Evaluation of Replacement Policies in Sow Farms Using ArenaTM Simulation Software

This paper presents an application of the simulation of discrete events (SED) using ARENATM in the management of large-scale breeding farms. The main objective of the simulation model is to find a policy of replacement, to ensure the best economic performance of a farm. The only variant analyzed of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Montufar Benítez, Marco Antonio, Pla Aragonés, Lluís Miquel, Serrato Garcia, Marco A., Montaño Arango, Oscar, Corona Armenta, José Ramón
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
Repositorio:Repositori Obert UdL
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/70856
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.4236/ica.2014.53015
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/70856
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Simulation
ARENATM
Farm Management
Sows Replacement
Descripción
Sumario:This paper presents an application of the simulation of discrete events (SED) using ARENATM in the management of large-scale breeding farms. The main objective of the simulation model is to find a policy of replacement, to ensure the best economic performance of a farm. The only variant analyzed of replacement policy was the number of cycles set in permanency for a sow in the herd. Considered incomes come from the sale of piglets and unproductive sows, and costs are due to the feeding of animals, replacement sows purchases, and the operation expenses of the farm. For this analysis, the production process was divided into three major stages called: mating, pregnancy or gestation and lactation. The sow’s movement from one stage to other was modeled by cycle-dependent transition probabilities. Considering the daily utility, as response variable, the model shows the best number of cycles to maintain the sows.