them into proteins for domestic animals, fish and livestock, plants, and human beings’. Explaining this weight of insect protein research and development


knowledge to consumers is still a challenge, however, a fact which helps to explain why a high profile Ÿnsect team committed nine days of their time to the recent Paris International Agriculture Show. Their objective was to get their product messages across to influencers, running a workshop programme which included education for children on insect breeding, advice for plant growers on insect-based fertilisers and an offer to journalists to taste insect-based cereal bars, burgers, and pasta. Talking to Ÿnsect’s head of marketing, Alice Pabst Landon, ahead


of the French event, I focused on the company’s animal feed priorities, seeking a progress report on current feed ingredient developments. “The EU only authorised the inclusion of insect proteins in poultry


and pig feed in August 2021, so we’re still at a relatively early stage of market development,” she said. “While the reaction from our feed production customers is very good and open to the concept of using insect proteins, they won’t change formulas merely because something is new or trendy. We’re therefore still involved in running a lot of product tests and assessments, looking at a wide range of ingredient combinations. It’s not a simple process. “We definitely see ourselves as one of the new feed solutions for the future, however, offering good nutrition and sustainability benefits.” Ms Landon also highlighted the super-local potential of insect protein


production, stating that 99% of the diet for the company’s mealworms is drawn to areas surrounding their European vertical production farms, two of which located in France and the other in the Netherlands. “As a result, we don’t have to depend on any type of shipment


for our own raw materials,” she said. “In addition, making our own mealworm feeding mix gives us a high degree of flexibility in our sourcing of raw materials.”


Environment friendly farming In addition to adjusting to the energy and raw material supply shocks of the past year, our industry has also had to focus on how farmers may respond to rising political and consumer pressures concerning the need for them to become more environmentally sensitive in how future crops and livestock are produced. In this context, there’s a fascinating piece of research going on


in Scotland which is seeking to assess the cost and output impacts attached to switching from intensive crop management to a more sustainable integrated approach. The headline conclusion, albeit from just the first six years of an


18-year project, is that farmers following the environmental route would be £500 per hectare per year worse off in terms of crop returns. Even if national governments are willing to cover such a ‘loss’ while


the desired new environmental systems bed in, there are still some reduced output implications to be considered, a prospect which doesn’t fit at all well with current raw material supply pressures. The Scottish research is being carried out by the Hutton Institute,


Dundee and Aberdeen, whose 18-year crop rotation trial has been running since 2011, comparing conventional and integrated cropping methods, run side by side. While the integrated areas are currently


PAGE 18 MARCH/APRIL 2023 FEED COMPOUNDER


producing better than expected soil health and environmental benefits, poorer on-farm cost-benefits were recorded for four of the six selected crops used in the rotation. The research team’s view is that this reduction in short-term


earnings could become a financial barrier to farmers’ future uptake of alternative crop management systems. That’s unless ‘appropriate financial incentives’ are provided by national governments. It’s still early days for the trial, which consists of three successively


run six-year rotations, the first starting in 2011, the second in 2017 and the third which is just beginning. Results from rotation one have just been published, while rotation two is currently deep in analysis. The hope is that the upfront costs of moving towards an integrated


approach will ease over time and that the margins available will improve as soil health increases. Farmers who make the switch to more environmentally friendly methods might also benefit in the longer term from being able to live with lower inputs, potentially making their production more resilient to economic shocks, such as the recent fertiliser and fuel price rises. The Hutton trial, which is the first of its type anywhere in Europe,


also highlights the fact that any future on-farm adjustments, such as this, will always have a knock-on impact on others. And that definitely includes our industry.


EIB warning No matter how daunting it may be to adopt environmentally friendly systems going forward, the alternative of sticking with the status quo is becoming increasingly unacceptable as a sustainable business model. I’m not suggesting our own industry has a problem with this,


far from it. However, Europe as a whole was given a clear ‘must do better’ warning in the latest investment report issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB). “Europe must raise productive investment spending significantly


if it is to keep pace with global competition and meet net-zero goals,” stated the Bank, adding that the gap in productive investment between the European Union and the United States, for example, is nearly 2% of GDP, a lag that has persisted for more than 10 years. Basing its findings on a survey answered by around 12,500


European businesses, the EIB said the share of firms engaged in innovation dropped last year compared to 2021, with businesses naming uncertainty, skill shortages and high energy costs as the major constraints on investment. “Europe’s future depends on our ability to transform and embrace


digital and green transitions,” said EIB Chief Economist, Debora Revoltella. “This calls for bold investment in both the public and the private sectors as the opportunity of a green transition cannot be missed.” It’s a tough message for business leaders to absorb when so


much is happening to production and processing costs, labour, raw materials, and food security. However, for those who are able, and willing, to respond positively to such demands, there are clear rewards to be gathered from Europe’s new spirit of domestic self-sufficiency and innovative determination.


Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd www.cfegroup.com


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