There was a lot of interest in the story about Cargill’s new dairy calculator. It was the most read article last month.
The company's tool assesses feed intake and dairy cow milk component production with the intent of giving producers a way to improve their financial returns by highlighting good or poor herd performance.
Mike Messman, Cargill dairy strategic technology leader, said, done by hand, such calculation requires several mathematical steps, the online calculator simplifies the process.
“It takes time to collect enough data and review the information across a wide range of herds to establish a performance metric that is meaningful and relevant across the board,” he told FeedNavigator. “We believe strongly that this is something every herd can benefit from measuring and managing, and we want to provide it to the industry in a way that was easy to use and understand, which was why we decided to put it online.”
The free, online calculator can help producers see how efficiently their cows convert feed and forage into “pounds of milk fat and protein,” he said.
Another story involving Cargill also generated a lot of traffic.
We reported on how the Minnesota-based agri-giant received approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its proprietary omega-3 rich canola variety to be cultivated in the US.
Cargill collaborated with BASF Plant Science on the canola. The German company developed the technology used to integrate genetic material from algae and plants and canola to establish a canola cultivar able to generate omega-3 fatty acids.
Mark Christiansen, managing director for Cargill’s specialty oils business, said the production of omega-3-rich canola provides several benefits.
“It addresses the growing gap between the supply and demand for fish oil, as well as the sustainability of our oceans and wild fish supply,” he told FeedNavigator. “Aquaculture cannot continue to grow to meet consumer demand without solving the challenge of limited fish oil and environmental stress.”
“Instead of relying on fish oil harvested from wild oily fish, commercial fish feed producers can now have a reliable supply and predictably priced, alternative source of omega-3,” he said. “For crop farmers, omega-3 canola provides a new option for rotation for added income and soil health, as well as a guaranteed market.”
A piece about striking truckers in Portugal sparked your interest. It was the third most popular story last month.
The feed industry trade group in that country was fearful that the planned, indefinite strike by lorry drivers could paralyze that sector and other agri-food industries, heavily reliant on goods deliveries.
The transport unions concerned were protesting over what they saw as the precariousness of their working and social conditions.
The strike went ahead but was called off or suspended seven days in as employers said they would enter government-brokered talks with the lorry drivers.
Heavy restrictions on strike action imposed by the authorities, on minimum supply requirements, meant that finally there was little in the way of acute shortages or long queues reported.
Early August, we covered the story about how Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company and BWC Industrial Services were contesting over $63K in combined fines that had been issued by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The penalties were imposed on the two companies following a probe into a feed storage facility fire and explosion at an grain silo in Iowa.
OSHA’s inspection of the ADM facility in Clinton, Iowa followed a feed bin fire and an explosion in January that killed one responding firefighter and injured another.
Iowa OSHA issued ADM five citations, including one that said firefighters were not given adequate information to tackle the fire.
The agency says BWC was cited because its employees assigned special tasks at the facility, such as bin entry and the handling of flammable or toxic substances, were not trained to safely perform the tasks.
Number 5 in our most read stories from a sizzling hot August was the piece about single cell protein (SCP) producer, Unibio, initiating a project to produce feed proteins from methane gas in Saudi Arabia.
Unibio Group CEO, Henrik Busch-Larsen said construction of a production facility using Unibio technology in that market would likely get underway in the second half of 2020. The build would take 18-24 months from groundbreaking, he said.
“We are currently looking at two potential locations - one site on the east coast and another one on the west coast. The final decision is expected within a few months,” he told FeedNavigator.
The anticipated capacity for the facility is 50,000 tons per year, he added.
The Uniprotein produced will be used as protein ingredient for local production of animal and fish feed but will also be exported to Asian markets.
Another article that gained a lot of traction was the interview we did with DSM on how it is looking to reduce methane generated by dairy cows raised on pasture, following its work to address production of the gas by animals managed in more intensive systems.
The development of a slow-release methane inhibitor provides an option for producers working with pasture-based programs, said Mark van Nieuwland, global program head, DSM.
“To be able to reach many of those animals and create the fast impact on climate change, we realized that we needed to have tailored forms and applications for different local farming systems."
"Practices are different around the globe and even within countries,” he continued. “Therefore, the more forms and applications we have to use the 3NOP [methane inhibiting feed additive] the better.”
The research was conducted in New Zealand due to increasing concerns about climate change there and the fact the country’s dairy cattle sector is predominately a pasture-based one, he said.
Coming in at number 7 in our rankings was our coverage of a study about tilapia processing waste and how that could provide an alternative and less expensive protein source than fishmeal in shrimp feeds while supporting shrimp production.
A team of researchers from Brazil explored the use of tilapia processing waste silage (TPWS) in the diets of farmed shrimp raised in clear water (CWS) or biofloc systems (BS).
The researchers found that survival was above 80% for shrimp on all diets and in both production systems. However, the inclusion of TPWS in the diets did not alter shrimp performance.
The final weight and growth rate of the shrimp were altered by the production system used, but not by the diet, they said. Shrimp in the biofloc system outperformed those in the CWS.
There is great interest in exploring the production of Pacific white shrimp (L. vannamei) in biofloc systems, the researchers said. Disease outbreaks and low productivity prompted inquires into alternative production systems to boost shrimp growth and production efficiency, they noted.
We reported on a new joint venture between Nuritas and Stonehaven Incubate that will see Artificial Intelligence (AI) being applied to bioactive peptides to conceive new feed ingredients for animal health. It came in at number 8 in our Top 10 most read stories in August.
Irish biotech company, Nuritas, has a proprietary discovery platform that uses genomics and AI to identify bioactive peptides with health benefits. The software has already been proven in a human health context – it was used to select the plant-based peptides that form the basis of BASF’s PeptAIde inflammation regulating sports nutrition ingredient – and now, Stonehaven Incubate is planning to use the technology to bring to market new animal health ingredients.
Emmet Browne, CEO of Nuritas, told FeedNavigator that two example areas of animal health the partnership could explore are rheumatology and antibiotic alternatives, amongst several others.
“Our focus is on identifying innovative ingredients, extracting them from nature and unlocking their healthcare potential. Stonehaven will draw on its knowledge of animal health to maximize ways of harnessing our technology and its innovations."
A piece about researchers making protein-rich yeast biomass ‘out of thin air’ proved popular.
We talked to the Austrian team that has succeeded in feeding yeasts with CO2, enabling the development of a yeast biomass that can potentially be used as a sustainable alternative to agriculturally produced protein-rich feed sources such as soy.
The biomass, based on CO2 and other non-fossil resources, could be commercially available by early 2021, said the specialists.
Coming in at number 10 in our list was an article about an extensive study on insect production that is just getting underway.
Ahead of the anticipated sanctioning of insects in poultry feed by the EU later this year, Wageningen University is leading a four-year multi-stakeholder project investigating the viability of insects as a sustainable feed source.
“The main goal is to establish how we can use insects as sustainable feed,” Professor Marcel Dicke of Wageningen University told FeedNavigator.
He continued: “I think this is the most comprehensive insect study to date, as it takes in the total value chain in one study. It reflects growing recognition that insect farms are not the activity of a few isolated companies, but a whole value chain that is being developed.”