If you caught Prism Sales Director Brandon Mulnix at the recent IPPE TECHTalk, you know he didn’t show up to talk about the kind of AI that’s making “deepfake” headlines. Instead, he addressed the “good kind” of AI. The practical, data-driven tools that help poultry farmers manage 250,000 birds with precision and care.
The core message? AI isn’t coming for your job; it’s coming to give you your time back.
Predictive Maintenance: No More Christmas Eve Emergencies
Every farmer has a story about a motor failing on Christmas Eve or in the middle of a blizzard. Traditionally, we’ve relied on manual inspections or “running it until it breaks.” But as Brandon pointed out, a motor doesn’t just die, it sends signals first.
By using AI-powered sensors on every motor, the system can monitor feedback in real time.
- The “Check Engine” Light for Barns: If a motor typically runs at 70°F but suddenly jumps to 90°F, an AI sensor identifies the thermal anomaly and says, “Come check me.”
- Proactive vs. Reactive: Replacing a $200 bearing during a scheduled break is a minor task. Fixing a snapped conveyor belt that has halted production for hours is a $20,000 catastrophe.
- Instructional Fixes: Future systems won’t just tell you what’s wrong; they’ll provide the recommended fix based on historical data, essentially giving your team the “answers to the test.”
Better Data, Healthier Birds
With feed costs often outpacing egg prices, maximizing feed conversion is essential. But how can a human manager possibly identify every correlation between house temperature, water intake, and production drops across multiple flocks?
Brandon suggests that AI is the “digital brain” that helps us understand bird health at scale. It allows managers to compare current performance against breed standards and historical data instantly, ensuring that birds remain comfortable and productive.
Three AI Prompts You Can Use Today
Brandon challenged the audience to move beyond simple tools like ChatGPT for emails and start using Large Language Models (LLMs) to analyze farm data. Here are three ways to put your historical records to work:
- Identify the Best & Worst: Upload your flock-to-date files and breeder guides into a closed model (like NotebookLM). Ask: “What are my best and worst-performing flocks, and what specific factors do they have in common?”
- Correlate Environment and Production: Ask the AI to analyze the relationship between specific house temperatures and production performance. Tell it to “quantify the correlation and prove it with data.”
- The “3-Day Window” Analysis: Ask the tool to look at a 3-day window before every 2% drop in production. By understanding the conditions that preceded past drops, you can start predicting and preventing future ones.
The Goal: Making Us More Human
“AI is not here to take your job,” Brandon emphasized. “It’s here to allow you more time to do the jobs that matter.”
By letting AI handle the tedious data crunching and the constant monitoring of thousands of bearings and belts, farmers can spend more time focusing on strategic management, animal welfare, and leadership.
Ready to stop reacting and start predicting? Connect with Brandon today to see how AI can transform your farm’s efficiency and free up your time for what matters most: your flock. You can contact Brandon at bmulnix@prismcontrols.com.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. We are dedicated to helping our farmers sleep better at night knowing they have the control technology they need to feed the world.