Friday Feed Update: The latest developments listed

INRA and Olmix team up to further explore algae extracts

The marine algae business is growing fast and attracting increasing attention thanks to the nutritional quality of algae and the abundance of bioactive molecules offering potential for applications especially in the human food and animal feed sectors. The cell wall of macroalgae, or seaweed, contains large quantities of sulphated polysaccharides. Various studies have shown their wide range of biological properties, including anticoagulant, antimicrobial, antiproliferative, antitumoral and immunomodulatory. In order to explore this further, a research partnership was set up between INRA and Olmix Group, producer of macroalgal biorefinery (particularly green and red algae), to explore the potential of isolated algal extracts rich in sulfated polysaccharides (Olmix MSP® Immunity). Already carried out in vitro studies by the 2 groups showed good results regarding the stimulation of the production of immune mediators in the intestine. Understanding the mechanism of the immunomodulatory actions like these is necessary in order to optimize the use of bioactive polysaccharides in future prevention strategies boosting the animals immune response and health.

Balchem reports increase price choline chloride

Balchem Corporation announced that it will increase the price of choline chloride for animal feed in North America by $ 0.03/lb. This price increase came into effective on April 1, 2018 or as contract terms permit. The increase is driven by the continuing escalation of manufacturing, distribution and raw material costs. Customers should contact their Balchem Sales Representative for more details.

Ponco: A new player in poultry feed

A new Dutch based animal nutrition company – named Ponco – has been founded by Daan Somers and Ronny Mombaerts in partnership with Coppens Diervoeding. The official launch was on November 1st, 2017. Ponco specialises in feed for the international poultry farming industry. Ponco offers Re(a)d, a prestarter feed for young broilers with an attractive red colour and optimum structure and Opticare Ferment S, a fermented soybean meal that improves the growth performance and positively influences the immunity of the broilers. Ronny Mombaerts: “The market for poultry meat is growing worldwide together with more attention for health and welfare. This means that the sector needs to grow and professionalize in a high tempo. Coppens Diervoeding is a prominent Dutch company that is in front of all innovations and works closely with the sector to optimise the Dutch poultry production. Ponco is their international partner and together we can bring the knowledge, years of experience and proven products into the international market.”

Partnership between EW Nutrition and ICON

EW Nutrition has concluded an agreement to acquire 51% of the shares in ICON, a company specialized in feed solutions for the Turkish livestock market. The transaction was signed on March 29, 2018. The company will be renamed EW ICON.

Phileo: Selsaf®3000 in Europe and pet food partnership

Already sold in many different countries around the world, Selsaf®3000 arrives in Europe thanks to its new registration since December 2017. The product from Phileo is produced from a specific yeast strain CNCM I-3399 (the same as for Selsaf® – 2200 ppm), and through a mastered manufacturing process. Likewise, Selsaf®3000 offers a high stability with its long shelf life of 3 years. A major characteristic of Selsaf®3000 is its consistent composition in two active seleno-compounds: selenocysteine and selenomethionine.

Phileo Lesaffre Animal Care was also in the news because it formed a partnership with Diana Pet Food. The partnership evolves around yeast and bacteria solutions for the pet food industry, ingredients that are used in pet food to boost food acceptance, digestion, coat condition, protein quality, and immunity. Diana Pet Food receives the exclusive distribution of the Phileo portfolio of yeast and bacteria solutions to pet food manufacturers on a global level. In addition, both companies will be collaborating in the development of a probiotic solution especially created to meet the specific demands of the pet food market.

Ban Ki-moon: keynote speaker at AquaVision 2018

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, will be keynote speaker at AquaVision 2018 in Stavanger, Norway. Mr Ban will directly address the food security challenges of the coming decades. The theme for AquaVision 2018 is ‘Meeting tomorrow today’ and the 2-day programme will focus on 2 main topics: “The blue revolution” and “Beyond tomorrow”. AquaVision is a world-class aquaculture business conference that attracts a diverse range of stakeholders to Stavanger every 2 years and will do so again from 11-13 June 2018. The conference, organised by Skretting and its parent company Nutreco since 1996, has established itself as an important meeting place for some 400 participants from around 40 countries.

BioMar growth exceeds expectations

In 2017, BioMar Group delivered on the growth aspirations. The financial results for the year reveal a significant increase in revenue as well as solid EBIT exceeding expectations. Carlos Diaz, CEO BioMar Group: “It has been a busy, but encouraging year. We accomplished our first full year with operations in Turkey and China, and we completed the acquisition of Alimentsa in Ecuador to complement our presence in the shrimp segment, together with our factory in Costa Rica. On top of this we initiated our factory project in Australia, started the biggest fish feed line in the world and began operations of our new LNG vessel in Norway, reinforcing our state-of-the-art technology and fleet. And finally we started the construction of our trial facility in Ecuador to supplement the ATC network together with lots of interesting product concepts launched in our different markets. Everywhere I have seen an amazing dedication to innovating aquaculture.” In total, volumes sold did go up by 20% compared to 2016. The salmon markets counted for the largest increase in volumes, supported by expanded production capacity, increased global biomass and favorable biological conditions. BioMar Group closed the year with an EBITDA of DKK 712 million and an EBIT of DKK 559 million slight decreasing from 2016. However the results from the main activities increased slightly and exceeded the recent guidance in Q3. BioMar expects to continue the positive development in 2018 across species and geographies.

Chr. Hansen to use NIR equipment from Consumer Physics

Chr. Hansen joined forces with Consumer Physics to use and distribute SCiOTM, a revolutionary feed analysis solution based on the smallest available pocket size NIR spectrometer. The solution will be rolled out first in the US, with the intention to roll out globally over time, to Chr. Hansen’s key account managers and distributors first and then to Chr. Hansen’s customers. SCiO offers instant feed and forage analysis with a click of a button, enabling nutritionists and consultants to troubleshoot variations and adjust rations during farm visits. It allows real time testing and it is more accurate and simpler to use than the cumbersome on-farm alternatives. “Our partnership with Consumer Physics enables us to equip our key account managers and consultants with the latest technology available for animal feed analysis. With SCiO, we can now instantly fine-tune formulation, and proactively detect inconsistencies, in a matter of seconds. It is an important technology addition to our toolkit, in our continuous pursuit for service excellence, which we also plan to roll out to all our customer base,” says Steve Lerner, VP, North America Sales and Marketing at Chr. Hansen Animal Health and Nutrition.

Agrifirm signs agreement with Diam Grain

Royal Agrifirm Group in the Netherlands signed a joint venture agreement in Algiers with Diam Grain, aimed at the local production and sales of premixes in Algeria. The agreement includes the construction of a new state of the art premix plant that will offer high quality nutritional solutions for the expanding Algerian animal nutrition market. Diam Grain’s extensive experience in the animal nutrition market fosters the international, nutritional and technological expertise of the Royal Agrifirm Group. The combined strengths will provide top nutritional solutions for the Algerian poultry and ruminant markets. Moreover, Algeria has been an important export market for the Royal Agrifirm Group for many years. The construction of a state of the art premix production unit is planned in Blida, centrally located near Algiers with all major animal production zones within easy reach of the facility.