Improve health of calves, broilers, piglets and salmon The aim of DECIDE is to develop data-based decision-support tools that allow farmers and/or veterinarians to make informed choices for controlling endemic infectious diseases in calves, broilers, piglets and salmon. That choice will take into account the level of occurrence of the infection, direct production damage, welfare impact and the costs and benefits of any treatment. "I will not be satisfied until DECIDE succeeds in developing practically applicable tools for farmers and their veterinarians that improve the health and welfare of calves, broilers, piglets and salmon," says van Schaik. Experts from different disciplines and sectors The consortium comprises experts from different disciplines and sectors: veterinary epidemiology and diagnostics, social sciences, economics, animal welfare, information technology, artificial intelligence, data science and mechanistic and predictive modelling. Companies such as Vion Foods and Lely, but also organisations like Royal GD or the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries provide the data. These are also organisations that can implement the developed tools in practice. Project start: spring 2021 The project will start in spring 2021. We will appoint at least nine PhD students to this project, two of whom will be in the Department of Farm Animal Health. One PhD will focus on the economics of animal health and welfare, the other on the development and applications of the tools in the broiler sector.