Northern Ireland Farm Animal Biobank Overview

This document is a technical report on the Northern Ireland Farm Animal Biobank (N.I.FAB), a project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA) aimed at enhancing the sustainability of livestock farming in Northern Ireland. Launched in April 2022, N.I.FAB has been collecting extensive data over three years, resulting in a dataset that includes 10 billion rows of records. The project focuses on developing tailored breeding indexes and tools to improve productivity, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance animal health and welfare. Key strategic areas include reducing livestock's environmental footprint by predicting emissions at the individual animal level, improving animal health through innovative data science methods, and making farming more profitable by understanding biological factors that contribute to profitability and environmental friendliness. The report outlines the collaborative efforts of researchers, including the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, to advance livestock farming practices.