95976 - Intensive Poultry and Fish Farming Performances and Circular Economy

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module, students know the main performance indicators, the main interconnections between circular/sustainable agriculture, productivity and animal welfare, are able to evaluate and discuss the consequences of different farming methods and animal management techniques on circularity/sustainability, productivity and welfare and soil health and are able to evaluate existing farming systems and propose corrective strategies.

Course contents

MODULE 1 – [Alessio Bonaldo]

Lectures:

• Introduction to sustainability in animal production
  Overview of European and global trends in animal and feed production, carbon footprint, and emissions along the production chain.

• Circular feed ingredients and raw materials
  Sustainable sourcing strategies and circular economy principles in feed formulation.

• Precision feeding
  Tools and approaches for optimizing feeding strategies to enhance efficiency and reduce waste.

• Sustainable farming systems
  Integrated and multi-trophic farming systems, including multi-species aquaculture and livestock approaches and RAS.

MODULE 2 – Poultry – [Marco Zampiga]

Lectures:

• Introduction to poultry production
  Production and consumption statistics for poultry meat and eggs, main production systems, environmental impacts, and current sectoral challenges.

• Poultry meat production
  Structure of the poultry meat value chain: breeders, hatchery and incubation, farming systems for broilers, broiler farm management, key performance indicators, meat processing.

• Egg production systems
  Overview of the egg value chain: pullet and laying hen farming systems, rearing and management practices, production performance indicators.

• Feeding and nutrition
  Main feed ingredients, diet formulation, feed additives, precision feeding for broilers, pullets, and layers; strategies for improving feed efficiency and minimizing environmental impact.

• Circular approaches in poultry systems
  Valorization of poultry production by-products (e.g., manure, slaughter waste), use of circular ingredients, sustainable nutrition strategies.

Readings/Bibliography

Due to the scarcity of specific textbooks, the reading list/bibliography will be mostly based on scientific papers and online resources. An updated list of bibliographic sources (divided in compulsory, recommended, and in-depth readings) will be made available in the institutional repository.

Teaching methods

The course is structured in two modules:

• MODULE 1 – Alessio Bonaldo: 28 hours (16 hours of lectures, 12 hours of practical/laboratory sessions)

  MODULE 1 – Marco Zampiga: 28 hours (16 hours of lectures, 12 hours of practical/laboratory sessions)

Assessment methods

Evaluation Method
The assessment will be conducted through an oral examination, consisting of 2–3 open-ended questions for each module related to the topics covered during the course.

Grading Criteria

• 18–19: With some guidance from the instructor, the student is able to recall the main theoretical concepts.

• 20–24: The student demonstrates knowledge of theoretical concepts and is able to independently analyse scenarios discussed in class or during the written exam, generally using appropriate terminology.

• 25–29: The student provides well-reasoned evaluations of the proposed scenarios, supports their arguments with relevant examples, and consistently employs appropriate technical language.

• 30–30L: The student demonstrates the ability to make connections between different topics, articulates and justifies their answers critically, uses the correct terminology and bibliographic references, and is able to propose appropriate corrective strategies when necessary.

Final Grade and Digital Recording
The final grade for the integrated course will be calculated as the arithmetic mean of the grades obtained in the individual course units.
Grades will be officially recorded in the AlmaEsami system by the Chair of the Examination Board within 5 days of the examination date.

Teaching tools

• Teaching slides
• Videos, online sources, and reading list (Virtuale platform: https://virtuale.unibo.it/ [http:] )

Office hours

See the website of Alessio Bonaldo

See the website of Marco Zampiga