The Global Miller: January 2018

January 31, 2018

01/02/2018: Producing more protein in a sustainable manner

“The global sustainability challenge for animal protein production is significant,” said Perry Goldschein, applied sustainability manager, North America, BASF Nutrition & Health, at the Animal Agriculture Sustainability Summit, held at the 2018 International Production & Processing Expo.

During his presentation on “Responding to Livestock Sustainability Trends in North America,” Mr Goldschein reviewed a sustainability trend structure that addressed stakeholder demand versus urgency of issues. He observed that stakeholder pressure focused on topics such as animal welfare, feed contamination, emissions, water, land use and more. He also provided insights into key trends addressing consumer trust, leadership opportunities and environmental impacts of cost beyond compliance.

Perry Goldschein, applied sustainability manager, North America, BASF Nutrition & Health, and Sara Crawford, assistant vice president of social responsibility for the National Pork Board, speaking at the Animal Agriculture Sustainability Summit.
Image credit: IPPE

Sara Crawford, assistant vice president of social responsibility for the National Pork Board, provided a look into the current pork industry. She remarked that the pork industry is booming and can keep up with increased consumer demand for red meat, especially pork. The industry sees this demand growing internationally.

She discussed the National Pork Board’s five-year strategic plan that includes three distinct goals: build consumer trust, drive sustainable production and grow consumer demand.

“Consumers do not demand perfection, but they do expect honest intent with action,” said Ms Crawford.

Ashley McDonald, senior director of sustainability for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, provided information on the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef including the Roundtable’s mission, which is to advance, support and communicate continuous improvement in the sustainability of US beef production, by educating and engaging the beef value-chain through a collaborative multi-stakeholder effort.

One of the Roundtable’s main goals is to bring everyone together to share information and insights. The group’s high priority indicators for measurement include animal health and wellbeing, efficiency and yield, water and land resources, air and GHG emissions, and employee safety and wellbeing.

During his presentation on “Advancing Dairy’s Sustainability Framework in a Changing Landscape,” Joe McMahan, sustainability director with the Innovation Center for US Dairy, remarked that stewardship and sustainability is foundational to US Dairy.

McMahan disclosed the dairy industry’s commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions of a gallon of milk by 25 percent by the year 2020. He also discussed US Dairy’s guiding principles that communicate the dairy industry’s values and definition of sustainability to its stakeholders, which are the pillars of the dairy industry’s framework and are designed to inform their sustainability programs, measurement and reporting efforts.

Dr. Marty Matlock, executive director, University of Arkansas Office for Sustainability, and Greg Thoma, Bates Teaching Professor of Chemical Engineering for the University of Arkansas, highlighted the expanded results of a retrospective analysis of US poultry production, with a lifecycle assessment methodology used to document changes in environmental key performance indicators in the industry from 1965 to 2010. They also provided information on a broiler production model for estimating environmental footprint on farms.

Visit the IPPE website, HERE.

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

01/02/2018: AFIA/Feedstuffs name Sanderson Farms as 2017 feed facility of the year

The American Feed Industry Association is proud to announce that Sanderson Farms of Collins, Mississippi, has been named the 2017 Feed Facility of the Year (FFY)
Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs, announced the winner during AFIA’s Feed Education Program, being held today as part of the International Production & Processing Expo, happening this week in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cosponsored by AFIA and Feedstuffs, the FFY award recognises overall excellence in feed manufacturing operations. It emphasises the company’s commitment to safety, quality, regulatory compliance and employee development and highlights the facility’s overall operating efficiencies. To date, only 32 facilities have received this industry best practices award.

Sanderson Farms of Collins,
Mississippi, has been named
the 2017 Feed Facility of the
Year.
Image credit: AFIA

“Sanderson Farms demonstrates excellence in each of the areas the Feed Facility of the Year program measures,” said AFIA’s President and CEO Joel G. Newman. “They quickly rose to the top of this year’s competition, and we are happy to present the company with this award.”

Sanderson Farms’ Collins facility produces more than 400,000 tons of poultry feed each year. As one of Sanderson Farms’ eight feed mills, the facility processes 455 acres-worth of corn each day. It also serves as the grain delivery point for the company’s Laurel, Mississippi, facility.

There are many factors that helped Sanderson Farms achieve the FFY award, including some of its work to boost employee engagement and promote morale. According to feed mill manager William “Bill” Bray, employees are included in daily conversations about safety, and the company’s training programs allow supervisors to assist employees by providing personal attention. Facility personnel are encouraged to offer suggestions for improvements while reviewing and implementing changes.

Mr Bray said Sanderson Farms reviews a variety of metrics daily, weekly, quarterly and annually to maximise efficiency and maintain or increase performance. These metrics include inbound ingredient specifications, ingredient moisture, mixer analyses on specified ingredients, weekly tons of feed produced, labour costs, feed conversion rates, utility usage and performance, and delivery costs.

Sanderson Farms also places a priority on promoting community involvement.

“We participate in many functions at the local level and encourage our employees to become involved in their community,” Mr Bray said.

Formerly the Feed Mill of the Year Award, AFIA and Feedstuffs modified the program in 2016, and it is now recognised as a first-class benchmarking program for the animal food industry. Representing each of the several types of feed manufacturing facilities within AFIA’s membership, the improved format compares and recognises top-performing facilities in four categories: commercial dry livestock, integrator, liquid feed and premix. From those, the FFY award is selected.

AFIA recognised the category winners earlier this month and honored them with plaques at today’s Feed Education program. Sanderson Farms topped the integrator category; ADM Animal Nutrition of Cordele, Georgia, won the commercial dry livestock feed plant category; Westway Feed Products of Dimmit, Texas, won the liquid feed plant category for the second consecutive year; and Animix LLC of Juneau, Wisconsin, won the premix manufacturing plant category.

AFIA and Feedstuffs have conducted the FFY, and its predecessor program, since 1985, recognising 70 companies for outstanding performance in animal food manufacturing. More information on the FFY program, as well as a list of past winners, can be found on AFIA’s website, HERE.

01/02/2018: Effect of inclusion of emulsifier digestfast on monogastric species diets

by Sujka1, E., Téllez1, S., López1, I., Callejo2*, A 1 Lípidos Toledo, S.A.; 2Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Dpto. de Producción Agraria

Current demand for improvements in production performance (feed conversion rate, average daily gain, speed of growth, etc.) in animal production implies very high needs for metabolisable energy. These needs can only be met with the contribution of fat in the diet

Fenced chickens
Image credit: Gina pina on Flickr
(CC by 2.0)

Fats are necessary for maintenance of body temperature, synthesis of hormones, proper functioning of the central nervous system and muscle metabolism (Bjorntorp,1991). Vitamins, A, D, E and K are fat soluble, which means they are digested, transported and absorbed in the presence of fats (Leeson, 1993). Fat in animal diets increases palatability of feed and improves the efficiency of energy use. In addition, reduces the speed of feeds transit along the gastrointestinal tract, allowing a better absorption of nutrients (Baiao and Lara, 2005).

Fat in the diet also affects the digestibility, absorption, ingestion and metabolism of other ingredients such as carbohydrates, proteins and minerals (Leeson, 1993 and March, 1980). Excess of fat reduce digestibility, feed intake, less weight causing economical loses in livestock production.

Fat digestion occurs in a few stages. Initially, large drops of fat are emulsified in aqueous medium of the digestive system, to which the peristaltic movements contribute. Water and oil are not miscible, so bile salts help in the mixing process, as a natural emulsifier.

Smaller fat drops offer a greater contact surface to the action of the lipases, secreted by the pancreas, responsible for hydrolysing or fragmenting the fat. The next step is formation of micelles. When they meet the membrane of the intestinal microvilli they are disintegrated so that the free fatty acids can be absorbed by the lipophilic part of the mentioned membrane.

The long-chain unsaturated fatty acids and monoglycerides form micelles quickly, while the saturated ones have a lower capacity to form micelles due to their lower polarity.

The addition of synthetic emulsifiers is a relatively recent possibility when compared to other feed additives commonly used. Emulsifiers act by increasing the active surface of fats, allowing a higher action of the lipases and favouring formation of micelles. Its positive effect is more pronounced the lower digestibility of fat, and the higher the level fat added to the diet.

Read the full article, HERE.

Almex company profile

Almex specialises in single screw extrusion equipment, from the extrusion unit to complete installations. They are a family owned, independent company

Almex extruders and Contivar Expanders are in use worldwide at fishfeed, oil extraction, petfood, animal feed plants, the food industry and the processing and chemical industries.

Almex started early 1970’s with repair and installation of extruders. For use in Europe these units needed much modifications, so they decided to design and built in the Netherlands a complete range of extruders for 500 to 15.000 kg/hour capacity.

These extruders did find their way to clients worldwide. Today the largest extruder has a diameter of 400 mm, a barrel length of 4800 mm and a drive of 500 kW.

The same quality extruder parts are used to manufacture Contivar™ Expanders for the feed industry, as a popular machine to improve feed quality. The robust, basically simple design of the Almex equipment guarantees years of trouble free service.

Almex was the first company using DC drives on single screw extruders in order to select the extrusion shaft speed to match the product and selected die specifications.

Using DC drives the extruder becomes a tool that can be precisely tuned in order to assure quality of the product.

ALMEX Extruders and Contivar™ Expanders are used for:

• Extrusion-cooking
• Pre-extraction processes
• Densifying
• Conditioning prior to other processes
• Expanded feed production
• Forming
• Cooking-forming
• Semi-moist
• H.T-S.T. processes
• Co-extrusions

Visit the Almex website, HERE.

January 30, 2018

31/01/2018: New research shows how animal food manufacturing industry keeps America’s livestock fed

Each day across America, more than 6,200 animal food manufacturing facilities are quietly humming along, producing millions of tons of animal food to provide the right nutritional balance to keep the country’s livestock, poultry and pets happy and healthy

Today, the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) is proud to share the results of two, first-of-a-kind, yearlong research projects, which quantify the industry’s contribution to the national, state and local economies. It also provides a comprehensive analysis of the ingredients used in the top livestock, poultry and aquaculture diets.

www.afia.org

“For the past few decades, the animal food industry has spoken about the value and service it provides to its customers in producing some of the safest, highest quality animal food on the planet,” said Paul Phillips, IFEEDER’s 2017-18 chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Now, we have the data to prove to our nation’s leaders that this industry is an integral part of the agricultural economy, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in taxes and revenue to support local and state communities.”

IFEEDER commissioned Decision Innovation Solutions (DIS), an economic research and analysis firm, in early 2017 to conduct a first-ever economic analysis of the U.S. animal feed and pet food manufacturing industry.

The recently completed study found that in 2016, the U.S. animal food manufacturing industry contributed $297.1 billion in total U.S. sales, including roughly $102 billion in value-added contributions; over $22.5 billion in local, state and national taxes; and over 944,000 jobs.

According to the report, five states including Missouri, California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Iowa, topped all economic measures by contributing a combined roughly 337,000 jobs, $105.2 billion in total sales and $8.3 billion in local, state and national taxes. Several congressional districts (KS-2, IA-4, IA-2, KS-1 and NE-3) located in the Midwest or plains states, where a majority of livestock and poultry are raised, also rose to the top, providing a combined nearly 98,000 jobs, roughly $32.7 billion in total sales and $2.1 billion in taxes to the economy. The DIS report listed a number of factors that play a role in the animal food industry’s ongoing economic output and said the odds are good the industry will adapt and grow stronger.

“We hope that this report will illuminate the significant contributions our industry is having on the economy,” said Joel G. Newman, IFEEDER’s president and the American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) president and CEO. “Our nation’s leaders need to move forward with achieving sensible state and federal regulations so that the animal food manufacturing business can continue to thrive, and with it, U.S. animal agriculture as a whole can thrive.”

The second part of the DIS research focused on quantifying the amount of food consumed by the top nine livestock, poultry and aquaculture species throughout the various stages of their lives. In years past, AFIA used data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service on the number of animals processed for food each year and, working backwards, estimated a general diet per animal species to get the total amount of food consumed by livestock and poultry. In 2017, DIS conducted a more comprehensive approach, in which it worked with roughly 25 industry and university subject matter experts to determine the specific diets fed to animals at various stages of their lives and adjusted them for regional dietary differences, due to the availability of ingredients and best management practices.

“The latest animal consumption report provides us with more precise and comprehensive data by species, region and in total about the types of ingredients used in animal diets, giving us a clearer picture about the massive amounts of food consumed by livestock, poultry and aquaculture across the industry,” Phillips said. “It is clear that the U.S. animal food manufacturing industry is at the critical intersection of plant and animal agriculture.”

Overall, DIS found that in 2016, approximately 236.3 million tons of animal food were fed to nine animal species, including: 74.7 million tons to cattle on feed; 56.3 million tons to broilers; and 46.3 million tons to hogs, the top three animal consumers. Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, North Carolina and Minnesota topped the list for the sheer amount of animal food consumed with 21.1 million tons, 17.3 million tons, 15.4 million tons, 12.6 million tons, and 11.3 million tons, respectively.

Corn, the most abundantly produced crop in the United States, made up slightly more than half of the total amount of animal food consumed, but when combined with soybean meal and dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGs), represented more than 75 percent of all feed tonnage provided in 2016. DIS also reported on a number of other ingredients that are used in animal diets besides the top commodities. For instance, at least 1 percent of all tonnage fed to livestock and poultry in 2016 came from: wet distiller’s grains, bakery meal, corn gluten feed, cottonseed meal, wheat midds, grain sorghum, soybean hulls and oats.

“Through continuous improvements and the adoption of new technologies and best practices, our industry is making our animal food products revered as the ‘gold-standard’ around the world. I hope that our nation’s leaders will recognise this and move forward with responsible, science-based policies,” Mr Newman added.

IFEEDER released both reports during the 2018 International Production and Processing Expo, being held this week in Atlanta, Georgia. The reports, along with interactive maps that allow users to search by their states and congressional districts, are available on AFIA’s website under “Economic Contribution", HERE, and “Animal Food Consumption”, HERE.

For more information visit the IFEEDER website, HERE.

31/01/2018: USDA and FDA announce formal agreement to bolster coordination and collaboration

US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. announced at the White House today a formal agreement aimed at making the oversight of food more efficient and effective by bolstering coordination between the two agencies

The formal agreement outlines efforts to increase interagency collaboration, efficiency and effectiveness on produce safety and biotechnology activities, while providing clarity to manufacturers.

“Today, Commissioner Gottlieb and I signed a formal agreement to promote coordination and the streamlining of capacities and obligations on shared concerns and jurisdiction,” said Secretary Perdue. “Congress passed the Food Safety Modernisation Act and assigned responsibilities to the USDA and the FDA. The USDA has the knowledge and expertise to support the FDA’s work related to farming. We at the USDA have a motto: Do Right, and Feed Everyone. We believe this joint effort will help us move one step closer to that goal.”

Secretary Perdue and Commissioner Gottlieb announce formal agreement at the White House
Image credit: USDA

The FDA and the USDA have worked closely over the years to oversee the nation’s food supply. The USDA oversees the safety of most meat, poultry, catfish and certain egg products while the FDA has authority over all other foods such as dairy, seafood, produce and packaged foods. The USDA and the FDA are partnering in many key areas, including the implementation of produce safety measures and biotechnology efforts.

“Secretary Perdue and I share a deep commitment to further strengthening our nation’s food safety system in the most effective and transparent way,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “Over the last several months, the Secretary and I have worked closely and identified several areas where we can strengthen our collaboration to make our processes more efficient, predictable, and potentially lower cost to industry; while also strengthening our efforts to ensure food safety. This agreement not only formalises this ongoing coordination, but presents a great opportunity to expand those efforts through better integration and increased clarity to the agriculture and food processing sectors. Our coordination with these sectors plays an integral role in helping to keep our nation’s food supply safe and secure.”

This agreement is the agencies’ newest initiative to expand those efforts and take new steps to streamline regulatory responsibilities and use government resources more efficiently to protect public health. It aims to increase clarity, efficiency and potentially reduce the number of establishments subject to the dual regulatory requirements of the USDA and the FDA. For example, when a facility, such as a canned soup facility, produces both chicken noodle soup and tomato soup, it is currently subject to regulation by both agencies. The agreement tasks both government organisations with identifying ways to streamline regulation and reduce inspection inefficiencies, while steadfastly upholding safety standards for dual-jurisdiction facilities. This can reduce costs on industry and free government resources to better target efforts to areas of risk.

The agreement also commits the USDA and the FDA to identify ways the agencies can better align and enhance their efforts to develop regulatory approaches to biotechnology, as each agency works to fulfil commitments outlined in the September 2016 National Strategy for Modernising the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products and the more recent Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Report. These initiatives established a vision for increasing transparency, predictability and efficiency of the regulatory processes for biotechnology products.

The agreement also calls for the FDA and the USDA to enhance their collaboration and cooperation on produce safety activities. The FDA is implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA), which shifts the food safety paradigm from one of reaction to prevention of foodborne illness. Under FSMA, the FDA coordinates with state and/or territorial government agencies, which will conduct most farm inspections under FSMA’s Produce Safety rule.

Visit the USDA website, HERE.

Visit the FDA website, HERE.

31/01/2018: DSM and Evonik establish Veramaris joint venture

DSM and Evonik have established a new company, Veramaris V.O.F., for the production of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA from natural marine algae for animal nutrition

The 50:50 joint venture is headquartered at the DSM Biotech Campus in Delft (Netherlands).

Veramaris’s breakthrough innovation, an algal oil, willfor the first time enable the production of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA for animal nutrition without using fish oil from wild-caught fish, a finite resource.

DSM and Evonik announced their intention to start this joint venture in March 2017. Since then, all necessary approvals have been received.

Construction of the US$200 million production facility at the Evonik site in Blair, Nebraska (United States), has commenced and is proceeding according to plan. Commercial quantities of the algal oil rich in the essential omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA will be ready for sale in 2019. Pilot quantities for market development purposes are already available. The initial annual production capacity will meet roughly 15 percent of the total current annual demand for EPA and DHA by the salmon aquaculture industry.

Veramaris will be headed by CEO Karim Kurmaly and CFO Frank Beissmann. Marine biologist Dr Kurmaly has been with DSM for more than 16 years, most recently as Vice President Animal Nutrition & Health in Asia Pacific. Mr Beissmann, an engineer, has been with Evonik for more than 20 years and has held various positions in production, supply chain, marketing and controlling.

“Our algal oil, rich in both EPA and DHA, is our response to the industry’s call for a sustainable and traceable source of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Veramaris will now enable our partners along the value chain to grow in a responsible way and meet the demand for healthy animal protein rich in both EPA and DHA for consumer health,” says Dr Kurmaly.

Veramaris engages in dialogue with all stakeholders across the value chain, including NGOs. Pioneering collaborations have allowed leading players in aquaculture to develop salmon diets free from marine ingredients, using the Veramaris algal oil as a complete replacement for fish oil.

“Our goal is to establish the industry standard. We are committed to delivering consistent high-quality of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Drawing on our expertise in supply chain and logistics, we are able to transition customers to Veramaris as smoothly as possible,” says Mr Beissmann.

Until recently, the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA added to animal feed have been almost exclusively from marine sources such as fish oil and fishmeal, which are finite resources. Currently, a total of 16 million metric tons of wild fish are caught for the production of fish oil and fishmeal.

By using natural marine algae, Veramaris contributes to closing the omega-3 EPA and DHA supply-demand gap, while helping to conserve marine life and biodiversity in the oceans.

Visit the DSM website, HERE.
Visit the Evonik website, HERE.

31/01/2018: It’s not enough to improve flour, you have to understand it

by Mühlenchemie

“It is the deep understanding of our customers’ products that lets us develop solutions far beyond the commercial standard,” says Lennart Kutschinski, Managing Director of Mühlenchemie, a company in the worldwide and owner-operated Stern-Wywiol Gruppe. What makes Mühlenchemie so different, any therefore so successful?

It’s all about being close to the customer
“We seek out opportunities to have technical discussions with our customers,” says Kutschinski. “And not on the phone, but face to face.” In practice this means that Mühlenchemie has offices in important parts of the world, in order to do consulting and development work locally.

On the way to the perfect solution
The immediate, unfiltered experience of local weather conditions early evaluation of harvest quality, and a direct view of market conditions, early evaluation of harvest quality, and a direct view of market conditions gives Mühlenchemie’s specialists the creative input for individual formulations that meet customer needs down to the gram.

Knowing the job
“Flour that works great for Turkish pita bread might not work for a company that makes steamed buns. For us that means replacing standard products with special formulations designed for local product conditions, markets and cultural preferences,” says Dr Lutz Popper, Head of Research and Development at Mühlenchemie.

Success through flexibility
Despite weather, soil and harvest conditions, Mühlenchemie maintains a constant high level of flour quality. “Good flour not only has excellent processing characteristics, but also high nutritional value,” says Sven Mattutat, Head of Global Baking Applications at Mühlenchemie, adding, “By fortifying flour with vitamins and minerals we can prevent malnutrition.”

Read the full article, HERE.

Entil company profile

Entil was founded in 1964 in Eskisehir, Turkey. When Entil started, there were only a few small companies in the milling industry and the support that Entil gave to the industry was very large indeed.

In 2008, Entil moved out of the town centre into large purpose built premises in one of the industrial park zones. The move was done gradually over one year to allow for stock to move first and then the workshops for finishing the rolls and lastly the refluting servicing. Even the name of the company is reflective of their unique heritage.

The word ‘Entil’ originates from an ancient Hitit civilisation and means ‘casting’. Trained and qualified machinery and metallurgical engineers constitute Entil’s management. They provide technical knowledge to achieve a high quality production level consistently.

The capacity of Entil is to produce 16,000 rolls per year, and the firm is currently averaging just 12,000 at the moment. There are plans to grow to increase capacity to 20,000 rolls in time.

All production and servicing is carried out in the one site in Eskisehir, in addition to the Quality Control and Research and Development department. Quality, innovation, high-skilled and loyal staff, high productivity, new product lines and sectors are all a part of the Entil brand.

The one brand is all that is produced ensuring continuity in all standards. Quality marks and high industry standards are certified in their production and customer service. The steel Entil purchase is only ever sourced from reputable markets.

Entil aims to solve problems according to each customer’s needs, providing the solution that is right for them. Innovation in production and in service is something Entil strives to do at the very highest levels: for example the High-Tech Controlled fluting process monitors and can also alert staff for any imperfections.

Entil are always working on new projects for the industry, the rolls serve diverse sectors, for example: flour, feed, oil, chocolate, coffee, paint, rubber, steel and iron industries. Many other specialist parts are produced for the automobile industries, high-speed trains and wind turbines amongst many other sectors.

Mr Mehmet Gürkaynak, Chief of Sales and Marketing says, “the growth of Entil markets are in the regions of South and North America. Entil has a big range of production types such as rolls for flour and feed mills, as well as for oil, chocolate, coffee, plastic, steel and iron industries. In total, Entil exported to 72 countries last year. This covered large markets such as the European Union countries, African countries, Far East Asia and Russia. Overall flour milling is their core business but the diversification and range of applications that rolls can be used for is an interesting area for development.”

Entil works with partners for roller milling machinery and actively works with them to service many customer needs.

Visit the company website, HERE.

30/01/2018: The global feed industry: Producing more than 1 billion metric tonnes

Last year, the Alltech Global Feed Survey estimated world animal feed production at over one billion metric tonnes globally for the first time. This year their estimates have confirmed that barrier has been crossed again, with a total of 1.07 billion tonnes of feed produced in 2017.

Now in its seventh year of analysis, the Alltech Global Feed Survey continues to be the most quoted reference on the state of the feed industry, with last year's survey data citied in more than 1,000 reports by the United Nations, industry market research companies, leading agricultural institutions and associations. The survey data not only gives insights into the feed industry, but into the health of agriculture as a whole, and, to some degree, it reflects the strength of the individual economies of the countries included in the report.

The information becomes more robust and detailed every year, with new countries included this year, namely Cambodia, Laos, Fiji and Samoa, for a total of 144 countries. As their organisation's global reach expands, it is Alltech's goal to have the survey grow in scope. They also intend to provide open and free access to this report for the purposes of demonstrating the importance of animal agriculture and the centrality of the feed industry in feeding the world of future sustainability.

Click here to listen to the full webinar, get the highlights and the book of results from Alltech's feed survey 2018.

January 29, 2018

30/01/2018: Zheng Chang celebrates 100 years of operation at IPPE 2018

Zheng Chang, China’s largest feed machinery manufacturer was founded in 1918, and is celebrating its first century of operation at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) 2018 in Atlanta, USA.

From January 30^th to February 1^st, at Zheng Chang’s stand (B8323) at IPPE, a lucky draw has been organised with the opportunity for contestants to win a range of prizes and vouchers. Vouchers can be received for signing a contract at their exhibition site, and are limited to one person.

If the single contract signed amounts to more than $1 million USD, the recipient can get a $100,000USD voucher, if $500,000USD, they can get a $50,000USD voucher, and if $200,000USD, they can get a $10,000USD voucher.

There will also be a lucky draw for spot prizes including:

- One mobile phone (HUAWEI Mate 10), worth $620USD
- Two Tablet PCs (HUAWEI M3), worth $300USD
- Three mobile Phones (Redmi 5), worth 150USD
- Six Mi Bands, worth $30USD
- Twenty ZHENG CHANG polo shirts, or USB flash disks, worth $15USD

*The specific activity information will be subject to the public announcement at the exhibition site, the final interpretation of this activity belongs to ZHENG CHANG Group.

Visit the IPPE 2018 website, HERE.

Visit the Zheng Chang website, HERE.

30/01/2018: Animal nutrition solutions & the EU protein strategy at 63rd FEFAC General Assembly

FEFAC and its French member EUROFAC have announced a symposia on animal nutrition and the European protein strategy in Lyon, France, on 20-21 June 2018, at the occasion of FEFAC’s 63rd General Assembly

The draft programme includes representatives from the European Commission and the French Government as well as livestock chain and feed industry speakers and experts from the scientific community.

The symposium on 20 June will focus on the role of animal nutrition solutions in tackling challenges in the animal health and welfare area.

The EU One Health Action Plan against AMR released by the European Commission in June 2017 stated that, “feeding regimes to support good animal health and welfare help reduce the need for antibiotics at farm level”.

In discussion with industry representatives from the animal health, farming and veterinary sectors, the European feed industry seeks to develop a multidisciplinary framework which could deliver a holistic health management approach towards reducing AMR at livestock farm level.

The symposium on 21 June will set the scene on the announced future EU Plant Protein Plan, expected to be published by the European Commission by the end of 2018.

The EU Commission, French Government Speakers and panel experts from the EU grain trade & livestock chain will exchange views on the competitiveness of European vegetable protein production.

Also the challenges of boosting production and market acceptance of alternative protein sources and the strategic importance of maintaining access to imported protein-rich feed materials will be part of the discussion.

Further details into the programme are expected to be given before the end of February 2018.

For more information visit the FEFAC website, HERE.

30/01/2018: The biofortification movement for better crops and nutrition

Hidden Hunger: an invisible threat with devastating consequences

by Victor Taleon, HarvestPlus

The threat of famine has made headlines in recent months, and these crises understandably focus the world’s attention on the need for a strong humanitarian response

What rarely makes headlines is this startling statistic: the diets of more than two billion people worldwide lack the essential vitamins and minerals that are necessary to prevent disease, disability, and even death.

www.harvestplus.org

This pandemic of micronutrient deficiency is known as “hidden hunger”, and it’s called that because the essence of the problem is often overlooked and also because some of the people who are affected may technically have “enough” food on their plates, but that food is not necessarily nutritious.

Several important interventions already exist to combat this problem, such as vitamin and mineral supplements and commercial fortification of processed foods, for example, adding vitamin A to refined sugar or iodine to table salt.

However, many smallholder farmers in developing countries have limited access to these solutions, as they are costly and not part of the typical diet in rural communities.

A breakthrough process known as biofortification, where crops are bred to contain higher levels of essential micronutrients, has revolutionised what crops farmers grow and eat in rural communities, and is even reaching urban consumers in increasing numbers. Beyond the inherent benefits that biofortified crops offer consumers, it may be a surprise to learn that processes in the milling of biofortified cereals also represent an important piece of the puzzle to find a solution for hidden hunger.

The kernel of an idea whose time has come
In the early 1990s, an economist at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Dr Howarth “Howdy” Bouis, came up with an idea that seemed too good to be true: solving micronutrient deficiency by getting the plants to do the work – that is, to use conventional crop breeding techniques to enhance their vitamin and mineral content.

This concept, which soon became known as biofortification, was initially greeted with skepticism. Would yields decrease from the stress of having to take up these nutrients, which would make this idea a non-starter? Could plant breeding actually improve nutrition? Would farmers grow and eat these crops, especially those that turn yellow or orange from the carotenoids, precursors of vitamin A?

It took Dr Bouis a decade to convince the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several government donors to invest significant resources to breed, test, and deliver these crops in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He founded HarvestPlus, which is coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), in 2003.

Read the full article, HERE.

Tanis Machine Technologies company profile

Tanis Machine Technologies has been a leading agricultural machines manufacturer Company since 1956.

They manufacture, export, install and commission flour, semolina, maize milling plants, oilseeds and pulses processing plants, grain stocking and handling systems and feed mills with the latest modern technological methods with any capacity range designed as compact or concrete construction forms in 25,000 closed area in Gaziantep Organised industrial zone, Turkey.

Having obtained certificates their quality standards to ISO, CE, TUV and TSE norms with the first modernisation in 1990.

Within the second modernisation in 2014-2015 they renewed their image in terms of institutionalism, professional management and new bands as;

- Tanis Flour Mill Technologies
- Tanis Seed Processing Technologies
- Tanis Feed Milling
- Tanis Grain Handling Solutions

Tanis co. is active in the milling industry
TANIS CO has a lot of knowledge on the industry and with sectional experience.
The company aims to serve its customers properly with its young and intelligent staff.

Visit the website HERE.

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

29/01/2018: ICC Brazil participates in IPPE 2018

ICC Brazil will be attending IPPE 2018 (International Production & Processing Expo), which will be held on January 30th in Atlanta, United States. It is the largest annual poultry, meat production, and animal feeding event in the world.

The Brazilian company will present a lecture about yeast cell wall and hydrolyzed yeast and its effects on immunity, gut integrity, and broilers performance and will expose some of its products. Ricardo Toledo, Latin America sales manager, Dr. Melina Bonato, Ph.D. and R&D coordinator and Glycon Santos, ICC Brazil CEO, will be there representing the company.

Glycon highlights the importance of this meeting for the corporation. "Companies that are worldwide references in this segment will participate in this event, and we could not stay out.Exchanging information during the event, we strengthen our relationship with our customers and partners, and improve techniques to always deliver excellent quality products, 100% pure and natural", says the executive.

In the 2017 edition, more than 8,000 visitors from 129 countries were present.

The event brings together world references of the poultry segment

About ICC Brazil

For 25 years the Brazilian company has been joining research and biotechnology, performing experiments that prove the benefits of yeast additives in several animal species. With a strict quality control and monitoring all stages of manufacturing, it provides innovative solutions that target animal performance, health and food safety. ICC exports to around 180 customers in more than 50 countries.

ICC Brazil

January 28, 2018

Viteral company profile

Viteral is the brand of IMAS that carries its experience of 28 years into feed machines sector by providing the production and installation of machines and complete facilities used for bovine, ovine and poultry feed production

The experiences acquired and successes gained via Milleral in the milling sector enabled the creation of Viteral and ensured its service with a similar engineering approach in the feed sector.

Viteral, with its innovative engineering approach and the importance it gives to research and development works, is able to offer products and facilities that can fully meet the needs of the sector and it continues its works with the aim of 100 percent customer satisfaction.

Operating worldwide from Middle East to Asia, South America to Australia, IMAS is approaching the feed sector with Viteral with the same attention and care and reaps the benefits of its efforts by providing products with high technologies that are suitable to the needs of the sector.

One of the strong features of Viteral, which differentiates it from its competitors, is manufacturing high technology products and always maintaining this with R&D studies.

IMAS exports to more than 75 countries by manufacturing developable technological systems with CE, TSEK and ISO 9001:2000 quality certificates.

In order to provide improved service to their customers, they have the pro support team for continuous and rapid technical service.

Pro support provides continuous and rapid technical service, consultancy and spare parts to the whole feed milling sector, not only to Viteral plant / product users.

Visit the Viteral website, HERE.

January 25, 2018

26/01/2018: USGC signs memorandum of understanding to establish Tunisian centre for feed manufacturing

In dual efforts to expand export opportunities and help local feed producers improve the quality of their products, the US Grains Council (USGC) plans to utilise a grant provided by the US State Department to create a Centre for Feed Manufacturing in Tunisia

Ramy Taieb, USGC regional director for the
Middle East and North Africa, and Faysal Ben Jeddi,
director of INAT, sign a memorandum of understanding
to mark the beginning of the Center
for Feed Manufacturing project.
Image credit: USGC

“Centred in North Africa, US suppliers face increasing competition in the Tunisian market from competitors in Europe, the Black Sea and South America,” said Ramy Hadj Taieb, USGC regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “As a result, the Council’s work in Tunisia is becoming more strategic, focusing on how to utilise training programs to help develop both the Tunisian market and other markets in the region, while emphasising the advantages of US coarse grains and co-products.”

As part of establishing the Centre, the Council, the Tunis National Institute for Agribusiness (INAT) and Iowa State University will train a core team of 10 industry professionals in feed manufacturing. The training program will target nutritionists, feed millers and poultry, dairy, beef and aquaculture producers in both intensive and extensive training programs as well as activities meant to foster development and professionalism within the industry. The core team of trainers will then return to the Centre for Feed Manufacturing to subsequently train approximately 70 members of the next generation feed industry leaders in Tunisia.

The Council ultimately intends to expand the Tunisian centre to be a regional training effort for the Middle East and Africa, as feed demand continues to increase considerably in these areas. Regional use of the centre is expected to boost compound feed production, which will stimulate demand for US corn, barley, sorghum and co-products.

Learn more about the Council’s work in the Middle East and North Africa, HERE.

Visit the USGC website, HERE.

26/01/2018: 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey estimates world feed production in excess of 1 billion metric tons

7th annual survey features expanded data from 144 countries and more than 30,000 feed mills

The feed industry, valued at $430 billion, has seen 13 percent growth over the past five years, equating to an average of 2.49 percent per annum. This substantial growth is supported by the higher reported consumption of meat, milk and eggs. The growth seen in 2017 was strong at 2.57 percent over last year.

The 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey estimates that international feed tonnage has exceeded 1 billion metric tons for the second consecutive year, with a total of 1.07 billion metric tons of feed produced in 2017.
Image credit: Alltech

The seventh edition of the annual survey is the most comprehensive ever, now covering 144 countries and more than 30,000 feed mills. The results show that China and the US remain the top two countries, producing one-third of all animal feed, and that predominant growth came from the pig, broiler and dairy feed sectors as well as the European and Asia-Pacific regions.

“Now in its seventh year of analysis, the Alltech Global Feed Survey continues to serve as a valuable report on the state of the global feed industry,” said Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and vice president of corporate accounts at Alltech. “In addition to its insights into the feed industry, it serves as a barometer for agriculture as a whole and oftentimes demonstrates the economic strength of the countries included in the survey.”

The Alltech Global Feed Survey assesses compound feed production and prices through information collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations in the last quarter of 2017. It is intended to serve as an information resource for policymakers, decision-makers and industry stakeholders.

The top seven feed-producing countries in 2017, in order of production output importance, were China, the US, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, India and Spain. These countries contain approximately 54 percent of the world’s feed mills and account for 53 percent of total production. These countries can be viewed as an indicator of the trends in agriculture.

Regional results from the 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey:
Europe: Tied with Asia-Pacific for the fastest-growing regions, Europe saw a 3 percent feed tonnage growth, resulting from increases in pig, boiler and aqua feed production. The region was led by Russia with 37.6 million tons produced in 2017, moving up in the country rankings from number seven to number four. Russia increased its estimated pig feed, including more private production. Russian broiler feed production also increased by 3 percent, while Ukraine, Romania, the UK and Belgium also reported higher numbers, supporting growth in the European region. Europe is the top pet food producing region.

Africa: Africa remains the fastest growing region in the world for dairy and broiler feeds. With a regional average growth rate of nearly 30 percent over the last five years, it did not show growth in 2017. Pig, dairy, layer and boiler feed production increased, while decreases occurred in beef and aquaculture. Also, on average, Africa is the most expensive region for feeding pigs, layers and broilers. Smaller countries such as Botswana and Mozambique led the growth for pig, dairy, layer and broiler feeds. Beef feed production decreases were reflected in countries such as Zambia and Morocco. While many African nations showed a small increase in aquaculture feed production, the region as a whole was down primarily because of lower reported feed production in Egypt, which has now been surpassed by Nigeria.

Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than 35 percent of the world’s feed tonnage. China remained the top feed-producing country in the world with 186.86 million metric tons, a slight decline in overall feed production compared to last year. Asia-Pacific increased by three percent over the 2017 survey results, primarily due to increases in pig and pet food production. Increased production for Asia-Pacific also came from India with seven percent and Thailand with eight percent growth. Vietnam grew four percent over the past year and is the second-highest producer of pig and aqua feed in the Asia-Pacific region. Seventy percent of all aqua feed and 44 percent of all layer feed is produced in Asia-Pacific countries.

North America: The US remains the second-largest feed-producing country globally, behind China. North America produces a third of the beef feed, five times that of the next-largest producer. The US and Canada are two of the top horse feed producing countries. Feed prices in North America are lower than when compared to other regions.

Latin America: Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and third overall globally. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina account for almost 75 percent of regional feed production. Mexico leads the region in beef and layer feed production. Latin America as a region has had the third-highest growth rate over five years, seen primarily in aqua, horses and pets.

Notable species results from the 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey

- In the poultry industry, broiler feed production increased across all regions, with the largest growth found in Africa with 10 percent and Europe with seven percent. Romania, Russia and Ukraine all reported steady growth, contributing to Europe’s overall production, while Africa’s growth came primarily from Egypt, Uganda and Mozambique.

- Global leaders in pork production, China and Russia, led the way in pig feed production in 2017. Many smaller African countries, particularly Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda and Namibia, also showed increases.

- Global dairy feed production saw growth across all regions. Europe, a global leader in dairy production, grew on average by approximately two percent. Africa as a region saw the largest dairy feed production increase by 10 percent, with countries such as South Africa, Morocco and Zimbabwe showing significant increases from their reported 2017 dairy feed production.

- Beef feed production reported an overall global decline of approximately one percent, primarily in regions such as Latin America, Africa and Europe. This global downward trend has generally been felt by the industry for some time as more consumers turn to “white” meats such as chicken, pork and fish.

- Overall aquaculture feeds showed a slight increase, particularly in the European and Asia-Pacific regions. China reported a decline of five percent this year and in 2016, which could be linked to government controls on feeding practices and food safety, such as the administration of antibiotics. Brazil, Chile and Peru led the increase in production in Latin America, as did Iran in the Middle East. Carp leads the production of aquaculture feed, followed by shrimp/prawn and tilapia. Catfish, salmon and trout also ranked on the species feed indicator, though to lesser degrees.

- The pet food sector had a strong year across all regions. Asia-Pacific’s pet food production increased by 13 percent, with China, Thailand and Taiwan as the primary contributors to the increase. Europe increased by 17 percent with Russia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Hungary producing over 580,000 metric tons of additional pet food. Uruguay, Ecuador, El Salvador, Chile and Argentina represent almost all of the pet food production growth in Latin America, combining for 725,000 more tons.

“The Alltech Global Feed Survey provides valuable data and insights on the health of the feed industry and agriculture as a whole,” said Mr Connolly. “As such, we will continue to offer the findings of the feed survey freely in an effort to demonstrate the significance of the animal feed industry in feeding a growing global population, sustainably and affordably.”

The Alltech Global Feed Survey has illuminated some intriguing points that can play a role in analysing the economies of agribusiness and indeed of the world.

To discover more data from the 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey, including the results booklet, an interactive global map and a presentation of the results, fill out the form for access, HERE.

Visit the Alltech website, HERE.

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January 25, 2018