De Heus acquires Brazilian feed producer Romagnoli

De Heus has signed an agreement to acquire Brazilian feed producer Romagnoli Ltda. The acquisition marks the further expansion of De Heus into the South American feed market, according to the company.
Romagnoli's specializes in the development and production of feed for dairy and beef cattle, supplying 1,000 farmers in and around the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil. The expectation is that the South American cattle feed market will grow significantly in the coming years, according to De Heus. In 2012 the company purchased Brazilian company Nutrifarms.

FOSS to hold feed analysis technical seminar at VIV Asia 2013

FOSS is exhibiting at VIV Asia 2013 (Hall 103, Booth F075) and will present a free technical seminar on how feed producers can make the best of raw materials through advanced feed analysis. The topics and presenters are:

• "Precise nutrition evaluation - Latest research" by Cecile Gady, research manager NIRS & feedstuff, Adisseo
• "Optimizing profits through NIR - Working relationship between Nutreco and FOSS in Asia" by Nabil Chinniah, vice president Asia Pacific, Trouw Nutrition Indonesia, a Nutreco company
• "Examples from instant quality optimization of feed, meat and dairy production" by Martin Andersson, Ph.D. and Kowalski Award in NIR & Chemometrics, FOSS Japan
The seminar will be held March 14, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
FOSS will also be part of VIV Aisa's official conference program. International Market Manager, Feed & Forage, Laura Locatelli will present the many options now available through near infrared (NIR) analytical technology to optimize feed production process and quality control. Locatelli will give the presentation at the CropTech-FeedTech Conference on March 13, at 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
In addition to its presentations, FOSS will be exhibiting a range of advanced in-line and bench top NIR analytical solutions for the feed and meat industries together with solutions for chemical analysis. Among the products on show is ProFoss feed analyzer for continuous inline analysis directly in the feed production process. For benchtop analysis in the laboratory or in the production, the NIRS DS2500 offers NIR accuracy for a broad range of applications, from checking protein content to determining the amount of digestible amino acids for an improved feed conversion ratio. The NIRS DA1650 analyzer for use in the laboratory or in the production environment will also be on show.

Feed now included in Global Food Safety Initiative guidance document

The Global Food Safety Initiative has reissued its Guidance Document Sixth Edition to include key elements related to the production of feed.
The document covers the feed safety management system, good manufacturing practice and HACCP-based requirements that shall be in place in a feed scheme’s standard, as well as requirements related to the competency of auditors carrying out feed production audits. Existing feed safety management schemes can now come forward for recognition through the Global Food Safety Initiative's benchmarking process, and if the scheme’s requirements are considered to be equivalent to those specified within the new guidance document, the scheme will achieve formal recognition by the initiative.
“Feed production is an integral part of the food supply chain," said Charles Stark, assistant professor, extension specialist — feed milling at North Carolina State University and chair of the Global Food Safety Initiative feed working group. "Experts worldwide recognize that unless feed is produced in a safe way, it can have a devastating impact on public health, the food and feed trade as well as food security. The working group was comprised of numerous industry stakeholders and we believe that what we have achieved is truly representative of the feed industry’s needs today.”

Find out about what took place at this year’s VIV China

VIV China took place in Beijing in early September, at the New China International Exhibition Center. With a technical program and commercial exhibition, the event’s organizers note that this year attracted a particularly high volume of visitors from overseas.
Some 370 exhibitors took part in the event and, while mainly from China, the exhibition halls attracted companies from at least 67 countries.
Doing business in China is different than in many other countries, and WATT has made a number of videos available to offer insight across the poultry, pig and feed industries.

WATT Dashboard delivers more than 200 livestock, commodity price, consumption statistics

WATT Agribusiness Dashboard, a one-stop source for worldwide poultry, pig, and animal feed production, consumption and price information, is now available at a reduced rate. The service is available with a seven-day free trial that requires no credit card, and full registration is now only $49 per month.
The dashboard features more than 200 customizable and downloadable livestock and commodity charts, and includes up-to-the-minute news updates from thousands of news sources around the world. You can learn more at www.wattdashboard.com.

European feed output declined in 2009

Analysts at European feed federation FEFAC now estimate that compound feed production in Europe’s EU-27 zone fell by about 4.5% in 2009, to just under 144 million metric tons. Feeds for all farm animal species were affected, most notably those for cattle (down by 8% to about 35 million tons) and for pigs (lower by 6% to 49 million tons). A smaller percentage reduction was registered for poultry feeds, falling by 1% to about 48 million tons.
According to FEFAC, the cattle feed production results reflected a severe contraction in the demand for dairy cow diets, mainly in the final six months of 2009, as the milk sector in Europe continued to undergo a crisis. Other negative influences came from the poor profitability of pig production and from a tendency for grain growers to use their cereals on the farm rather than selling them at a low price. The market also suffered from the economic pressures that persuaded consumers in Europe to switch to less expensive sources of animal protein.
However, the federation’s experts say 2010 will bring a continued recovery in consumer demand for poultry products, as well as an end to the downward trend in the pig cycle. Current forecasts for the next EU cereals harvest indicate relatively low price levels for new-crop grains, while soybean meal prices are expected to remain stable. The federation forecasts a 2% increase in the European Union’s output of poultry feed this year, accompanied by a stabilizing of pig feed output. But a continuation of difficulties in the dairy sector is predicted to lead to a further 1% fall in cattle feed production.
FEFAC data show that the six European countries producing the most poultry feed in 2009 were France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland. France is still substantially the largest producer, at 8.2 million metric tons, despite a 6% drop in its own poultry feed tonnage last year. French feed industry associations SNIA and Coop de France have reported that the volume of broiler chicken feeds produced in 2009 by French mills decreased by only about 1%, to approximately 3.1 million tons. Bigger feed reductions were seen for turkeys (down 8.7% to less than 1.5 million tons) and for geese (lower by 6.2% to 1.3 million tons). Laying-hen feeds in France actually showed a production increase last year, rising by 0.3% to about 2.12 million tons.

Feed congress to focus on food security

The third Global Feed & Food Congress runs April 20-23, 2010, in Cancun, Mexico. It is being organized by the International Feed Industry Federation with technical assistance from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Delegates will discuss their work to address food security issues, especially in developing countries.The feed group’s chairman, DaveCieslak , said, “We are working closely with FAO in this area because we recognize the importance of what they are doing, and because we understand that fully focused feed production will play an increasing role in achieving greater food security.”
The Mexican Feed Manufacturers Association, CONAFAB, will host the congress.

Institute for Feed Education and Research established in the US

The American Feed Industry Association has established the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), a tax-exempt 501(3)c foundation with a primary mission to sustain the future of food and feed production through research and education. IFEEDER is soliciting funds for researching aspects of sustainability and enhancing productivity.
IFEEDER is governed by a board of trustees and administered in part by the AFIA. The AFIA will not directly support IFEEDER but will provide staff time and resources, especially in the formative stages of the organization.
A letter to the industry from Allen Gunderson, chair of the board of trustees, emphasizes the critical need for leadership and funding to establish IFEEDER and to initiate projects.

Tell us about industry trends in poultry nutrition, feeding

Participate in the 2010 WATT Poultry Nutrition & Feeding Survey and help us identify the top challenges facing the poultry industry in nutrition and feeding. The survey will discover how the industry is responding to key trends involving supply chain integrity, composition of rations, sustainability, investment and more. Survey results will appear in upcoming issues of WATT agribusiness publications including Poultry International, WATT PoultryUSA, Feed International and at www.WATTAgNet.com.
Click here to go to the easy-to-complete survey form that takes only minutes to answer.

Feed output takes hit in Brazil

The decline in the global economy has hit Brazil's feed production sector hard.
For the first half of 2009, total feed production was down 3.8% from the same period a year earlier, with beef cattle and dairy cattle sectors both showing greater than double-digit declines, according to data from the Brazilian Feed Industry Association.
The only categories to show improvement over 2008 in the fourth largest feed producing country behind the U.S., the European Union, and China, were layer feed use, which was up a modest 1%, and fish & shrimp feed demand, up an impressive 18%. Read the full blog on AnimalAgNet.

Managing risk during stormy times

How feed companies are managing risk during boom and bust. Read the full article.

Rain delays cause rise in feed prices

Corn and soybeans prices are rising as the harvest waits in wet fields, according to reports. The Chicago Board of Trade was selling corn for approximately $3.70 a bushel and soybeans at $9.73.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released an update stating only 14% of corn and 13% of soybeans have been harvested.