Wrapping up July: What’s new in the world of pigs?
It may be summertime in the northern hemisphere but that doesn’t mean business development has calmed down. In July various new swine product innovations were launched and there are various cooperations and acquisitions to report on in the pig feed business.
Weda exhibits 10 farrowing pens
German housing and equipment company Weda Dammann & Westerkamp will present 10 different farrowing pens to interested parties on site in Lutten, Germany, where the company will demonstrate its solutions for different trough types, for example, or simple locking systems for the pen and sow protection cage.
Schauer launched MamaDos and BeFree
Austrian livestock equipment company Schauer has launched MamaDos (pictured left), an 8-litre central dry feeding system that is controlled by the Topo feeding computer, making it possible either to adjust the amount of feed per sow and day as well as to feed at several dosing intervals for each animal, or it is sensor-controlled by the sow’s feed intake.
The company also introduced the BeFree free farrowing pen (pictured right), a modular concept for the piglet nest that allows it to be flexibly adapted to different size ratios. Due to the unique, patented geometry of the farrowing pen, it is possible to ensure a movement area of 5m2 for the sows with entire 6.5m2 of pen area.
Osborne introduces new feed bin agitator
US-based equipment company Osborne Industries has introduced Flow Pro (pictured left) to solve the problem of feed bridging in bulk bins at farms. The automatic feed agitation system uses a rotating agitator inside a bulk bin’s boot to promote first in, first out, mass-flow of feed.
The company has also released the Small Animal Feed Intake Recording Equipment (SaFire), pictured right, an automated pig performance testing system for nursery-sized pigs in small groups, which automatically monitors individual feed intake and growth of pigs from 6 kg to 23 kg.
Weltec Biopower celebrates 20th anniversary
Founded on 1 July 2001, Weltec Biopower has celebrated 20 years in business in the construction and operation of biogas and biomethane plants. The company has implemented over 350 energy plants in 25 countries for clients in industries from waste and food to agriculture and wastewater.
Choice transports pigs to China
French genetics company Choice, together with its partners, successfully flew 1,450 animals GGP female and male pigs from Paris-Vatry Airport to Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport in China. The pigs were selected for their genetics and health. In another flight, a full 747 travelled to Nanning Airport in China with high health status GGP pigs.
Devenish’s Agrinewal to manage carbon balance
Devenish, in collaboration with Accenture, has launched Agrinewal to help de-carbonise the global agriculture sector by supporting farmers to improve their carbon balance. By measuring on-farm carbon emissions, the company estimates it will enable over 5 million tonnes of carbon to be sequestered by 2030 through this cloud-based technology.
Adisseo: Minority stake in PigChamp Pro Europa
Adisseo announces an agreement to take 24.99% participation through a capital increase in the company PigChamp Pro Europa. The company says this investment represents a key milestone in the Precision Livestock Farming where it aims to invest and bring innovative solutions to the market.
Nutreco acquires Bigsal in Brazil
Nutreco has completed an agreement to acquire Bigsal from H.I.G. Capital. As of July 1, Bigsal’s plant in the state of Rondônia, became part of Nutreco’s animal nutrition division, Trouw Nutrition, as part of its expansion strategy in Brazil and Latin America.
Nutreco has also announced its intention to acquire Nutrimin, the Danish producer of farm minerals, concentrates and piglet feed.
StartLife links Agrifirm to innovative agrifood start-ups
Wageningen University & Research affiliated agrifoodtech start-up accelerator, StartLife, teams up with the Royal Agrifirm Group to support its engagement with its European start-up ecosystem. The partnership aims to expand their networks and solutions for a responsible and sustainable food chain.
Biomin participates in project on gut microbiota
Biomin has announced its involvement in a 4-year, € 10 million EU-backed research consortium effort to address the challenges of pig and poultry production by creating a new technology to analyse animal microbiota interactions at the microscale and produce 3D visualisations. Led by the University of Copenhagen, Project 3D’omics involves 13 partner organisations from 11 countries, and receives funds from the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Platform.
Hamlet Protein opens new headquarters
Hamlet Protein, producer of soy-based protein ingredients for young piglet, poultry, and cattle feed, has opened its new global headquarters in Horsens, Denmark. The office expansion allows the company to integrate all departments into 1 fully-owned building. The company has a production plant in Denmark and another in the US.
Danisco: Launch of phytase enzyme in Asia Pacific
Danisco Animal Nutrition has expanded its phytase enzyme, Axtra Phy Gold in Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. The product was first launched in India in 2020 and will eventually be available across all markets in Asia Pacific, pending regulatory authorisations.
Sustainable feeding with circular co-products
German feed manufacturer, Crespeo, and Dutch co-product valorisation partner, Looop, intensify their focus on high-quality, cost-effective and ecologically viable feed solutions. Looop distributes a wide variety of organic co-products from the food and fermentation industry, with Crespeo contributing wheat production suitable for pig feeding. This intensive cooperation contributes to the circular economy and ensures less wastage of raw materials.
Lallemand opens new South Korea office
Lallemand Animal Nutrition has announced the opening of its new office in Seoul, South Korea. The new office will be led by Choi Si Yeong, country manager for the company in South Korea. Paul-Antoine Croizé, business area director South East Asia commended, “The launch of our Seoul office advances our corporate commitment to building strong relationships with customers.”
Evonik expands NIR services for feed
Evonik now offers customers in the feed industry a more comprehensive service with the implementation of the ISO 12099 standard for near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), updated and expanded calibrations for feed raw materials and feeds, along with new functionalities in AminoNIR Portable. The company has further noted its comparative life cycle assessment, which analysed the environmental impact of feeding swine.
Feed monitoring by McAree and Lvlogics
McAree Engineering, together with Irish firm Lvlogics, has developed a feed silo monitoring system that is being trialled on several Irish farms. The system aims to “make silos smart” through its ability to provide real-time stock levels, measure and control silo temperature and humidity.
De Heus to acquire Coppens
Royal De Heus reaches an agreement to acquire Coppens Diervoeding, a 400,000-tonne capacity animal feed plant in the Netherlands. The transaction requires approval from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets, and if approved, will bring the number of De Heus’ animal feed plants in the Netherlands to 10.
Sow research by Cargill and Carthage
Cargill and Carthage Veterinary Services have entered into a multi-year agreement focused on expanding commercial sow nutrition and health research, aimed at optimising sow performance and health, delivering more and healthier pigs into the pork supply chain, and supporting producer success/profitability. The agreement includes 4 to 5 research studies/year, which will look at diet formulation, micronutrition, use of technology and operational interventions.
Hipra launches new vaccination website
Spanish animal health company Hipra has launched its new website where customers will find updated information and benefits on the company’s intradermal needle-free device for swine vaccination (Hipradermic). In addition, at the site also the company’s vaccination data software management can be found: HipraLink Vaccination.
Hysolv launches cost-effective cleaner
A new cleaner for animal housing, veterinary clinics and food processing industries has been launched by Hysolv. Alkaliene, a fast-foaming, non-corrosive, first-stage cleaner, can be used at concentrations from 1:320 to 1:50 (0.3 to 2%) to cut through biofilm on hard surfaces, equipment and vehicles before final disinfection.
Apiam Data Pig to assist Australian pig sector
Apiam Animal Health’s electronic recording system, Data Pig, is being rolled out nationally in Australia to assist pork producers, in partnership with their veterinarians, to upscale record keeping, enhance antimicrobial stewardship, monitor pig health and treatments in real-time and improve quality assurance and compliance.
