What’s new in the global feed business?

Cargill to acquire Southern States Cooperative

Cargill has reached an agreement to acquire the animal feed business of Richmond, Va.,-based Southern States Cooperative, Inc., a move that will help the company better serve its customers in the eastern United States. The transaction is expected to close within 90 days, subject to customary approvals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. This acquisition is an important part of Cargill Feed and Nutrition’s growth strategy and its commitment to the US animal feed industry, strengthening its distribution, and go-to-market capabilities in the important Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the US.

USDA-GIPSA approval for Romer Labs fumonisin test kit

AgraStrip® Total Fumonisin WATEX® tests have been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) for official testing of total fumonisin in the US national grain inspection system. These test kits, developed by Romer Lab, are ready-to-use lateral flow devices (LFD) for on-site testing. They are available for aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2), deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fumonisins (B1, B2, B3) and allow a rapid analysis of a wide range of food and feed samples in an assay time of only three minutes.

ADM opens soy plant in Germany

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has successfully crushed its first non-GMO soybeans at its facility in Spyck, northwestern Germany. Located close to the Dutch border, the site was previously only used to crush rape and sunflower seeds. The new switch capacity is part of ADM’s long-term strategy to expand its network of European soy processing plants, enabling it to better service its soybean meal customers and support local farmers in increasing the region’s soybean acreage. ADM also crushes non-GMO soybeans at its facility in Straubing, Germany. In the past year, it has been working with farmers and industry accreditation bodies to create further opportunities to grow and market soybeans across northwest Europe.

Poeth announces the AirConveyor

The company Poeth has designed its new AirConveyor specifically for companies that want to transport powders, pellets and granulates cost-effectively and efficiently. This innovative system offers companies 75% less maintenance costs after approx. 3 years operating time and consumes 40% less energy. The air-supported conveying system from Poeth is suitable for damage-free transportation of bulk goods over short or extremely long distances. The AirConveyor generates low noise emissions and is dust-tight. As a result, the new conveying system from Poeth also has a minimum impact on the environment. The new belt conveyor from Poeth is suitable for transporting raw materials in the feed, food, chemical and bulk industries.

EU trademark for Diamond V’s TMR Audit

Diamond V announces the European Union trademark registration of TMR Audit, which now is a protected trademark in all 28 member states of the EU. “The ‘total mixed ration’, or TMR, is a critical part of modern dairy and beef production,” says Chris Van Anne, director of Diamond V’s Europe Business Unit. “The dairy producer wants the TMR to supply every cow’s nutritional needs in a consistent manner, day after day. However, as every dairy producer knows, this is not an easy task.” The TMR Audit is Diamond V’s proven system to monitor and improve the cattle feeding process as well as the consistency and homogeneity of the ration consumed by each animal. The TMR Audit gained registered trademark status in the USA in 2014. To date, Diamond V experts have conducted nearly 5,000 TMR Audits on dairy farms around the world, while training thousands of producers and their advisors to improve feeding operations.

Challenges discussed at Alltech China Research Alliance meeting

Experts from agricultural colleges and research institutions throughout China joined together to discuss agricultural and environmental challenges, including how to reduce waste and making farming operations more sustainable, at a recent Alltech China Research Alliance meeting, held in Qingdao. Alltech China has built long-term cooperative research relationships with 10 well-known universities, research institutes and leading feed and food enterprises. Defa Li, professor at China Agricultural University and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Kangsen Mai, professor at Ocean University of China and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, along with more than 30 other professors from agricultural colleges and research institutions, attended and spoke at the meeting, sharing the results of their latest research. “This meeting of the alliance explored how to reduce antibiotic residues in food, how to effectively use limited resources in the midst of population explosion, and how to reduce water and soil pollution,” said Karl Dawson, vice president and chief scientific officer at Alltech.

De Heus opens Aquaculture Research and Development Centre

On May 4th Royal De Heus proudly celebrated the opening of the Aquaculture Research & Development Centre in Vinh Long, Vietnam. This De Heus R&D Centre is supported by three organisations: Fresh Studio, Vietnam’s Can Tho University and the Netherlands’ Wageningen University. This state-of-the-art centre enables De Heus to test innovative feed formulas and new Aquaculture farming techniques. The opening of the Centre is one of the initiatives visible to realize De Heus ‘Powering Aquaculture Progress’ ambition and was preceded by an Aquaculture Feed Workshop on 3 May, attended by international aquaculture feed specialists. The Aquaculture R&D facility will first focus on Pangasius and Tilapia farming systems, but will also be used for other species. The indoor operation of this Aquaculture R&D centre has been in operation since September 2015. The outdoor operation started in March 2017. The project was established with a project contribution from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Erber Group invests and expands in North America

A new Erber Group North American hub office will open in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area later this year, building out new, shared support functions for all Erber Group divisions and enabling exciting expansion plans to unfold to drive further growth in this key market. The Erber Group divisions includes international animal nutrition company, Biomin and leading diagnostic solution provider for the agricultural, food and feed industries, Romer Labs.