower, and finisher diets for broilers
• Pre-lay, peak-lay, and post-peak diets for layers

By tailoring nutrients to each phase, farmers can save 5–8% in feed costs while maintaining growth rates and egg production.

One of the most important things in farm management, when it comes to profit, is that the data you collect from your farms are accurate and easily withdrawn from the farms. Our climate sensors fit all farm controllers and can be customized for your specific needs. In this way you can collect, share, and compare data from all your farms in one system.

Identify the course of abnormal behaviour

Monitoring the level of ammonia and CO2 can reveal the course of abnormal behaviour at your farm.

Ammonia is a byproduct of animal urine and feces, and high levels of ammonia in the air can irritate the respiratory tract and cause coughing, sneezing, and other respiratory problems in animals. High levels of ammonia can also lead to reduced appetite and weight gain, as well as an increased risk of respiratory infections.

CO2 is a gas produced by the breathing of animals and the decomposition of organic matter. High levels of CO2 in the air can lead to respiratory problems and reduced productivity in animals. It can also be harmful to humans, causing symptoms like headache, dizziness, and fatigue.