Functional additives

‘This is game changing for us,’ says US firm, Pharmgate, as it buys medicated feed additive producer

16-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

New Jersey based veterinary product supplier, Pharmgate, says its acquisition of Pennfield Animal Health, a producer of medicated in-feed and water soluble additives to tackle enteric diseases in livestock and poultry, is ‘transformative’.

Agri giant's Q1 results show solid performance for animal nutrition and meat division

Cargill on alert for return of PEDv, but impact of virus 'less detrimental than anticipated'

09-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

Cargill has not had any new cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) within its pig operations since March this year, but the agri-giant is not throwing caution to the wind as a result.

New and effective measures are needed: California governor in critical veto of livestock antibiotic law

02-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

In vetoing a livestock antibiotic bill on Tuesday, the governor of California is, in fact, calling for stronger action to curb unnecessary antibiotic use in that state, say US environmental and consumer groups.

Micro Bio-Systems eyes EU dairy sector following thumbs-up from EFSA for its yeast additive

02-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

UK firm, Micron Bio-Systems, is set to enter the well-established yeast-derived feed additive market in the EU on the back of approval by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for a product targeted at the dairy sector.

'The grazing ruminant business is the most attractive one for us in Australia,' Alltech talks strategy after Lienert acquisition

26-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

Global animal nutrition group, Alltech, says it is intending to leverage the technical know-how and reach of recently acquired premix manufacturer Lienert, to develop the dairy and beef side of its business in Australia.

French agribusiness and biotech tie-up looks to develop bacteria derived feed additives

22-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

Exploiting the potential of bacteria to produce natural feed additives is the aim of a new partnership between two French companies - animal nutrition and agribusiness group, Sofiproteol, and biotechnology firm, Deinove.

Nor Feed Sud hails technology that eliminates any 'variability' in plant extracts

19-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

French firm, Nor Feed Sud, said it has leveraged its long established partnership with medicinal plant producers’ cooperative, Adatris Anjou Plantes, to develop Ubigreen – a series of “well-defined and high quality” botanical products for animal feed...

Sabinsa sets out its animal nutrition stall as it enters market

19-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

US group, Sabinsa, is training its portfolio of botanical ingredients, probiotics and enzymes on companion animals and livestock as it sets up a new animal nutrition division, VetVitals.

Chinese researchers find alfalfa saponin extract can boost the antioxidant system of weaned piglets

12-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

Adding alfalfa saponin extract (ASE) into the diet of weaned piglets may improve antioxidant activity and, in the process, promote piglet growth, finds a new study from China.

EU manufacturers welcome legal certainty medicated feed rules offer

11-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

The clarification of the legal status of medicated feed products as proposed under draft EU Commission regulation has been hailed as ‘long awaited’ by the EU feed production lobby.

French feed giant on the asset trail

'We want to be in the Top 5 specialty feed additive makers globally' - InVivo NSA outlines ambitions after Pancosma deal

08-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

French animal nutrition and health group, InVivo NSA, says its acquisition of Swiss feed ingredients firm, Pancosma, will help it consolidate its position in the specialty feeds market.

South Korea removes ban on controversial beef feed additive zilpaterol

02-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

South Korea, a major importer of beef from the US, Australia and New Zealand, has lifted a ban on the use of animal feed additive, zilpaterol, in beef.

Grape bi-product pellet reduces methane emissions and feed costs

28-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

Feeding trials are demonstrating that a pellet developed from grape marc and lucerne ‘offal’ by researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia, could be an economically viable route to reducing methane emissions in ruminants.

Algae ingredient supplier Heliae juggles exec suite, moves to accelerate agroscience, animal nutrition segments

26-Aug-2014 By Hank Schultz

Algae ingredients producer Heliae has announced a shift in the company’s focus to place new emphasis an agroscience and animal feed initiatives. A management shakeup accompanied what the company billed as a “new phase of technical development and commercialization.”

Antimicrobial peptides: an alternative to conventional antibiotics?

25-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

Scientists from the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife (IZW) have found that antimicrobial peptides offer a “promising solution” for reducing the use of antibiotics in pig breeding, and suggest that these amino acid compounds could have application...

German livestock producers must report antibiotic usage under new regulation

08-Aug-2014 By Jane Byrne

Cattle, pig, chicken and turkey producers in Germany must now record how often their animals are treated with antibiotics.

Nanotechnology could help producers end reliance on antibiotics

21-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

There are a limited number of nanomaterials in development for feed additives, but projects with some momentum behind them include one looking to replace antibiotics with nano-sized substitutes, finds an EFSA-commissioned report.

Zilmax trial design defended by lead UNL scientist

18-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

US researchers, who concluded that controversial cattle feed additive, Zilmax, doesn’t have a detrimental effect on cattle health or well-being, said their study is robust despite criticism this week that it was too narrow in terms of scale.

Nutreco looks to develop research on mechanisms behind dairy calf nutrition

15-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

Dairy farmers need greater insight into how to optimize calf diets, says Nutreco as it invests just over €1m ($1.3m) in a new dairy calf and beef cattle nutrition research facility in the Netherlands.

Suomen Rehu builds scientific support for Progut’s immune boosting potential for piglets

14-Jul-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Adding a yeast derivative based on brewery yeast hydrolyzate to the diet of post-weaned piglets may support their immune system without affecting animal performance, says a new study from The Netherlands and Finland.

UK politicians call for action to limit the use of antibiotics in livestock

08-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

UK politicians are calling for government action to ensure the use of antibiotics in farm animals is strictly required for therapeutic use and that more research is carried out on the link between animal and human pathogens resistant to antibiotics.

Rubinum hits out at EFSA's safety assessment of feed additive Toyocerin

07-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

Spanish feed additives company, Rubinum, has criticized EFSA’s findings that new evidence submitted by the firm on Toyocerin did not demonstrate the safety of the gut flora stabilizer.

FDA in bid to support nano-sized feed innovation

30-Jun-2014 By Jane Byrne

New guidelines on feed nanomaterials from the US regulator could spur the development of products to boost animal weight gain, bind toxins or make feed easier to digest.

Feed additives from Huvepharma and DSM get EFSA stamp of approval

24-Jun-2014 By Jane Byrne

EFSA has recently released positive opinions for two feed additives as well as Monsanto’s oilseed rape crop for food and feed use.

EFSA finds sow feed additive dossier falls short

17-Jun-2014 By Jane Byrne

The Parma-based feed safety assessor said it cannot conclude on the effectiveness of a digestibility enhancer aimed at lactating sows due to a lack of supporting data.

Seaweed extracts show potential for boosting growth and immune health for piglets, say new studies

09-Jun-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Supplementing the diet of piglets with laminarin from seaweed may improve gut health and growth performance post-weaning, according to a series of studies from Ireland.

Microalgal concentrates: The potential to replace fresh cultures, but select the species carefully

09-Jun-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Concentrates of the microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta have the potential to replace or supplement to fresh cultures, long regarded as a bottleneck in the aquaculture industry.

'We are building a new frontier' Cargill talks additives and health challenges

03-Jun-2014 By Jane Byrne

Uncertainty remains but US livestock producers will rise to the challenge of growth promoter phase out, says Cargill Animal Nutrition

Rumen modifiers not as effective as nutrition strategies to cut methane emissions in dairy cows: review

03-Jun-2014 By Jane Byrne

Nutrition and feeding approaches may be able to lower enteric methane in dairy production by up to 15%, but rumen modifiers have had very little success in terms of sustained methane reductions without compromising milk production, found a meta-analysis.

Broilers fed an astaxanthin rich yeast diet produce a better quality meat, say Japanese researchers

02-Jun-2014 By Jane Byrne

Scientists, in a pioneering study, reveal feeding broilers an astaxanthin rich yeast improves chicken meat texture and other sensory attributes.

Reports from VIV Europe

Nutreco talks up anti-oxidant capacity of polyphenols

30-May-2014 By Jane Byrne

Polyphenols selected for bio-availability can function as anti-oxidants in animal tissues, say researchers based at Dutch feed group, Nutreco.

Reports from VIV Europe

Formaldehyde substitute gives residual protection in feed against E. coli and other pathogens, says Anitox

30-May-2014 By Jane Byrne

Regulatory restrictions on formaldehyde in certain markets such as Taiwan spurred feed pathogen control developer Anitox to develop an alternative to its Termin-8 feed additive to combat salmonella and E. coli in feedstuffs post milling.

Dietary APS may boost growth performance and the immune parameters for Nile tilapia

29-May-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Supplementing the diet of cultured tilapia fish with astragalus polysaccharide (APS), one of the active ingredients of traditional Chinese herbal astragalus membranaceus, may boost growth performance and the immune parameters.

Reports from VIV Europe 2014

Methane emission reduction simple when you know how, says SFR

23-May-2014 By Jane Byrne

Challenge models can be useful in predicting feed conversion ratios and methane emission rates, says a leading nutritionist at VIV Europe. 

'The temperature is sky high' - an upbeat feed sector meets at VIV Europe to look at capacity, competitiveness and feed chain integration

23-May-2014 By Jane Byrne

The feed industry seemed to be in a positive frame of mind in Utrecht this week, with plenty of footfall and hand shaking occurring around the 600 exhibitors at the VIV Europe show.

Camelina oil could replace 100% of fish oil in Atlantic salmon feed, says study

22-May-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Total replacement of fish oil with camelina oil (Camelina sativa) in the diet of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) does not affect weight gain and growth rate in the fish, according to new data from Canada.

The Alltech Symposium

Drones, sensors, and the hive-mind: How technology could drive a new agricultural revolution

20-May-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Technology such as drones and robots are set to usher in a new age of precision agriculture, which would lead to an end to the chemical ag system reliant on pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides, according to experts.

Exclusive Interview

Cargill expands feed capacity in Vietnam but agri-giant not yet convinced about dairy sector viability

19-May-2014 By Jane Byrne

Cargill is still weighing up the attractiveness of the Vietnamese dairy industry, but is optimistic about the feed consumption potential of the poultry, shrimp and swine sectors in a country that is seeing continual GDP growth.

Could defatted microalgae replace corn and soybean meal for swine and poultry?

01-May-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Defatted biomass from the biofuel industry may replace some of the corn and soybean currently used for weanling pigs, broiler chicks, and laying hens, report scientists from the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University.

‘Evonik investment gives us a lot of credibility,’ says CEO of an algae feed firm that aims to could cut reliance on antibiotics

28-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

Evonik, as part of an investors’ consortium, has announced its backing of a microalgae derived beta-glucan that is said to support immune health for animals and could help the sector migrate away from over usage of antibiotics.

Novartis deal will boost Elanco's cattle vaccine portfolio

22-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

Elanco said its purchase of the Novartis animal health division will boost its cattle vaccines portfolio, and expand its presence in China and emerging markets.

Commission reviewing beta-carotene usage in milk replacers fed to calves: Fefana wants removal of EFSA limits

11-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

No maximum limit should be set for the use of beta-carotene in milk replacers, says the EU feed additive lobby as an EC review on the use of the additive in animal feeds gets underway.

Zilmax field trials underway but Cargill and Tyson still ban product in their supply chains

10-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

Merck said field trial evaluations on its feed additive – Zilmax – are underway in US cattle feeding facilities but Tyson Foods and Cargill are retaining their ban on the controversial product.

Capacity at Chinese L-carnitine plant now double that of former site, says Lonza

08-Apr-2014

Swiss L-carnitine supplier Lonza said, following a two year evaluation and quality phase, it has now got the new production process for L-Carnitine at its Chinese facility under control, with significantly greater capacity for the vitamin-like substance...

Feed prices could soar if brewer grains not exempted from FSMA, says US dairy lobby

04-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

The availability and the price of feeds given to dairy animals will be threatened by the new animal feed rule, says US milk producers, angry at the FDA’s decision to include the animal feed by-products of alcohol manufacture in the regulation.

Feed firm Anpario not losing faith in organic meat as it posts 20% gross profit hike

03-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

Natural feed additives producer, Anpario, said it remains committed to supplying the UK organic meat industry despite sector fragility, as it posted a jump of 20% in gross profit to £9.2m ($15.2m) for 2013.

Exclusive Interview

Asia still fueling demand as feed phosphate capacity set to rocket by 2017

01-Apr-2014 By Jane Byrne

Global capacity in the inorganic feed phosphates (IFP) market is set to jump nearly 3.5 million tons in the next three years with the biggest demand coming from East Asia, said an analyst.

Merck rejects study linking Zilmax to thousands of cattle deaths

13-Mar-2014 By Jane Byrne

Feed additive supplier Merck has dismissed new research which has linked its growth promoter Zilmax to thousands of cattle deaths in the US.

2013 proved a "perfect storm" for Omega Protein as record profit posted

11-Mar-2014 By Jane BYRNE

"2013 was a once off” for US fish meal producer Omega Protein Corporation, says an analyst, as the group reports an all-time record high gross profit of $83m.

Soy sector needs to play catch up with more sustainable palm oil chain, says Arla Foods

03-Mar-2014 By Jane Byrne

Sourcing large volumes of segregated sustainable soy is some years off yet but there are alternatives for cow feed, said Arla Foods, as it announced a move to support more responsible soy production.