1- Scientific context and project objectives

In ruminant farming, current ruminant nutrition assistance tools have been designed to maximise the effectiveness of holdings. These now need modifying to take account of product quality, environmental impact control and animal health objectives. For this, it is necessary to integrate relevant scientific knowledge that has been published and accumulated over recent decades. A systemic approach has been initiated in a project on the Diet and Use of Blood Nutrients in Ruminants. A bibliographical database, Flora, has been constructed and a statistical method for processing data by meta-analysis has been applied.

2- Project description

The project has two objectives: 1) improve the existing information system to make it easier to use and extend its information scope and 2) complete the formalisation of meta-analysis methods and ensure they are quick to implement. The improvements made to the existing database involve optimising and updating its structure by simplifying data input, verification and extraction in terms of statistical processing, to ensure long-term use. They shall also include a user interface with secured data and regulated access. The information processing methods need improving by being formalised with sets of complex data and by automating the statistical and graphical processing procedures guaranteeing flexible and relatively easy use given the regular modification of parameters inherent in meta-analyses.

3- Public or controlled use

Use of the tools developed will be reserved for research teams working on obtaining information and on the general project.

4- Expected results

The project should lead to secure tools that are easy and quick to use by people who are neither computer technicians or biometricians, in a series of research projects under way or in the pipeline at regional, national and international level.

LifeGrid, the regional information system