The biggest is not always the best when it comes down to the bottom line of earning a profit in the egg business, according to an Auburn University poultry expert.

Through a revolutionary computer management program, David Roland, a distinguished university professor in the Department of Poultry Science, is demonstrating the importance of integrating economics into egg production.

"The objective of the business is not to get the biggest egg, but to make the most money," Roland says.

The software program, titled Econometric Feeding and Management of Laying Hens, automatically integrates market variables -- such as egg and feed prices -- and temperature into the nutritional program. It then provides the producer with a readout of the optimal feeding methods and environmental conditions for generating the most profit from his product.

Birds eat to meet their energy requirements, and energy intake can be controlled by temperature, Roland explains.

Computers already are being used to control the environment of poultry houses, he adds.

"This allows the producer rather than the hen to control feed intake,"he explains.

However, Roland says producers continue to employ management programs that are performance driven -- obtaining the largest egg mass at the least cost, or obtaining the best single feed formulation and environmental temperature for the laying flock.

"To fully optimize profits, economics must be integrated into our nutritional and environmental management programs," Roland adds. "Maximum egg size or feed efficiency doesn't necessarily give maximum profits, and optimal feed efficiency is dependent upon feed costs, egg prices and environmental temperature.

"In other words, there can be no fixed protein or energy requirements for maximum profits."

Roland says for producers to optimize profits, they must let market prices dictate the best diet, method of feeding and hen-house temperature.

"The Econometric Feeding and Management program doesn't replace any of the questions producers face in the business, but it helps the answers to be more accurate," Roland says. "What this is going to do...is enhance nutrient efficiency in the poultry industry."