By Dr. Shiva Kumar, Director – Technical, TN South Asia

Poultry derived food products are the most important animal protein sources globally. India is the third-largest egg producer and the fourth-largest chicken producer in the world. Poultry meat and eggs are the most important animal protein sources available, and a significant increase is forecasted in demand.

But there is also a significant number of challenges facing the Indian poultry and allied industries with respect to sustainable production of poultry meat and eggs where market demands, and consumer needs will put more constraints on the production systems and methods. These challenges are dynamic and diverse, and solutions and opportunities will require development of appropriate technology, using and advancing our knowledge base.

Sustainable poultry farming is based on three pillars: environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable. For all these pillars, innovation will be key and hence, advances in animal nutrition will play an important role, where we have concrete challenges in economical optimization of the value chain and meeting product quality demands, whilst safeguarding animal wellbeing and human health.

Trouw Nutrition is an organisation that deeply cares about building a more sustainable future – both for our industry and for consumers. We are committed to transform science into actionable, practical nutrition and farm management solutions to help customers produce quality poultry meat and eggs. We support food producers with the technology that puts advice and data at their fingertips.

Feeding the Future is the essence of Trouw Nutrition (a Nutreco company), expressing the challenge to double food production while halving the carbon footprint. Our ambition is to contribute meeting the rising global demand with growing number of world population in a sustainable manner. The Trouw Nutrition way focuses on innovation, quality, sustainability, and integrated solutions.

Our solutions are built on four solid pillars. Each one contributes to help our customers adding more value to their business in a sustainable and a safe way.

Trouw Nutrition is built on a strong commitment to transform science into actionable, practical nutrition and farm management solutions. We focus on our four innovation pillars that deliver sustainability benefits to animals, farms, and the environment:

Early Life Nutrition:
Birds are confronted with various stressful events during their life, especially in critical transition periods such as hatch and transport. Provision of nutrition and water during the immediate post-hatch period and during transit from hatchery to farm has shown promising effects on broiler performance and health in the first days and weeks of life (Bergoug et al., 2013; Published results, Trouw Nutrition 2016). Early life interventions do not per se result in higher market weights or improved feed efficiency in each flock, but it will contribute to more stable and consistent performance and a reduced risk of birds developing health problems.

Health Life:
Animal Nutrition is an important part of the solution to help to contain Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Adequate animal nutrition (well-balanced and well-formulated feed) combined with good hygiene practices on farms and proper housing are key in promoting animal health and welfare. A balanced diet of compound feed supported by specialty feed ingredients/additives meets the animal’s physiological requirements and maintains the balance of the gut flora. Poultry Gut health is in fact a key factor in keeping birds healthy and resilient to stressors, such as heat or pathogens.

Trouw Nutrition Poultry Gut Health Solution, integrates Farm, Feed and Health approach.

Feed​ – Premixes, Young Animal Feed (ChickCare, NutriOpt, feed formulation advice including Intellibond C,
Feed safety: Fysal/Fylax/Toxo
Farm​ – Advice on farm management​ and biosecurity​, Selko pH (drinking water) with dosing systems
Health​ – Selko pH (water) + Selacid (feed), Gut health evaluation​

Water and feed acidification will contribute to maintaining a stable microbiota in poultry. The efficacy of organic and inorganic acids can be further enhanced by inclusion of medium chain fatty acids or other natural antimicrobial compounds that exert a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity at relative neutral pH ranges.

Precision Nutrition:
From an economical point of view, we need in general to meet nutrient requirements of the birds in the most efficient and economical way and assure that animals are in good health to exploit their potential.

Efficient use of resources e.g. feed ingredients will benefit environmentally sound production. In this respect, use and conversion of co-products from the food and biofuel industry to highly animal nutrition products is contributing to sustainable production as well. One of the challenges in our industry is to be flexible with our raw material usage to manage higher use of low-quality ingredients and anticipate on fluctuations in raw material prices, whilst at the same time we need to have grip on variation in raw material quality and assure that the feed delivers the same high performance.

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid technique to evaluate the nutrient profile of feed ingredients. A more advanced precision nutrition system such as NutriOpt from Trouw Nutrition has incorporated NIRS, with its extensive nutrient databases.

NutriOpt is an integrated nutritional precision-feeding tool from Trouw Nutrition, which enables the poultry farmer or grower or feed miller to optimize both feed costs and production results to maximize financial benefits in the value chain. It consists of several key elements that complement and support one another in optimizing animal nutrition, performance and associated costs through precise real-time analysis, modelling and calculation.

To offer real-time feed analysis, Trouw Nutrition has introduced the NutriOpt On-site Adviser (NOA). This innovative solution reveals the real nutritional value of your feed ingredients and helps to improve performance and profitability. Powered by our comprehensive NutriOpt database, the NutriOpt On-site Adviser provides with accurate analytical results to make better-informed choices.

The portable NIR scanner and the mobile app enable you to get analytical results of nutrients in raw materials and finished feed onsite. The mobile app connects the handheld scanner to the NutriOpt nutritional database and advice on the nutritional value of the scanned materials. The NutriOpt On-site can be even connected to your decision-making tools for a smooth optimisation process.

NOA can perform convenient analysis without samples leaving your farm, and the poultry farm owner can enjoy a greater control over their animal performance.
In relation to feed safety, mycotoxins are probably one of the most important risk factors that need to be controlled among the Indian poultry Industry. It is also encouraging to note, that rapid diagnostics are now more widespread globally adopted for quality control to take appropriate measures once mycotoxin contamination in raw materials is detected. It is an essential part of feed quality assurance and with the right measures the risks can be mitigated, which will prevent unexpected performance losses and health problems.

Measuring mycotoxin levels in feed can be time-consuming and requires specialised and costly methodology. Trouw Nutrition offers “Mycomaster”, a tool to analyse mycotoxins.

Mycomaster provides rapid, cost-effective, and quantitative mycotoxin analyses of over 40 validated feed raw materials and final feed. And it works on-site, bringing flexibility to testing frequency, in support to Feed quality control, formulation decisions and remediation strategies.

Tackling the challenges:
The importance of using a holistic approach to enable successful conversion of feed into high quality poultry protein in a sustainable way is evident for the Indian poultry producers. These high producing birds must be able to consume, digest, absorb and convert sufficient nutrients to meet their genetic potential, and do this consistently from flock to flock. To do this successfully and achieve high consistent production with acceptable risk will require increased use of existing technology and expanding our knowledge and information network. At Trouw Nutrition, we have the tools to support the challenges faced by the poultry producers to make better choices to support the production chain. For a complete overview of our tools and services, please contact your nearest Trouw Nutrition expert/representative.

For further information, kindly write to us at customercareindia@trouwnutrition.com
or visit our website: www.trouwnutrition.in

With bright and cheerful expressions, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Marisa Gerards,
was joined by De Heus International Director Rutger Oudejans, company CEO Koen De Heus,
as well as Mr. Tanveer Malik, Country Director India, and Mr. Parveen Kumar, ASM,
in a memorable Lamp Lighting Ceremony with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana, who have traditionally relied on cultivating traditional crops, are now seeking ways to diversify their agricultural practices. They aim to transition into horticulture, dairy farming, poultry, fishery, piggery, and other sectors to improve their earnings. De Heus, a top 10 global animal feed company based in the Netherlands, is offering hope to these farmers by investing in a state-of-the-art plant in Rajpura, Punjab, with an investment of Rs 142 crore. The plant will produce high-quality animal feed and promote best farming practices to boost farmers’ incomes.

During the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Rs 142 crore De Heus animal feed plant in Rajpura, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann unveiled the commemorative plaque, with the company’s CEO, Koen De Heus, standing beside him.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann highlighted the state’s attractiveness to global business tycoons, attributing it to the relentless efforts of the state government. He emphasized that diversifying agricultural practices was crucial for the region, and De Heus’s investment would play a significant role in supporting this transition.

This investment marks the first major commitment by a Dutch company in Punjab. The Netherlands is renowned as the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural products. The De Heus plant will produce a full range of livestock products, including compound feed, concentrates, base mix, and dairy mineral mixes. In the first phase, set to be completed by the first quarter of 2025, the plant will produce 180 kilo metric tons (kMT) of animal feed, with potential for expansion to 240 kMT. The factory will feature two dedicated production lines.

On this occasion, approximately 2,000 people, including farmers from the poultry, dairy, and pig industries, graced the ceremony with their presence. De Heus displayed exceptional hospitality throughout the program.

Chief Minister Mann reaffirmed his promise to attract investments to the state and highlighted the entrepreneurial spirit of Punjabis, which has gained recognition worldwide. He stated that the state government had successfully attracted investments worth Rs 50,840 crore, including significant commitments from companies like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Virgio, Class, Tafe, Hindustan Liver, and others, creating employment opportunities for 2.25 lakh youth.

The Chief Minister emphasized the state’s transformation into an industrial-friendly environment with a genuine single-window system. He underlined that the state government had shifted from signing MoUs with families to engaging directly with the state and its people, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Chief Minister Mann expressed his belief that the De Heus plant would serve as a catalyst for supplementing farmers’ income. He highlighted the industrious and resilient nature of both Punjabis and the Dutch, expressing optimism about their collaboration and the economic growth it would generate.

The Chief Minister envisioned the industrialists associated with this project as brand ambassadors for Punjab, turning the state into a global industrial hub. He assured a conducive environment for businesses in the state, emphasizing the availability of excellent infrastructure, power, skilled human resources, and a favorable industrial and work culture.

De Heus India, a wholly owned subsidiary of De Heus, will be responsible for establishing the plant. De Heus is a century-old company with a global turnover of 7 billion euros in 2022. The company specializes in providing nutritional products for animals and aims to support farmers in achieving optimal animal health and performance for better earnings.

Koen De Heus, CEO of De Heus, emphasized the company’s commitment to bringing progress to farmers and local communities. He mentioned that India is an essential market for De Heus, where they aim to contribute to sustainable farming practices and job creation while working with local suppliers and partners.

Mr. Rutger Oudejans, Business Group Director (Premix & Specialties) and Mr. Tanveer Malik, Country Director India; General Director India; and Mr. Amit Mittan, Commercial Director of De Heus India, provided insights into the company’s mission to support farmers through high-quality animal feeds and extensive knowledge in animal nutrition, husbandry, and science.

The investment in Punjab aligns with De Heus’s global expansion strategy to build a local presence, serve farmers with top-notch animal feeds, and provide practical farming advice. The company operates more than 60 production locations in over 20 countries, exporting its products to more than 50 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
Ms. Marisa Gerards, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to India, Nepal, and Bhutan, expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration between the Netherlands and Punjab. She suggested organizing a significant cycling event in Punjab, given the Netherlands’ reputation as a cycling-friendly country. She also highlighted the existing Indo-Dutch Centres of Excellence in potato seeds and floriculture in Punjab, with another centre focused on onions under construction, as examples of successful cooperation between the two regions beyond agriculture.