Friday Feed Update: Latest developments listed

Novus International looks at expansion methionine

Novus International confirms an in-depth investment review with its partner Arkema, Inc. to expand the manufacturing capacity at Arkema’s plant in Beaumont, Texas, USA. The facility produces multiple key ingredients for agriculture products including methylmercapto-propionaldehyde (MMP), used to produce Novus’ ALIMET® feed supplement, a key source of methionine, which is an essential amino acid used in healthy animal diets. Jeff Klopfenstein, Novus International’s Methionine Business Unit President said the expansion will ensure a steady product supply for new and current customers in the growing animal nutrition market. The project will double the supply of MMP raw material available to support the new ALIMET® supplement manufacturing facility proposed in Calhoun County, Texas.

Ab E Manufacturing kicks off building HQ

Ab E Manufacturing, the commercial production arm of Ab E Discovery has started construction on its headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, USA. Staffed by highly trained production scientists and engineers, the facility will specialize in providing manufacturing and scale-up solutions to help animal health and nutrition innovators bring bio-functional feed ingredients to market. The project is supported by both the City of Waterloo and State of Wisconsin. The 25,000-square-foot building will house systems specially designed to maintain the functionality of sensitive biological ingredients throughout processing. Other features include a dedicated R&D and quality laboratory and flexible layout for introducing new processes. Ab E Manufacturing plans to offer its services to both university researchers and businesses, delivering product and helping to design processes on a variety of scales. Specific capabilities include drying and fluid bed processing, encapsulation, egg processing, pasteurisation, blending and packaging.

BioMar adds new specialised line in Denmark

BioMar Group decides to invest in additional capacity for the factory in Denmark. The new line will be highly specialised and dedicated to fry and RAS feed production enabling the factory to increase flexibility, quality and production performance. During the last years the BioMar business unit in Denmark (located in Brande) has experienced a significant growth in volumes sold as well as an expanding customer base, now leading to the decision of expanding the capacity. The factory in Denmark is today delivering feed to farmer across most of Europe and has a very strong foothold in the eastern European countries as well as in the RAS segment across all BioMar markets. The new line is expected to be ready in Q2 2019 with a budget of DKK 90 million (€ 12.1 million). The factory in Denmark will, after the capacity expansion, be able to deliver 150,000 tons of feed per year. It is BioMar’s largest production unit in Europe outside the salmon markets. The factory is designed for agility with a flexible production set-up. It delivers mainly feed for species such trout, eel, sturgeon and salmon in RAS; however in total the factory produces feed for more than 40 species.

Evonik opens new NIR lab for animal feed in Nairobi

Evonik has opened its first laboratory for its animal nutrition business in Nairobi (Kenya). Equipped with state-of-the-art NIR technology, the facility helps feed producers evaluate their raw materials through accurate analysis of a very wide range of nutrients. Furthermore, analysis of poultry feeds is also covered by this unique service. The new Evonik laboratory brings vital technical support to the local and regional feed markets. “We hope to extend the best levels of support to our partners not only in Kenya but in the entire East African region including countries like Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda”, said John Owaga, Technical Service Manager for Animal Nutrition in East Africa at Evonik.

Lallemand Animal Nutrition offers scholarships

For the 4^th consecutive year, Lallemand Animal Nutrition will offer Lallemand Forward Scholarships for students pursuing degrees in agriculture. The scholarship programme is available to students in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The 2018 programme offers: 3 times $ 2,500 undergraduate scholarships,one $ 3,000 master’s programme scholarship and one $ 3,000 doctoral scholarship. The scholarships will be awarded at the beginning of the fall 2018 semester. have a look at the guidelines for undergraduates, Master’s and PhD students. All scholarship submissions are due to Lauren Kasten at lkasten@lallemand.com by Friday, August 3, 2018. For questions regarding the scholarship, contact Lauren Kasten.

Dr. Eckel receives EU funding for major research project

Dr. Eckel Animal Nutrition is currently investing around € 700,000 in a new research and development project, for which it is receiving funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the scope of the InnoTop programme of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The aim of the project is to develop a sanitising multifunctional additive for animal feed that can be used globally and that should help make valuable resources and animal feed more durable in accordance with FAO guidelines. Dr. Eckel’s development team is collaborating with external partners, both local and foreign, on new combinations of active ingredients, measurement methods and production technologies to achieve this ambitious project goal.

De Heus opens 2nd site in Myanmar

On 29 May 2018, De Heus Myanmar proudly celebrated the opening of its second production site in Myanmar. This modern production facility will enable De Heus to strengthen its market position and help professionalise agriculture in the region. Located on 26,000 square metres near Mandalay, the factory has an annual production capacity of 280,000 MT and is regarded as the most sustainable feed production site in Myanmar. It is equipped with a 516 kW rooftop-based Solar Energy system, which is able to produce 663 MWh of renewable energy per year, we will save 1.5 MT of CO₂ emission.

The other mill in Myanmar was opened in October 2016.

Laboratories can start registering for GMP+

Reliable laboratory analyses are crucial for a trustworthy feed safety chain.Through a GMP+ Certification Body, that is accepted for the Registered Laboratories scope, laboratories can now apply for GMP+ registration.

Starting 1^st of July 2019, all laboratories that analyze critical contaminants for GMP+ FSA certified companies, shall be GMP+ registered. More info here.

Alltech launches Villigen, a gut health product for pigs

Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech has assisted pig producers in achieving efficient growth and profitable performance in their animals for nearly four decades. Alltech’s latest technology, Viligen™, which was officially launched at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, focuses on enhancing gut form and function while optimising the immune system to maintain health status.

For producers with weaned pigs, Viligen promotes gut health by directly targeting the gut mucosa. When the technology is added to the diet of piglets, it prepares the immature gut for efficient nutrient absorption and rapid growth, and it encourages feed intake by providing fatty acids, prebiotic components and readily available mineral forms.