very much a dual-purpose asset with customer input on inno- vation and ideation being very important to its success.” The final sector in Neo’s strategy is the introduction of new appli- cation farms; a series of commercial farms in key pig markets to test concepts on units that are representative of local ge- netics, management and weaning ages before they are rolled out to the wider customer base. “This comprehensive ap- proach means we will be absolutely confident that when we go to market, our recommendations and products will per- form as we expect under local conditions and add value to our customers’ businesses,” Simon added.
Future focus On the horizon for the European pig industry is the prohibi- tion of the use of therapeutic zinc and greater control of anti- biotic use, which has been the focus of more than five years’ research within AB Neo. While great advances in nutrition have been achieved to prepare for the June 2022 deadline, the business knows that they cannot risk taking their ‘eye off the ball’ when it comes to production challenges. “First and foremost, we have consumer pressures,” Simon explains. “Consumers are increasingly demanding higher animal wel- fare standards, which we applaud; however, our challenge is to find the balance between optimal welfare and the safe and sustainable production of meat. It’s something that will not lessen in importance, so it will remain at the centre of our work moving forward.” From a physiological perspective, the
business is broadening its understanding of microbiota and how nutrition impacts on gut development. “We have a lot of concepts exploring the development of microbiota and how the ability to influence it in the first ten weeks will positively affect lifetime performance. Stronger piglets at weaning will obviously cope better with reduced antibiotics, so this aspect is very important,” Simon added. AB Neo’s customers also fea- ture centrally within their future research strategy with larger customers having more influence in the production chain. Transparency will be critical, according to Simon, and the part- nerships generated will be much more collaborative than just looking at nutrition. They will also include wider influences, for example meat quality.
Examples of success Today not only does the business now have a substantial cen- tral technical reference library to draw from, but also a series of university projects. Alongside our own investigation resources, they have been developing and implementing a new under- standing of fibre and protein digestion in piglets and how these new understandings can be applied in the development of non-zinc dietary programmes. “We’re on the edge of a very exciting time,” Simon concluded. “As a group we can leverage our technically strong and diverse knowledge base so that we arrive at conclusions faster and more efficiently than ever be- fore. We have set out to become leaders in neonate nutrition, and I believe our customers will be the winners.”
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 8, 2021 17
The new re- search facility will allow for evaluation of pre-weaning nu- trition, as well as links to grower/ finisher farms.
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