AgriBITs Summit 2024 program released and visitor registration now open

April 29, 2024 - AgriBITs, the new platform for agricultural technology innovations has announced the opening of visitor registration for the highly anticipated AgriBITs 2024 Summit. Early bird pricing is available until May 25, 2024, offering a significant discount for those who register early.

The AgriBITs 2024 Summit, scheduled to take place from September 5-6, in the Jaarbeurs Venue in Utrecht, promises to be an enlightening and engaging event for all stakeholders in the agriculture and technology sectors. The main focus is on the theme of Digitalisation in the Agrifood business ranging from AI implementation methods and tools to machinery transformation and bringing together experts, innovators and thought leaders to explore the latest advancements and trends shaping the future of agriculture.

"We are excited to invite industry professionals, researchers and enthusiasts to join us at the AgriBITs 2024 Summit," said Birgit Horn, Managing Director Agrifood at VNU Europe, the organisers behind AgriBITs, VIV and Horti Agri Next events. "This year's agenda is packed with insightful sessions, keynote speeches, panel discussions and networking opportunities, providing attendees with a rich and versatile overview of the current landscape and future possibilities in agrifood technology."

Key highlights of the summit include:

• September 5, 10:00am - 11:00am - The Big Picture: AI Essentials - How to prepare for disruptive technologies
• September 5, 11:30am - 12:30pm - Tech Transformation in AgriFood - Implementation of AI to match your strategy
• September 5, 15:00pm - 16:00pm - The China Perspective - Exploring how strategy and execution come together in food production in China
• September 5, 16:30pm - 18:00pm - Changing the business model - How did tech transform other industries?
• September 6, 09:00am - 10:30am - Pushing the Boundaries in Agriculture - How far can AI go in Agriculture? Regulation, Research, Social Acceptance
• September 6, 13:30pm - 15:00pm - Applications of AI in Agri-food in Northwestern Europe - Implementation in sustainable food production

Holding onto its promise to be a C-Level experience, the AgriBITs Summit, features industry innovators from across the Agrifoodtech landscape. Visitors can among others expect:

• Insights from leaders like Picnic, John Deere, KLM, Huawei, Priva and Lely.
• Exploring the crucial role of Blockchain in fostering trust in food production, presented by Unisot & Amped, facilitated by HubOrange.
• Cutting-edge research and developments from the renowned Frauenhofer Institute and University Medical Centers.

Early bird registration is available until May 25, 2024.

For more information, visit 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.

Government launches fund to help farmers manage water resources

April 29, 2024 - Groups of farmers will be offered support to work together to store water and protect against the impact of drought through a new fund launched by the government.

The £1.6 million fund will be used by farmers to investigate different methods to manage water in their area. Projects could include multi-farm reservoirs, treated waste-water recycling systems, water trading and sharing schemes. 

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The fund will support around 20 studies and will also investigate water demand and availability in the most water-stressed agricultural areas over the next 25-year period.

It delivers on the Prime Minister's commitment at last year's Farm to Fork Summit to support farmers to identify local water resource schemes which will help to build resilience into the water supply, support food production and safeguard food security.

Applications are now open with groups of two or more neighbouring farms eligible to apply. The closing date for applications is 23:59 on June 16.

Water Minister Robbie Moore said:

"Water is our most valuable resource, and we want to support farmers to come together to manage it efficiently on their land."

"By storing water when it's wet, they'll have more to use when it's dry - helping to support food production and boost the resilience of farm businesses across the country."

Philip Duffy, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said:

"Climate change, increased demand and the need to protect the environment mean that up to 5 billion extra litres of water will be needed in England every day by 2050."

"By working together, farmers can make a huge positive impact in improving our use of water resources, making sure they have water to use in times of drought and safeguarding our food security."

The fund will help to identify opportunities to build on the success of existing projects, including:

• Felixstowe Hydrocycle - a multi-farm project currently repurposing more than 0.5 million tonnes of excess land drainage water per year - the equivalent of more than 225 Olympic swimming pools which would otherwise be lost to sea, for agricultural irrigation on six farms.
• Lincoln Water Transfer - a member organisation where 19 farms share a single abstraction license to take water from Fossdyke Navigation to irrigate 4600 hectares of land - using a pool system to allocate water which creates greater flexibility in land and water use.

The Environment Agency will also use the fund to work with stakeholders such as farmers, landowners and Water Abstractor Groups to safeguard a healthy farming sector in future and highlight the needs of agriculture in Regional Water Resources Plans.

The funding builds on existing support from government to help farmers make efficient use of water resources - such as the Water Management Grant - as well as setting strict targets for water companies to deliver a 50 percent reduction in leakage from 2017/18 levels by 2050.

For more information, visit 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.

Ukraine is most important European soya supplier for EU’s livestock industry

April 26, 2024 - Ukraine is the biggest and most important European soya supplier for animal feed of the EU’s livestock industry. The soya cultivation area there could expand to 2.2 million hectares in 2024, which is a plus of nearly 20 percent compared to last year. The soya output could reach as much as 5.5 million tonnes in 2024, depending on the weather conditions. Also the soya area in the EU is projected to grow by up to 10% to an all-time high of up to 1.15 million hectares. 

Small soybean plants growing in row in cultivated field

These numbers were presented in the new April edition of market report by Donau Soja, published yesterday. “We need Ukrainian Donau Soja certified soya in the EU to fill the so-called protein gap with deforestation-free and GMO-free soya, compliant with the new EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is supposed to enter into application at the end of December 2024. Currently, the EU’s soya self-sufficiency rate is only 8 percent, posing a threat to the EU’s food security. Donau Soja certified soya imported from Ukraine and certified soya grown in the EU are produced under the same requirements, hence providing a level playing field for soya farmer in the EU and outside the EU”, said Susanne Fromwald, General Secretary of Donau Soja.

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Positive trends and outlook for 2024

The positive soya forecast for 2024 has several reasons. Experts of Donau Soja expect that higher market prices and margins of soybeans in comparison to other crops make soya cultivation more attractive to farmers in this season. The current relatively high prices for fertiliser and energy also encourage farmers to sow more soya, which is a less energy-intense crop. Furthermore, the rainy autumn in October to December 2023 drove farmers to shift some of their planting from winter crops to spring crops. Finally, Donau Soja expects a growing demand for deforestation- and GMO-free and regional soya supply because of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The new EU regulation is expected to increase the competitiveness of European soya in comparison to Brazilian soya with a higher deforestation- and conversion risk. Companies start looking for solutions for proven deforestation-free soya. “On the other hand, a delayed implementation of the EUDR might also jeopardise the European soya production in 2025. There is still a danger of a dropdown in soya cultivation for the harvest in the next year because of unclarity and insecurity of the details and the process of the implementation of the regulation. We urgently ask the European Commission to get the EUDR information system operational and link it to existing (national) agricultural and traceability systems. Farmers, processors and the retail industry need legal clarity and no double or over-bureaucracy”, warns Fromwald.

European soya protects ecosystems in overseas

The total production of soya is expected to be around 397 million tonnes globally in 2024. The EU imports about 35 million tonnes of soya every year. The biggest amount of these imports is non-certified soya from overseas countries like Brazil, where important ecosystems such as the tropical savannahs Cerrado and El Chaco in Paraguay and Argentina are under pressure of deforestation, degradation and conversion. “With increased support and usage of European soya, we can reduce the pressure on these valuable ecosystems”, Fromwald said.

For more information, visit 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.

Victam International 60th anniversary to take place in co-location with VIV Europe

April 25, 2024 - Victam International, the foremost gathering for professionals in the animal feed and grain processing industries, is delighted to announce the rescheduled dates for its highly anticipated 2026 edition. The event will take place from July 2-4, 2026 at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht in The Netherlands.

Originally slated for 2025, the decision to move Victam International to 2026 was made to align with VIV Europe, another leading event in the industry. By co-locating with VIV Europe, Victam International aims to foster synergy between the two events, creating a seamless experience for attendees and exhibitors alike. This strategic choice underscores our commitment to maximising value and facilitating meaningful connections within the industry.

As the flagship event of their portfolio, Victam International is renowned for its unwavering focus on innovation and excellence. During the event the four yearly prestigious innovation awards for Feed Technology and Flour Milling Technology will be handed out. The 2026 edition holds particular significance as we celebrate the event's 60th anniversary. This special milestone underscores our dedication to advancing the industry and driving progress for the next six decades and beyond.

Victam International 2026 will feature new halls, allowing for an enhanced exhibition space and a fresh allocation of stands and interactive areas that reflects their ongoing efforts to accommodate the growing demand and evolving needs of our exhibitors and attendees.

Also Grapas Europe will take place simultaneously. Grapas focuses on advanced technologies for Flour Milling, as well as grain, rice and corn elevating, encompassing storage and distribution solutions.

In addition to the exhibition, a comprehensive conference program will run in parallel, addressing current topics and trends in the industry. This format encourages meaningful discussions and collaboration among visitors, scientists and exhibitors, fostering the exchange of ideas and solutions. Already confirmed conferences are the International Feed Technology Conference organised by the University of Wageningen and the two conferences Feed Milling Maximised and Flour Milling Maximised by Perendale Publishers.

Sebas van den Ende, General Manager of Victam, expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming event, stating, "Victam International 2026 marks a significant milestone in our journey. We are thrilled to celebrate our 60th anniversary with a special edition that showcases the latest innovations and fosters collaboration within the industry. By co-locating with VIV Europe, we aim to create a synergistic environment that maximises opportunities for all participants."

The last edition of the event in 2022, attracted 256 exhibitors and 7239 visitors from all over the world.

For more information, visit 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.

Protix insect-based proteins and ingredients achieve new levels of sustainability with unprecedented scores

April 24, 2024 - Protix, the global leader in insect ingredients for feed and food, unveils the outstanding results of a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by the German Institute of Food Technologies. The figures follow on from impressive numbers published in an earlier assessment conducted in 2022, and demonstrate that Protix's black solider fly ingredients are crushing it again in terms of environmental footprint.

Driven by its mission to help feed the growing global world population while taking good care of our planet, Protix works tirelessly to further reduce the footprint of its ingredients for Petfood, animal feed and fertilisers. The improved results are driven by continuous improvement across operations, genetics and nutritional science. 

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All Protix products yielded standout results:

• ProteinX insect meal reduces CO2 emissions by 78 percent compared with poultry meal (ProteinX: 0.832kg CO2 eq; poultry meal: 3.8kg CO2 eq). Poultry meal is often used in period and livestock feed.
• LipidX insect fat dramatically reduces land use, using 99.9 percent less than coconut oil (LipidX: 0.0102m² land use and coconut oil: 12.98m² land use). Coconut oil is commonly used as a fat source in livestock and aquaculture feed as well as in petfood.
• PureeX insect meat uses a staggering 99.8 percent less water than poultry meat (PureeX at 0.098m³ and poultry meat at 61.13kg m³). Poultry meat is commonly used in petfood as a high moisture protein source.
• Protix's insect grass shows only 0.01kg CO2 eq per kilogram of product.
• Larvae, used as feed for livestock, show 0.198kg CO2 eq per kilogram of product.

Kees Aarts, CEO of Protix, comments: "We take pride in leading innovations within our industry on a pathway to low-footprint-no-footprint proteins. With our previous LCA, we shared the vision that the environmental footprint of our black soldier fly ingredients could be reduced and we have lived up to that promise: the latest DIL figures once again demonstrate an improvement in the footprint of our Protix ingredients. We look forward to translating these LCA numbers into new commercial opportunities to help our customers produce better and greener."

Data to count on

Protix understands the importance of a robust scientific foundation for its products. The company is heavily invested in substantiating its findings and sharing data that manufacturers can translate into compelling claims.

The latest LCA was conducted by DIL, the German Institute of Food Technologies. This is a private, non-profit research provider with around 150 member companies from the food industry and related fields. As in the previous LCA, the results are based on the established and proven IMPACT 2002+ methodology. To further support the robustness of the findings, the results were compared against benchmark results from literature and relevant databases.

Making a real difference

However, Protix's mission extends beyond the numbers and methodologies. The company is driven to create genuine, meaningful change in the food system. The data were taken from the year 2023, with the plant running at designed capacity. Protix is uniquely positioned to calculate with real production data from an industrial-scale facility operating at full capacity. Every kilogram of its products used in petfood, animal feed or organic fertiliser represents a tangible step towards a healthier planet, for Protix, its customers and all of us.

Wings of power

The LCA was carried out on Protix products which are based on the black soldier fly (BSF). Protix selected the BSF as its preferred and sole source of protein following in-depth research in the company's infancy, 15 years ago. The BSF was found to be a superior source of protein for a raft of reasons. Essentially, the black soldier fly is one of nature's most efficient up cyclers. 

While these latest LCA data relate directly to Protix insects derived from larvae of the black soldier fly, they also shine a light on exciting potential for the insect industry as a whole to recuse the environmental impact of feed and food.

A high-flying future

There is growing interest in insects as a sustainable source of protein. protix remains at the forefront of developments with new production facilities and international expansion high on the agenda. Kees Arts concludes: "This is an exciting time for change in the petfood, animal feed and fertiliser industries and we are scaling up our operations to meet demand. We are confident that we can achieve further outstanding figures in the future as we invest in improved genetics and build on our already deep knowledge of insect farming. When feedstock legislation changes, this will be a further driver of a lower footprint for our beloved black solider fly. A tiny creature, but an impactful eco-warrior."

For more information, visit 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.

AGI kicks-off fourth annual Safety Week with worldwide call to action

April 23, 2024 - Every year, an estimated 340 million occupational accidents happen in the global workplace, according to the International Labour Organisation. Ag Growth International (AGI) is on a mission to create a zero-harm work environment by making safety a core guiding principle and driving best practice awareness during its fourth annual One AGI Safety Week, April 22-26, 2024.

"Today, I am extremely pleased to kick off our 2024 One AGI Safety Week celebrated globally across our organisation,"says Paul Householder, AGI President & CEO. "The week reinforces the tremendous safety strides we made last year in reaching an all-time low for recordable and lost time injury rates. This year's theme, Safer Acts and Safer Conditions, is a call to action for our team to continue to be vigilant, look out for one another, and never compromise on the high safety standards we have set."

AGI recognises facilities with one of its highest designations - the AGI Safety Standout Award - for earning one, three, five and even 10 years of no lost time incident records. To date 18 AGI sites worldwide have made milestone achievements including those teams specially honoured for earning year-over-year, long-term records: (10 years) Olds, AB and (3 years) Joplin, MO; Nobleford, AB; and Marshall IL.

"Our employees' commitment and diligent adherence to safety procedures have enhanced our work environment and ensures that we all return home safely each day," says Householder. "We aim to make AGI a beacon of safety excellence."

Throughout the week, employees will engage in activities designed to reinforce a strong safety culture and share best practices that further their commitment to a zero-harm workplace. According to Harsha Bhojraj, AGI Vice President of Manufacturing and Safety Lead, the week also begins employee nominations for AGI's annual Safety Awards that acknowledge individuals, teams and locations for exemplary safety best practices and performance. 

"Our employees are AGI's safety champions. The nomination process gives them the opportunity to shine a spotlight on colleagues, who they believe go above-and-beyond to embody a safety priority. We want to tell and reward their stories of excellence," says Bhojraj.

Categories include:

• The Outstanding Performance Award, celebrating an individual, team or location that has demonstrated exceptional safety innovation. 
• The Progress in Safety Award, recognising a location or team that has shown remarkable improvement in safety metrics over the past year.
• The Safety at a Customer Site or Project Award, honouring a project where safety was not just a plan, but a well-executed reality.

Nominations end in October with awards to be announced in the first quarter of 2024. 

For more information, visit 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.

Archbold-Alltech research alliance results confirm environmental benefits of grazing ruminants

April 23, 2024 - Alltech and Archbold formed a strategic research alliance in 2019 to jointly develop beef management approaches, specifically to increase the quality and quantity of beef produced in subtropical regions while maintaining and enhancing the environment. The Archbold-Alltech Alliance brought together scientists from two different disciplines - ecologists from Archbold and ruminant nutritionists from Alltech - to understand the impact that cattle production at Archbold's Buck Island Ranch has on the ecosystem and the ability to sequester carbon.

A research alliance between Archbold and Alltech brings together two scientific disciplines, with ecologists from Archbold and ruminant nutritionists from Alltech, to understand the impact that cattle production can have on an ecosystem.

Over the past five years, the research alliance has created a model for estimating the ranch's carbon footprint - and the results have been astounding. On average, Buck Island Ranch sequesters more carbon each year than it emits. It is a net-carbon sink.

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This research shows that grazing ruminant animals on land benefits the environment and improves carbon cycling. The results confirm that carbon-neutral - and even net-positive - beef production is possible at Buck Island Ranch, a 10,500-acre ranch in Lake Placid, Florida, and that same potential likely extends to environments around the world.

To showcase the work taking place at the Buck Island Ranch, the Archbold-Alltech Alliance have released a six-part Planet of Plenty video series that explores the cattle grazing carbon cycle, the role of carbon sequestration in mitigating climate change and other insights the collaborative research alliance has unveiled.

"This research alliance brings together scientists from several disciplines to collaborate on climate-change solutions and demonstrate agriculture's great potential to positively shape the future of our planet," said Dr Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. "These exciting findings at Archbold's Buck Island Ranch prove that we capture more carbon when cows are grazing the land. That is profoundly powerful."

"Every year, we sequester 1201 tonnes of CO2 equivalent at Archbold's Buck Island Ranch and all of this work is scalable to other parts of the world," said Dr Betsey Boughton, Director of agroecology at Archbold. "The narrative people have heard is that cows are bad for the environment, but grazing animals can actually change the function of grasslands. Cows are eating the grass and not allowing as much decomposition to happen on the ground. Without cows, we actually see more carbon emitted."

"We're trying to let people know that it is not just this black and white answer," she added. "It is complicated, ad we need to think about the whole story."

Though it is a complex issue, the research has shown that agriculture can be one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against climate change. 

This collaboration has discovered a deeper understanding of the grazing-cattle carbon cycle, one that is not solely focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the animal but also on natural GHG emissions from the land and the sequestration of carbon in the soil. Discussions around GHGs and global warming often centre around agriculture emissions, but it is important to think beyond emissions and look at the full cycle.

The soil's ability to sequester carbon is a critical part of the story. Alltech Crop Science and Ideagro, which joined the Alltech family of companies in 2023, are now studying how microbial populations can enrich soil chemistry and nutrient density, leading to increased carbon sequestration in the soil. The potential to capture carbon in the soil presents a significant opportunity for the agri-food community to embrace its critical role in combatting climate change while simultaneously improving soil health, boosting crop yields and promoting biodiversity.

For more information, visit 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.