Protein & amino acids

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Aqua feed innovation gets R&D focus at InVivo NSA

02-Dec-2014 By Jane Byrne

Precision feeding is critical in ensuring more sustainable aquaculture, says InVivo NSA as it strives to reduce waste through innovation in aqua feed.

Nutreco expands presence in Brazil with 'bolt on' buys

01-Dec-2014 By Jane Byrne

Nutreco’s acquisition of two Brazilian premix and feed specialties firms makes sense, and will extend its footprint in one of the fastest growing animal nutrition markets, says an analyst.

Greater production efficiency and a precision feeding model could emerge from UK pig project

28-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

A tie-up between UK animal health and nutrition firms, academics and tech experts will see a wealth of knowledge in digital technologies, pig nutrition and disease being applied to help producers improve the health of their pig herd and production efficiency,...

Early animal nutrition trends: Part 2

In ovo nutrients, CLA for sows, and weaner diets: new feeding strategies at EuroTier 2014

28-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

At EuroTier 2014 we heard about the latest research findings in poultry nutrition, a new ingredient for lactating sows that benefits piglets and the feeding strategies Danish piglet producers use in the absence of antibiotics.  

SHV to finalize offer for Nutreco shares by early December

26-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

Nutreco says the offer process from SHV is “on track” with the investment firm saying it will publish its offer memorandum on its intended acquisition of all the animal nutrition company’s shares at the start of next month.

Gut health, rumen functionality and natural antioxidants – Cargill reveals additives strategy

25-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

Cargill says it plans to triple its feed additive output by 2020 with the progressive global shift away from antibiotic growth promoters set to fuel such development.

Analysts question shareholder view on acquisition bids for Nutreco

21-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

This week has seen shareholders in Nutreco such as Dutch pension group, APG, call on the Dutch fish and animal feed manufacturer to open its books to Cargill and Permira, the potential contenders to a €3 billion ($3.7bn) acquisition bid by SHV Holdings.

FeedNavigator at EuroTier 2014

Aqua feed trends: Prospects good for fish meal replacers but lipid substitutes seem a long way off

21-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

Feed is the single largest expense item in aquaculture so EuroTier 2014 saw active debate on the future of aqua feed formulation with experts discussing the benefits of both plant based and processed animal derived proteins as fish meal alternatives.

FAO sustainable feed survey shows far reaching demand for greater use of food waste in animal diets

18-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

The need to minimize water pollution, enhance biodiversity and exploit food waste for feed use are seen as critical by respondents to an FAO global survey, run as part of a project to develop more sustainable animal feed production and use.

FeedNavigator at EuroTier 2014

ForFarmers, Nutreco, and Alltech reveal benefits from focus on young animal diets

18-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

The feed industry and livestock producers are recognising the importance of feeding their animals an optimum nutrient supply in the first few weeks of life in order to get productivity gains throughout that animal’s lifetime.

Farmers, feed makers, genetic geniuses: industry mingles in Hannover

14-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

As the show draws to a close, we look back at some of the key events and debates.

Insect protein and PAP products will cool feed prices so hurry up on new regs, says UK poultry council

13-Nov-2014 By Lynda Searby

The British Poultry Council (BPC) is calling for the legalization of insect based meal and the re-introduction of processed animal proteins in poultry feeds, as new government figures reveal that poultry feed prices are rising at a higher rate than prices...

Live! EuroTier 2014 in Germany

13-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

A round-up of tweets, both insightful and amusing, from the animal production industry gathering in Hannover.

SHV hikes bid for Nutreco as Cargill throws its hat in the ring

10-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

A bidding war is underway for Nutreco after SHV raised its offer to €44.50 ($54.87) a share in response to acquisition interest shown from Cargill, which is keen to take on the Dutch group’s fish feed division.

Natural gas derived feed protein could be three years from commercialization

09-Nov-2014 By Lynda Searby

Three years from now feed manufacturers could be replacing soybeans and fishmeal with bacterial protein meal produced from natural gas which might otherwise be flared as a waste product.

Teagasc: Birth weight is king for getting top performance and feed efficiency in pigs

09-Nov-2014 By Lynda Searby

Researchers at Teagasc have come up with some pragmatic solutions to the issue of maintaining growth in pigs weaned from large litters, including amino acid supplementation for sows and increasing weaning age to four weeks.

Land O’Lakes suing feed ingredient supplier for alleged whey tampering

07-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

Land O’Lakes has filed a lawsuit in a US court against Packerland Whey Products alleging the supplier deliberately added urea to a whey protein concentrate, an ingredient used in calf milk replacer products, to make it seem that the product appeared higher...

Feed ingredients distributor acquires AgriNutrition

Insects, bacteria and new amino acids: will NPD push Barentz into pole position in Europe?

07-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

Barentz Animal Nutrition, which has just acquired its JV partner, AgriNutrition, is aiming to be the leading specialty feed ingredient distributor in Europe by extending its geographical reach, and investing in new protein sources such as insect and bacterial...

Researchers look to urea to improve nutritional value of cassava for poultry

04-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

If a research project proves fruitful, urea could be exploited to provide a new protein source for poultry.

GM free feed debate in Germany heightens as Edeka brings out poultry range under OG label

03-Nov-2014 By Jane Byrne

Leading German retailer, Edeka, has initiated a regional roll-out of own-label chicken products certified under the German government-backed non GM seal, Ohne Gentechnik (OG).

Genetics, welfare and nutrition touted as the way to higher milk yields in China

31-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

Animal nutrition firm, Alltech, says its tie-up with Nestlé on an educational initiative for China’s dairy sector is trying to improve the environmental profile of the dairy sector there but is primarily aimed at lowering feed costs and boosting milk...

Rapeseed, faba beans and gut health: new Scottish monogastric center sets out its stall

28-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

A new monogastric science research center in Scotland is evaluating the benefits of faba beans and the nutritional value of rapeseed varieties in terms of their benefits for pig and poultry health and in the context of finding home-grown alternatives...

Nutreco looks to ‘metabolic maps’ to learn more about impact of perinatal calf diets

24-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

Metabolic studies will feature large in Nutreco’s new dairy calf nutrition research program, LifeStart, as a way of exploring what impact a higher plane of nutrition at the perinatal stage has on an animal’s lifetime performance.

'Legislators are right not to rush into allowing insects enter the food chain' - expert reveals findings showing heavy metals in flies reared on waste

21-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

Indications from trials assessing the safety of using insects for feed show fly larvae contain very high levels of heavy metals, putting their use as a potential protein source for pigs and poultry at risk.

Greening the industry - FEFAC wants sector help to measure environmental footprint of feed

21-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

FEFAC is calling on feed manufactures to join an EU-backed project looking to develop the parameters by which a company can prove the green credentials of an animal nutrition or food or drink product.

Analysts say firms such as Cargill and DSM could still trump SHV's offer

‘We believe it is a fair price,’ Nutreco backs takeover offer from investment firm SHV

20-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

Animal and fish feed group, Nutreco, said it fully endorses the bid from privately-held Dutch investment firm, SHV, to acquire it for €40 ($51) per share, or €2.69 billion ($3.43bn), and it dismissed speculation about third party bids for the business.

InVivo investments continue unabated - French firm buys Brazilian pet food and dairy feed maker

17-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

InVivo NSA says the acquisition of Brazilian animal nutrition group, Total Alimentos, has strengthened its position in pet food but also its foothold in the dairy and aqua feed segments in that market.

ForFarmers on the asset trail in the UK and beyond

17-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

Dutch feed group, ForFarmers, said it is not ruling out further acquisitions in the UK, following the recently announced rebranding of its operations in that market.

RTRS and ProTerra align standards to boost sustainable soy volumes

10-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

An alignment of two responsible soy standards, RTRS and ProTerra, will help boost physical flows of certified soy by keeping audit costs low, increasing market transparency and enhancing farmer training, says the ProTerra Foundation.

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.

Algasol Renewables behind floating bag based algae cultivation system site in Bangladesh

Novel microalgae production method promises cheap fish feed

09-Oct-2014 By Jane Byrne

A pilot scale initiative in Bangladesh backed by two international technology players is aiming to show how cheap fish feed can be derived from a novel algae production method.

US group unveils new protein blends to combat whey price hike

Calves managed aggressively for growth will produce more milk as two-year-olds: Land O'Lakes

23-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

US group, Land O’Lakes, as it unveils new protein products for calves, says it is aiming to get producers to feed calves more frequently and at a higher plane of milk nutrition to boost their health and growth.

Species diversification and formulation innovation critical to salmon feed sector's profitability: Rabobank

09-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

Leveraging functional ingredient R&D will help counterbalance lower volume growth in the salmon farming sector for feed makers over the next two years, estimates an industry analyst.

Feed sector set to gain from EU project using 'smarter, more optimized' method of growing seaweed

08-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

If a $3.4million EU Commission funded seaweed cultivation project can deliver on its high yield claims, there will be substantial benefits for the EU feed and food sectors, which, currently, are heavily reliant on imports for protein inputs.

Porcine plasma shows promise for growth and FCR in broiler chicks

02-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

A recently completed trial shows spray-dried porcine plasma improves both weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in broiler chicks.

Algae as cheap cattle feed supplement: University of Queensland shows how it is done

02-Sep-2014 By Jane Byrne

Australian beef producers and feed companies can benefit from a University of Queensland (UQ) project that is demonstrating how microalgae derived feed can be produced cheaply and efficiently.

Algae biomass pellet binders show poultry feed potential

29-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

Algae biomass-derived pellet binders that could potentially make poultry feed more efficient are one of the early-stage innovations that award-winning poultry researcher Joe Moritz is working on.

Egg powder immunoglobin science gains global acceptance

29-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

The concept of including egg powder immunoglobulins in formulations to support the undeveloped immune systems of young animals has been adopted by feed mills across the globe, reports EW Nutrition. 

Canola meal better than soybean meal for milk production

26-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

Substitution of soya protein meal with canola meal boosts milk production, say researchers.

New US production facility for dairy cow methionine ingredient

15-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

German firm Evonik Industries has begun construction of a new plant to produce its amino acid product Mepron in Mobile, Alabama, US.

Sourcing GM-free soya protein a struggle for New Zealand’s poultry feed industry

15-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

It is becoming increasingly difficult for producers of poultry feed in New Zealand to guarantee a reliable supply of imported GM-free soya, according to the Poultry Association of New Zealand.

Canola challenges critics with positive results for pig growth

12-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

The Canadian canola industry is hoping that new research will alter the “outdated perception” that weaned pigs won’t do as well on a canola diet, encouraging feed producers to increase levels of canola meal.

Insect meals could replace up to 100% of conventional protein source in animal feeds, say researchers

12-Aug-2014 By Lynda Searby

Insect meals could potentially replace between 25 and 100% of the soymeal or fishmeal in animal feeds, according to a new meta-study that has been accepted for publication in Animal Feed Science and Technology.

Omega Protein posts earnings hike on the back of pet, pork and aquaculture sector growth

07-Aug-2014 By Jane Byrne

The animal nutrition business of US fish meal and oil supplier, Omega Protein Corporation, had another spectacular quarter that benefitted from the strong 2013 fish catch, says an analyst.

'The lower pH is easier on the pigs’ stomachs': Agravis led JV develops chocolate based liquid feed

04-Aug-2014 By Jane Byrne

A new liquid feeding system for pigs containing chocolate and other food by-products is said to cost less and boost colon health.

'Bacteria beats insects and algae hands down,' Nutrinsic CEO talks up new feed protein source from factory wastewater

01-Aug-2014 By Jane Byrne

A new, sustainable protein source for animal and fish feed is on the horizon, with its US developer getting ready to hit the start button on the production line at its facility in Ohio.

Nutreco revenue up on mature markets and fish feed performance

24-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

Fish feed, on the back of recent investment, is boosting profits at Nutreco, with the Dutch group posting a 2.6% hike in turnover to €2,460 million ($3,306m) in the first six months of 2014.

Slavery in fishmeal supply: IFFO looks for ways to widen global standard to ensure worker safety

22-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

The IFFO, the marine ingredients organization, wants to extend the remit of its RS global fishmeal and fishoil standard so that it takes into account the conditions of workers employed on fishmeal supply boats.

Safety evaluation of insects for feed - EFSA scientists want terms of reference reviewed

17-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

EFSA experts say they need more information before they can go ahead with an assessment of the risks arising from the production and consumption of insects as feed and food.

Insects and algae top the line-up in future feed ingredients for pigs

11-Jul-2014 By Jane Byrne

Feed sourced from insects such as maggots and fly larvae could be a standard diet for pigs by 2020, says a UK nutrition expert.