like Salmonella. Unfortunately, this process also affects the enzymes, which are difficult to maintain under these condi- tions. That’s why enzymes are usually high dosed, and this is clearly not sustainable. At Feed Design Lab we’re starting a project to optimize this process.”
Processing your own feed Besides the theoretical part, the course consists of a rather fun practical part, which involves processing your own animal feed. On the first day the participants are divided into two groups, one making cat feed and the other poultry feed. Soon everyone is busy searching for raw materials. Bags are dragged around and materials are weighed. When all materi- als are dosed correctly, the time has come to try out the ma- chines, starting with the hammer mill and choosing the right feed sieve. This is followed by the mixer, in which the liquid materials are added. When Eric Vissers opens the machine, everyone looks, full of curiosity, at the substance formed in the mixer. On the next day, this substance will be transformed in animal feed. Vissers: “Pelleting is one of the things we excel in in the Netherlands; 90% of the animal feed produced is pel- leted. The challenge is to stay innovative, which is why we needed an independent location for feed research trials.”
“FDL is like an enzyme” The feed design lab opened its doors in 2014 and has recently celebrated its five-year anniversary. Director Trudy van Megen
is proud of the fact that the number of partner companies has grown from 24 at the time of opening to 108 today: “Co- operation is essential to face the challenges we’re confronted with in the feed industry. We aim to start more joint projects; however, collaboration is still difficult. Our role at FDL is to connect the partner companies and facilitate projects.” Visser adds: “FDL is like an enzyme, a catalyst, speeding up the pro- cess, without itself being altered.” FDL organises several activ- ities for the partner companies, such as workshops, business trips, and innovation and knowledge sessions. In addition, companies have the opportunity to use the test plant for a joint project or with complete secrecy. It is mainly the addi- tive companies that use the test plant, whereas compound feed companies have their own R&D facilities. Another impor- tant activity is providing training programmes. “We have a lot of visitors from abroad, for whom we provide a tailor-made programme, with a theoretical and practical part, Director Trudy van Megen explains. “In the Netherlands we have long served as an example for the countries around us. However, nowadays we are extremely focused on producing efficiently and cheaply, rather than being innovative. This is why we de- velop innovative projects that contribute to the goal of achieving a sustainable animal protein chain.” All About Feed participated in an open-registration training programme. As FDL provides basic and advanced courses on feed processing, both new and experienced employees can participate in these open-registration training programmes.
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 1, 2020
FDL has a net- work consisting of more than 100 partner companies in the feed industry.
13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28
