to be seen in this context. A new partnership of a different type sees Hendrix Genetics,


Boxmeer, The Netherlands, and the international Solidaridad network working together to promote sustainable poultry production in Mozambique and Zambia. The new arrangement combines dual-purpose birds from Hendrix Genetics’ SASSO breed with the farming network infrastructure provided by Solidaridad, all geared to giving African poultry smallholder farmers access to secure income and improved food security. The new partners added that they recognised challenges remain


with poultry feed, gender barriers, and access to inputs, especially with some farmers having to travel over 500km to access poultry feed. In seeking to help reduce such unbearable travel costs for the most


remote producers, Solidaridad, as the project’s implementing partner, is working to develop sustainable production practices that provide profitable markets for smallholder soy farmers. The aim is to make use of soy crops as a source of poultry feed, reducing waste, and producing more with fewer resources. This, they say, has the potential to transform the Southern African soy sector and could help increase sustainability in the region. Third on the Dutch-led partnership trail is Trouw Nutrition, Amersfoort,


The Netherlands, who are just over four months into a new strategic research and development partnership with the University of Alberta (UoA), one of Canada’s top teaching and research universities. The aim of this joint initiative is to create opportunities to both deepen


existing collaborations as well as to explore new research and innovation opportunities in animal nutrition.


HEAVY READING FOR SCOTS BEEF PRODUCERS Beef farming and industry leaders in Scotland have been presented with an extensive list of climate change proposals by the Scottish Government- appointed Suckler Beef Climate Group (SBCC). Released at the end of October, the so-called ‘blueprint report’ seeks


to show how the country’s beef sector might reduce its climate change impact and enhance the environment at the same time, all the while making the Scottish suckler beef sector more resilient and efficient. Running to 210 densely written pages, the report will take some


digesting, not least the section on how farmers might go about adjusting their cattle feeding plans and processes if they’re to achieve a meaningful reduction in livestock-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Scotland’s climate change ambitions are already clear enough


with GHG emissions due for a 75% reduction from current levels by 2030 as a stepping-stone to becoming a net-zero nation by 2045. The country’s farmers will be expected to play their part in achieving these two GHG targets. “There are already countless studies available to highlight the


potential to reduce emissions from the cattle system,” states the report. “For example, increasing the feed conversion efficiency of finishing cattle through targeted genetic selection can reduce methane emissions by 15% and lower feed inputs by up to 13%.” Behind such bold claims and stark figures, however, the discussion


on how farmers might adjust feed rations and feeding regimes, is a little more complex. Even this part of the report requires more than 3500 words of comment and explanation.


The general feed sector proposal is to encourage farmers to take steps to reduce GHG emissions by: a. improving the productivity and performance of breeding, store and/ or finishing cattle by meeting nutritional demands through better feed rationing. This includes the use of appropriate feed additives to ensure that the herd generates optimum returns on inputs; and, b. encouraging a greater focus on homegrown and local cattle feeds and the avoidance of imported feed products to reduce emissions associated with feed transportation, making use of nutritionally important by-products and co-products from other industries, and focusing on sourcing feeds from domestic systems where environmental and societal protection can be safe-guarded and monitored throughout the production process and beyond. Densely written, as I said, but this section is worth some study, not


least as a positive and pro-active route to helping ensure compound feeds and essential additives are viewed as part of the answer to climate change issues, rather than part of the problem. There’s also a degree of some urgency attached to this report,


as made clear by SBCC Chair, Jim Walker, a former NFU Scotland president who was commissioned by the Scottish Government to produce this new report and drive the GHG emissions issue forward. “Scotland has a unique opportunity to show the world that


modern food production can operate hand in hand with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “The fight against global warming, the preservation of our precious biodiversity, and improving economic activity, employment and food security, are so important we can’t afford to wait any longer talking about them. We need to act now.”


KEEPING BROILERS CALM Time for a little peace, at least in the chicken house, and it could be good for feed sales. New research findings from The Netherlands have shown that extra


feeding is beneficial to broiler breeders, keeping them calm and content, and therefore highly productive. The precise conclusion is that broiler breeders which are fed twice


a day (instead of once) display less foraging and pecking behaviour and more eating and resting behaviour. Furthermore, some birds produced more eggs. Researchers at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) came


up with their ‘right nutrients at the right time’ discovery as part of a programme co-financed by the Consortium Breeders In Technology and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The WUR team were initially looking for ways to enable broiler breeders to stay fit and productive for more than the current average of 60 weeks, an objective driven by a desire to boost egg output sustainability and quality. Testing whether twice-daily feeding had an impact on the quality of


the eggshell, however, they found that this approach not only improved the strength of the eggshell but also left the birds concerned in a much more contented state. While I must add that there is no reported evidence that the birds eat


more under the twice-a-day routine, the linking of feed and happiness in egg production has to be a feed-based positive, certainly in my book.


FEED COMPOUNDER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 PAGE 15


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  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68