The story that garnered the greatest interest last month was the piece covering the merger between Bunge and Viterra.
The combining of both companies’ operations will see diversification across assets, supply chains, geographies, and crops, and will create an entity to rival Cargill and ADM.
The merger is expected to close in mid-2024 but has yet to be scrutinized by the regulators.
Photo credit: GettyImages/Gajus
Another story high in June's traffic rankings was the piece about the IFFO welcoming Peru’s decision to cancel the critical first anchovy fishing season.
Peru's ministry of production announced it was cancelling the first fishing season for anchovy in the north-central zone. The ministry’s decision came after its officials had analyzed the recommendations of the Peruvian Sea Institute, Imarpe, following on from an exploratory fishing exercise.
The move sent fishmeal prices in China soaring.
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An article reporting on a Quebec-based company’s new Black Solider Fly (BSF) derived insect ingredient manufacturing facility drew interest.
Entosystem’s new site, which exceeds 100,000 sq. ft (9290.3 sq. m), has now the largest production capacity in North America.
The inauguration comes one year after the startup secured more than CAD$60m in public and private investments for the construction of that facility.
The factory boasts an innovative zero-waste process; it is designed to produce up to 5,000 tons of larvae and 15,000 tons of organic fertilizer per year.
Entosystem is focused on growing BSF larvae to address the issue of food waste and to provide a new protein source for pet food and animal feed. It recycles organic matter from Quebec's agri-food industry such as microbrewery grains, fruit, and cereal residues, which it said would otherwise be discarded, transforming it into insect meal, oil, and fertilizer.
Photo credit: GettyImages/Jonathan Kitchen
Our fourth most read story was an article that highlighted the threat to category 3 animal fat supply for the EU feed and pet food industries by their increasing use as feedstocks in biofuels, an issue recently raised by FEFAC and FEDIAF.
The growing use of animal fats to power Europeʼs cars and planes is putting significant pressure on supplies of those inputs for use in animal feed and pet food formulations, according to a report undertaken by Cerulogy on behalf of advocacy group, Transport and Environment (T&E).
Indeed, the use of animal fats in biodiesel has grown fortyfold since 2006, claimed the organization. Furthermore, demand for such feedstocks in biofuels is projected to triple by 2030 compared to 2021, according to data collected by T&E from Stratas Advisors.
The lobby group is calling for category 3 animal fats to be excluded as feedstocks for transport fuels.
Photo credit: GettyImages/barton_fink83
Coming mid-way in the rankings of most popular stories on the site in June was an article about a breeding milestone being achieved in Canada.
It is the first country to deliver a national genetic evaluation aimed at lowering methane emissions.
Lactanet Canada, a not-for-profit organization that provides herd management tools and national genetic evaluations for dairy farmers, is undertaking the first national genetic evaluation in the world to help select low-methane dairy cows.
The Methane Efficiency trait has been added to dozens of genetic traits in Canada’s national evaluation system that is routinely used in selecting cattle for breeding. Holstein cattle make up most of Canada’s national dairy herd.
The new tool means breeders can now predict which cows will produce calves that, when fully grown, will releases less of the greenhouse gas (GHG) even as they continue to produce the same amount of milk.
Photo credit: GettyImages/NicoElNino
The sixth most read story last month was one about AAFCO saying it was supportive of the Innovative FEED Act and the modernization it will bring to the US feed additive regulatory approval process.
The Innovative Feed Enhancement and Economic Development (FEED) Act of 2023 was introduced in the US Senate earlier this month, on June 8.
The bill, S. 1842, would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and establish a regulatory pathway for a new category of novel feed additives, called Zootechnical Animal Food Substances (ZAFS), that work within the animal’s gut microbiome to increase production, food safety, and environmental benefits.
“This proposal provides a pathway for products that have the opportunity to greatly impact the feed industry, and still provides the appropriate level of oversight to ensure safety and consumer confidence,” said Austin Therrell, executive director, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Photo credit: GettyImages/Zolak
Another story performing well was a piece about a report from AHDB showing feed demand in the UK had declined at a stronger rate expected across all sectors in the past few months.
Poultry feed demand had seen the largest reductions, from squeezed margins and the impact of avian flu. Any recovery in poultry feed demand is now not expected until next season, according to the publication from the UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
Photo credit: GettyImages/IvelinRadkov
Also proving popular was our interview with Swiss-British agri-tech company, Mootral, about its R&D work aroud methane emissions reduction in cattle.
The company is now looking to enhance its original product further. Additional modes of action based on the approved feed materials will be evaluated in trials next year. However, it is also developing next generation products to enable real impact, with the ability to potentially lower methane emissions in cows by up to 70%.
Photo credit: GettyImages/Monty Rakusen
Our story reporting on a probe by Mighty Earth that linked US soy trader, Bunge, to the equivalent of 15,897 soccer fields of recent deforestation in the threatened Cerrado savannah in Brazil, had readers clicking.
EU supermarkets including Carrefour and Casino in France, Ahold Delhaize, and Jumbo in the Netherlands as well as Aldi South from Germany had reportedly launched investigations following the publication of the findings.
The Mighty Earth led investigation claimed Bunge bought soy recently from three suppliers responsible for 11,351 hectares of deforestation in the Brazilian Cerrado, cleared after 2021. Invoices of the transported grain loads confirmed the commercial operations and associated Bunge facilities directly to three farms where deforestation occurred, said the campaigners.
Photo credit: GettyImages/Image Source
Our tenth most read story last month was one on Darling Ingredients. The company claimed safety procedures were adequate in a rendering plant fatalities case. Darling Ingredients Inc maintained that safety procedures at a Mississippi animal feed plant were adequate despite the death of two maintenance workers, and it asked federal judges to rule in its favour.
The Texas-based supplier was challenging a US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citation and proposed $75,092 fine for allegedly having inadequate instructions on how to maintain an industrial-scale pressure cooker that fatally burned the workers in August 2020, noted the Bloomberg Law report.
The explosion in question occurred at the company’s DAR PRO Solutions plant at the Greater Jackson Industrial Park near Byram. That facility collects and recycles cooking oil and meat byproducts, which are used in the manufacture of pet food. Two maintenance workers died from complications of thermal burns.
Photo credit: GettyImages/Laurence Dutton
