Spotlight on sustainability models at EuroTier 2024
This growing pressure is due to regulatory demands, financial sector requirements, and shifting consumer preferences, which increasingly require robust primary data on sustainability metrics.
The ability to precisely track and reduce environmental impact is opening pathways to best farming practices, access to sustainable finance, eco-labeling qualification, and opportunities in carbon trading initiatives. Hence, technology providers are stepping up their game in this respect.
Identifying hot spots for footprint reduction
Trouw Nutrition has placed sustainability at the forefront of its EuroTier showcase, highlighting its suite of digital technologies including six precision farming tools, among them MyEggPrint, MyMilkPrint, and MyFeedPrint. These tools allow farm advisors to calculate the environmental impact of egg, milk, and feed production, helping identify key areas for footprint reduction. The company is debuting the first generation of MyEggPrint at the Hanover event.
The MyFeedPrint tool, which was launched in March 2023, supports feed producers in calculating their environmental footprint, explained Trouw Nutrition’s global product manager, Wiebren Santema.
Sharing insights with FeedNavigator, he outlined how platforms like MyFeedPrint are essential for the industry to meet evolving sustainability and transparency standards.
MyFeedPrint was developed to address a need for more accurate environmental data, especially in the dairy sector, where feed contributes significantly to the carbon footprint of milk and other dairy products: "Accurate data for feed inputs has become essential for calculating farm-level environmental impacts, especially with rising demands from retailers and regulators for verifiable, transparent sustainability metrics.”
Methodology and multiple species application
MyFeedPrint calculates environmental impact by examining two primary stages of feed production: ingredient sourcing and feed manufacturing. The sourcing stage analyzes environmental impacts stemming from the cultivation, harvest, processing, and transport of ingredients to the mill. The manufacturing stage focuses on the energy usage within feed mills.
The tool follows the European PEFCR Feed Guidelines and draws from accredited databases, such as the GFLI, to ensure the precision and currency of its calculations.
With its initial success across species, including dairy, poultry, and ruminant feeds, MyFeedPrint has become widely adopted in the UK and Ireland, where demand for sustainable products is especially high. Feed companies in these markets are now using the tool to benchmark their feed portfolios, and in some cases, achieve reductions of up to 50% in carbon impact on select formulations, according to Santema.
Sustainability insights
In an industry traditionally dominated by cost-focused feed formulations, MyFeedPrint is helping shift the mindset towards environmental accountability, he remarked.
The platform enables producers to incorporate environmental impact as a metric in feed optimization, allowing them to balance cost-effectiveness with sustainability goals. In addition to carbon footprint analysis, the tool provides insight into land-use change impacts, water usage, and other environmental indicators.
"We’ve seen increasing focus from the industry on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and we’re preparing for a rise in the importance of water usage metrics in the near future," noted Santema.
One standout feature of MyFeedPrint is its customization capability, he said.
Users can create unique ingredient libraries, specifying ingredient sourcing origins, transport distances, and even formulating ingredient blends to reflect realistic sourcing practices. This flexibility allows companies to refine formulations, maintain animal performance, and minimize environmental impact. Additionally, users can monitor the production impact of specific feeds or production lines, gaining precise, tailored insights for product improvement, he continued.
Eurofins Agro Testing and trinamiX unveil mobile forage analysis tool at the German trade fair
Eurofins Agro Testing, part of the Eurofins network, and BASF subsidiary trinamiX, are introducing a jointly developed new tool for mobile feed analysis at EuroTier. The device combines Eurofins Agro Testing’s analytical expertise with trinamiX’s advanced NIR (Near-Infrared) spectroscopy technology, providing instant, on-farm nutritional insights for forage.
Designed for both farmers and advisors, the handheld instrument allows for the immediate analysis of forage samples on-site. “With this tool, users can identify issues quickly, optimize silage production, fine-tune feed rations, and ultimately improve animal health, farm productivity, and environmental sustainability."
Available in spring 2025, the device includes key components: the portable trinamiX PAL Two NIR spectrometer, a rotator, and specialized forage analysis applications developed by Eurofins Agro Testing. This combination, according to the developers, offers a useful toolset for feed suppliers, farm consultants, and farmers. They expect it to transform forage analysis practices across the industry.
Both partners say they are committed long-term to investing in, and continuing to develop the instrument as a "valuable addition" to in-laboratory analysis, with a view to making it available worldwide.
Training and interoperability
To enhance usability, MyFeedPrint includes integrated guidance and technical support from Trouw Nutrition’s local teams, ensuring feed mill operators can efficiently navigate the tool.
“From the start, MyFeedPrint was designed for ease of use,” Santema said, “but we also provide hands-on training and access to our Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) experts for in-depth inquiries.”
Looking forward, Trouw Nutrition aims to expand MyFeedPrint’s interoperability with other feed formulation software. Currently, data from MyFeedPrint can be transferred to compatible software for integration, a feature the company plans to extend to a broader array of software platforms. "This ease of data exchange is key for users," Santema added, emphasizing the company's commitment to enhancing the tool’s flexibility and interoperability for future updates.
"For us, it's essential that our tools are designed to communicate with on-farm carbon calculators," said Santema. "In-house, our MyEggPrint and MyMilkPrint tools draw data directly from MyFeedPrint, making it easy for users to perform these calculations seamlessly."
Santema added that Trouw Nutrition aims to expand this functionality by linking baseline calculations with "what-if" scenario planning. This feature will allow users to explore diverse options and connect directly to the company’s carbon reduction programs, helping them implement strategies that reduce the environmental impact per kilo of milk, or eggs produced, he explained.
Farm-to-fork data ecosystem
Another company heavily invested in the environmental footprint analysis arena and one that is also highlighting its platform at EuroTier is DSM-Firmenich.
It recently announced a tie-up with feed software provider, Format Solutions, to advance efforts in measuring and managing the environmental impact of feed. The alliance will integrate Format Solutions’ formulation software with DSM-Firmenich’s life cycle assessment (LCA) platform, Sustell. This integration enables feed producers to easily calculate and report feed-specific environmental data, drawing directly from their existing software, explained the partners.
According to DSM-Firmenich’s vice president of sustainability and business solutions, David Nickell: "Connecting Sustell with Format Solutions’ formulation software is an important step in creating a comprehensive farm-to-fork data ecosystem, promoting collaboration across the value chain and enabling more precise sustainability practices.”
For feed producers, this integration allows efficient environmental reporting and supports compliance with evolving labeling requirements, he noted.
The resulting data also provides valuable insights for farmers, integrators, and processors, delivering ISO-compliant environmental footprints for feed products—a critical input in calculating the environmental impact of animal protein sources, including eggs, meat, milk, and farmed seafood, reported DSM-Firmenich.
