Daniel BuenoThe world of apps for cellphones and tablets is about to get even more diverse, with the release of a new app designed for broiler chicken and swine farmers. It is the first piece of mobile software designed by Embrapa Swine and Poultry, a division of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation based in the city of Concórdia, state of Santa Catarina. Granucalc, as the app is called, is free and available for Android devices. “Its purpose is to calculate the grain size of raw materials used as feed for swine and poultry. Based on two parameters, the app makes calculations to determine the best grain uniformity level for each animal species,” says Embrapa Swine and Poultry researcher Everton Krabbe. The grains in the feed, which is composed basically of corn and soybean meal, must be optimally sized for better assimilation by chickens and pigs. “Before they are fed to the animals, the raw materials are milled, and Granucalc’s calculations are based on the portion that remains on the sieves after milling,” says Krabbe. Granucalc for laptops and PCs has been downloaded 191 times, by users including agricultural companies, veterinarians, co-ops, and feed manufacturers.
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