A scientific committee composed of academic experts and feed industry representatives has come up with five pressing feed industry concerns for which potential research project candidates should offer solutions. The committee will also select the winning projects.
Pre-proposal grant applications in relation to monogastric feed research initiatives, can be summitted until June 30, 2021, said Adisseo.
The pre-selected projects will be announced at the end of July, and, then, those applicants will have to submit a full dossier by mid-September for a final selection by the scientific committee and an announcement of the winners in mid-October.
Research projects related to ruminant and aquaculture production are not requested as part of this first call, said the organizers.
Sustainability, heat stress, antibiotic reduction
The challenges as determined by the experts relate to sustainability, the need for alternative feed ingredients, the importance of ensuring the right start for chicks and piglets, the need to reduce industry reliance on antibiotics and tackling heat stress.
The experts are interested in projects that could, for example,
- enhance the sustainability of animal protein production. Optimized nutrition could reduce the environmental impact of farming.
- explore the impact of reducing antibiotic use on animal performance, physiology, or metabolism, and identify strategies for restoring animal performance without medication, by means of better nutrition.
- better understand the characteristics of new pig and poultry feed raw materials, and define their nutritional value, limits and constraints, to enable their use in feed formulations.
- find ways to reduce early mortality but also to give animals a good start - boosted welfare, health and growth - and, thereby, optimize the entire production chain.
- reconsider the metabolic and physiological changes in pigs and poultry induced by heat exposure, in order to define optimal nutritional strategies.
Who are the expert reviewers?
The scientific committee comprises:
- Markus Rodehutscord, professor of animal nutrition, at the Institute of Animal Science at the University of Hohenheim, Germany. The Poultry Science Association honored him with the American Feed Industry Association’s Poultry Nutrition Award in 2017.
- Michael Kidd, professor of poultry nutrition, University of Arkansas. He is a renowned author on the use of amino acids in poultry feed.
- Prof Yuming Guo, poultry nutritionist and Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor at China Agricultural University. His scientific research pertains to nutrition, immunity and health, the nutritional assessment of poultry feed and the nutritional needs of birds.
- Richard Ducatelle, Professor in Veterinary Pathology at Ghent University. He has long been exploring the gastrointestinal health of poultry and pigs.
- Prof Nilva Sakomura, animal science department, Faculty of Veterinary and Agrarian Science, UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil. Her main area of interest lies in the assessment of feed ingredients and additives
