Company Using Plants For Better Animal Nutrition

Company Using Plants For Better Animal Nutrition International animal nutrition company Nutreco has opened the Garden of the Future, a hub for its phytotechnology activities. Phytotechnology, by definition, is the use of plants to solve technical problems. Traditionally, the phytotechnology industry utilized plant extractions or synthetic chemicals. “This approach required knowing exactly which chemical was responsible for the effect produced, and it trivialized the power of traditional medicine,” said Emma Wall, Nutreco Exploration’s director of development and deployment. “What we’re producing at Nutreco Exploration is always in a complex, never a single ingredient. Our phyto-complexes use the whole plant or complete plant extract, fully utilizing the amazing power of nature to help animals overcome the complex challenges they face today.” Wall explains that the approach requires the research team to respect nature. “These compounds are put together in plants for a reason. When you start taking them apart, you lose bioefficacy,” she says. “So, we’re trying to not only respect the observation of what we see in these plants, these phyto-complexes, but also respect that they’re meant to be together, that there’s redundancy in nature for a reason.” Many of the plants the company is working with haven’t been cultivated in the past. Species are collected from around the world and evaluated. A custom AI-assisted algorithm integrates the data collected from the field with the animals’ responses. “For the first time, we can measure the response that an individual plant, containing hundreds of specialized metabolites, triggers in a target animal,” says Dr. Bernd Büter, Nutreco Phytotechnology Program director. “For my work, it means that we can compare the response to individual plants, rank them and select the best.” All of Nutreco’s phytotechnology activity, from discovery and experimental cultivation to plant development and production, will be contained in the Garden of the Future hub. The phyto-complex development will accelerate significantly with the new facility. It includes a 5,400-sq. ft. experimental greenhouse for plant breeding and propagation. It also includes nearly 6,000 sq. yards of greenhouse for mass propagation and about 74 acres for open-air crop cultivation. A special Future Garden will display the facility’s novel plants. While the new hub is important, phyto-complex development is well underway. According to David Bravo, Nutreco’s chief science officer, the company has already introduced four phyto-complex products and has 17 more in its new product pipeline. “So far, we’ve collected around 450 unique plant material samples and are performing field trials and production in seven countries,” he says. The samples are tested and evaluated for their impact on animal nutrition. As nutritional challenges are addressed for a new product, the research team looks to the library of samples for possible phyto-complex solutions. Several products with such additives are being tested for methane reduction in cattle. A new product already introduced can help with dairy cow metabolic flexibility. “Farmers can be assured that all our new products from the garden plants undergo vigorous testing, at least 5 or 10 times in different conditions around the world, before being put on the market,” says Bravo. While the Garden of the Future is located in Switzerland, Nutreco is headquartered in the Netherlands. Nutreco companies include Trouw Nutrition (animal nutrition) and Skretting (aquaculture nutrition). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Nutreco, P.O. Box 299, 3800 AG Amersfoort, The Netherlands (ph +31 (0)88 053 2405; corpcomm@nutreco.com; www.nutreco.com).

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