Using a Mixed-Integer Program to Assign Finishers to Brooders at a Large Turkey Harvesting
Date
2022-08
Authors
Wilson, Griffin
Major Professor
Stone, Richard
Advisor
Committee Member
Mirka, Gary
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Abstract
In contrast with chicken, pork, beef, and fish, comparatively few resources in the field of food science have been devoted to academic research concerning the growth, production, and sale of turkey products. This disparity extends from research surrounding microbiology, animal health and wellbeing, antibiotic resistance, environmental impact, waste management practices, worker and consumer safety, and supply chain management. While this striking difference is rendered more understandable when placed in the broader context of American patterns of meat consumption, further investigation reveals that this comparative lack of research interest has almost overlooked a whole one-twentieth of the American meat consumption (NCCA Admin, 2021). In 2021, Americans consumed 5.1 billion pounds of turkey meat; additionally, turkey consumption has doubled since 1970 (National Turkey Federation, 2022). Given the high volume of turkey production and lower volume of academic interest, it stands to reason that there remains many opportunities for improvement across the value chain. In this paper, we investigate one such opportunity by formulating a mixed-integer program (MIP) aimed at improving the supply chain sustainability, biosecurity, and cost-reduction efforts of one large multinational turkey producer. To our knowledge, the turkey supply chain prior to processing has not been described in detail in academic literature or in more widely distributed forms of media, such as documentaries or news articles. Additionally, this contributes to the literature by creating the first mathematical optimization model for turkey growing.
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creative component
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Copyright
2022