ISSUE FOCUS 54 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2026 Precision nutrition is reshaping commercial poultry production by extending beyond feed formulation into data-driven health and performance management. Advances in sensor technologies, blood biomarkers, and machine learning now enable more accurate, timely nutritional decisions. By integrating multiple data streams, precision nutrition supports improved bird performance, flock uniformity, animal welfare, and long-term sustainability in modern poultry systems. HAS NUTRITION NOT ALWAYS BEEN PRECISE? The term ‘precision nutrition’ could suggest that current nutrition practices are ‘imprecise’. However, nutrition has been, and will always remain, a precise science, striking a balance between providing enough nutrients to meet the requirements of the animal for optimal growth, without unnecessarily inflating feed cost or nutrient excretion into the environment. Production animal nutrition has also been a constantly evolving discipline, with regular adoption of novel concepts e.g. digestible nutrient formulation systems, net energy etc. In the past few years, improved access to sensor technologies, data science tools such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, has accelerated this evolution. Systematic data generation, advanced analytics, and interpretation, offer disruptive opportunities to better understand the nutrition and health status of the flock. In this new paradigm of animal nutrition, veterinary health, and live production, data is the new currency. Companies that collect, monitor, map, visualize, analyze, and interpret their data will be the most competitive and sustainable. The new tools available to the poultry industry present an opportunity to be more precise. Figure 1 shows how data are gathered, collected, and interpreted in the Verax™ platform. First, blood samples are taken from birds and analyzed on site. The analysis results are added to the secure Verax™ cloud database via a dedicated app. The results are benchmarked, and the significance of the analysis results are given to the producer who can then make more informed management decisions. Over time, comparisons can be made to previous seasons or flocks, helping to identify changes. Using Verax™ is especially helpful when implementing new flock management changes or nutritional changes, as the data can be used to see how the changes are affecting the physiology of the bird. ALL IN THE DETAIL What makes Verax™ so valuable is the systematic and thorough method of data collection, notation, and storPRECISION NUTRITION IN COMMERCIAL POULTRY PRODUCTION Aaron Cowieson Head Digital Consultancy & Solutions dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==