Stochastic differential equations models of animal growth and profit optimization in cattle raising

The effect of environmental random fluctuations on the growth dynamics of individual animals is not captured by regression models and so we use stochastic differential equations (SDE). After a very brief introduction to SDE, we obtain the expected value and the standard deviation of the profit obtained by a farmer in raising and selling an animal as a function of the selling age. We apply the results to profit optimization using real weight data of cattle males of the Mertolengo breed.