Data Mining Techniques for Farm Animal Management

Farm Animal management has long been a a complex process involving housing, feeding, breeding, prevention and control of animal disease. Its profitability depends upon efficient and immediate decision making thus requiring thorough analysis of data. Data mining is a process of finding non trivial hidden facts, new correlations patterns and trends through large amount of data stored in repositories, using pattern recognition technologies as well as statistical and mathematical techniques. It takes the advantage of advances in the field of information technology IT, artificial intelligence AI, mathematics and statistics. Novel techniques are emerging like neural networks decision trees genetic algorithms, rule induction super vector machines etc., which can approximate almost any functional form or interaction on their own on huge volume of data. These techniques have great potential and applications in solving complex issues involved in study of animal behavior and farm management thus acting as a linking pin for efficient decision making. In this book, the concept of data mining has been explained in a precise manner to make it understandable to farm managers and field practitioners. An attempt has been made to bridge the gap between the experts of computer science and animal sciences by unfolding mystery of the subject and throwing light on its utility in animal management. This is not just a book on data mining rather it is a window which opens the world of data mining in a selective manner. (jacket)