Far Eastern Agriculture issue 2 2014

Optimal water supply for quality produce

Preview of FIAAP, VICTAM & GRAPAS

Fibre diet leads to better gut health

Go nuts over peanuts

Zero in on Zinc for high nutrition

Poultry

Plant extract can help combat pig diseases

VOLUME 31 ISSUE 2

ISSUE TWO 2014

US$15.00 (UK£9.00)

Calorie-rich food makes livestock climate-friendly - p18

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Contents

Ph

oto

: ww

w.s

xc.h

u.c

om

Bulletin4 A round-up of key developments in the regional market

Agenda6 Philippines sees domestic demand rise for sugar, Indonesia could emerge among top

three wheat importers in the world, Dairy sector in India set to hit a record high in 2015, ASEAN to set its own standard for shrimp supply, Vietnam firm builds complex for Australian cattle

Events9 Preview of FIAAP, VICTAM and GRAPAS, CAHE, VIV India and Europe

Review of Pig, Poultry & Dairy Focus Asia, ILDEX Vietnam

Livestock15 Overheated soy harms chick immunity

16 Improve plucking during poultry processing

20 Feather meal good source of energy for swine

Crops27 Climate-smart solutions for better farming in Vietnam

28 IRRI introduces salt-tolerant rice varieties in the Philippines

Equipment30 The latest innovation in agricultural and livestock technologies

Moreover35 The going gets tough for fake pearls

Almex b.v ........................................................................9

AWILA Anlagenbau GmbH ............................................21

CNHI International S.A. ....................................................2

Eurofeed Technologies S.p.a. ..........................................7

Impex Barneveld b.v......................................................34

Lubing Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG ......................36

Olmix ............................................................................19

Omex Agrifluids Ltd.......................................................23

PEL-tuote Oy ................................................................31

PT Napindo Media Ashatama (Indo Livestock 2014) ....11

Schauer Agrotronic GmbH ............................................29

Unipoint AG ..................................................................34

Advertisers Index

New study to identify best shrimp-farming practices

New method can help improvemaize yield in Southeast Asia

29

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China dairy major opens research centre in Europe

CHINA’S YILI GROUP has unveiled a dairy research anddevelopment facility at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.The centre is the first Chinese R&D unit in Europe and will focus oncow cultivation, dairy product research and food safety. Companypresident Pan Gang said that Europe will become the mostimportant part of the company’s research base.Gang added, “We shall not only cooperate with the top researchinstitutions, but also continue to conduct the world-level research.We will also invite global experts into our R&D team.”The centre will focus on milk cow cultivation, dairy product researchand food safety.Wageningen University chairman Aalt Dijkhuizen welcomed thelaunch and commended China on its milk producing status.

Hamlet Protein appoints new distributors in Asia

HAMLET PROTEIN HAS announced the appointment of two newdistributors for the Asia region. Yptech Co Ltd. for the Japanesemarket and Nuevo Milenio for the Philippines market.Nuevo Milenio, established in 2001, specialises in the importationand distribution of products for livestock and poultry. Their salesnetwork covers the Philippines and is complemented by a technicalteam with specialisations in both nutrition and veterinary medicine. Yptech Co Ltd. provides products that contribute to safety, security,and improvements in productivity by providing functional feed thatis gentle to animals, people, and the environment. It aims to providethe domestic animals with an ideal environment which helps createthe quality meats, eggs and dairy products.

Nutreco expands in Asian region

DUTCH ANIMAL NUTRITION producer Nutreco is expandingits presence in Asia as part of its long-term growth prospectsin the Asian market.With two new state-of-the-art plants in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh Cityarea) and Indonesia (East Java) and a remodel of its Chinese plantin Xiangtan (Hunan), Nutreco will increase its focus on theproduction of premixes and farm minerals. The Vietnamese facilitywill be operational in the second quarter of 2014 and the plants inIndonesia and China in Q1 2015.The opening of Nutreco’s fourth and fifth premix facility in Asia andthe remodelling of the Xiangtan plant confirm the company's

strategy of expanding its presence in growth geographies such asAsia. The total investment amounts to US$20.75mn and is part ofNutreco’s strategy ‘Driving sustainable growth’, which is aboutgrowing and improving profitability by providing innovative andsustainable nutritional solutions.

Thai Union Frozen aims for US$4 billion in 2014

THAI UNION FROZEN Products, world’s largest canned tunaproducer, has announced that it aims for sales of US$4bn in 2014,up nine per cent from 2013, with an estimated gross profit margin ofat least 14 per cent. Thai Union, which makes the ‘Chicken of theSea’ brand and counts Wal-Mart and Costco among its buyers,planned to invest US$108mn this year, mostly to improveproduction, Wai Yat Paco Lee, head of investor relations, said.

Filipino energy firm eyes geothermal fish farms

A PHILIPPINES-BASED renewable energy developer plans toventure into fish farming jointly with various aquaculture farms inMindoro by utilising geothermal resources for the production ofhealthier and tastier fish varieties.Under the plan, Emerging Power Inc. (EPI) will allow localaquaculture enterprises to tap steam and geothermal fluid from theMontelago Geothermal Power Plant in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, toproduce more than 10 tonnes of Triple-A tilapia, sea bass andshrimp annually.The joint ventures with local fish farms will be launchedsimultaneously with the commissioning of the US$180mn 40MWpower plant in 2016. EPI launched the geothermal power plantproject in February.

Amlan International appoints managers in Vietnam

AMLAN INTERNATIONAL, Awholly-owned subsidiary ofOil-Dri Corporation of America(NYSE: ODC) dedicated toanimal health, recently hiredDinh Doan Cao Vinh as SalesManager and Tran Nhat Minhas Technical Manager inVietnam. Vinh and Minh join agrowing team of AmlanInternational experts in the Asia Pacific region who are focused oneducating producers on the benefits of Amlan gut health productsfor livestock. Vinh has many years of experience as a sales managerservicing major feed mills, producers and veterinarians. Minh comeswith a strong technical background in sales of nutrition products forlivestock and aqua species.

Meriden distributor wins agribusiness award

CORAZON P. OCCIDENTAL, MD of Vethealth (Meriden’s distributorin the Philippines), was presented with the PVMA OutstandingVeterinarian in Agribusiness Award at the 81st PVMA ScientificConference and Annual Convention held recently in the Philippines.The award recognises the contribution that Occidental has made tothe agribusiness industry in the Philippines. Occidental said, “To be chosen as the PVMA OutstandingVeterinarian in Agribusiness for 2014 gave me not only a moment ofjoy but also a sense of pride. I am grateful to the awards committee,I’m honoured and feel that all the years of hard work in agribusinesshave been rewarded.”

Wageningen University and its R&D centre are leading researchinstitutions

Bulletin

FAR EASTERN AGRICULTURE Issue Two 2014 | www.fareasternagriculture.com

(Left) Dinh Doan Cao Vinh and Tran Nhat Minh

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APRIL23 -25 Ildex India 2014 Bangalore, India www.ildex.com

MAY8-14 Interpak Germany Dusseldorf, Germany www.interpack.com

18-20 China Animal Husbandry Expo 2014 Qingdao, China www.caaa.com.cn

20-22 VIV Europe Utrecht, Netherlands www.viv.net

JUNE7-11 World Aquaculture Adelaide Conference & Trade Show Adelaide, Australia www.aquaculture.org.au

9-10 4th International Conference on Asia Agriculture and Animal Bangkok, Thailand www.icaaa.org

18-19 Risks in Agri Trading: Emerging Markets 2014 Summit Geneva, Switzerland www.agritradingrisks.com

18-20 9th Indo Livestock Expo & Forum Jakarta, Indonesia www.indolivestock.com

20-21 International Conference of Aquaculture Indonesia Bandung, Indonesia http://icai.aquaculture-mai.org

JULY14-17 I7th Annual International Symposium on Agriculture Athens, Greece www.atiner.gr/agriculture.htm

SEPTEMBER23 -25 VIV China Beijing, China www.viv.net

OCTOBER 14-17 Aquaculture Europe 2014 San Sebastián, Spain www.easonline.org

15-17 VIETSTOCK Expo & Forum 2014 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam www.vietstock.org

NOVEMBER 3-6 7th International Poultry Conference Ain Soukhna, Egypt www.sites.google.com/site/7ipcegypt2014

10-14 16th Asian-Australasian Association of Yogyakarta, Indonesia www.aaap2014.ugm.ac.id Animal Production Societies (AAAP) Congress

11-14 EuroTier 2014 Hanover, Germany www.eurotier.com

Events 2014


IN RESPONSE TO rising domestic demandand a fall in production due to last year’sextreme weather conditions, the Philippineshas scaled back sugar exports this year,according to a report by the OxfordBusiness Group.

But longer-term prospects for overseassales as well as expansion in the localmarket could drive growth in the sector,claims the report.

In mid-February 2014, the industry’sgoverning agency, the Sugar RegulatoryAdministration (SRA), announced it wasreducing the allocation for export to allmarkets except for the US. Instead of the 14per cent of national production that hadbeen intended for export, just eight per centof output would be shipped in the currentcrop year, which ends in August. Of this, thetwo per cent that had been allocated for theUS market would remain unchanged, theSRA said.

The decision was made after it becameapparent production would not be sufficient to

cover all commitments, said SRAadministrator Regina Bautista-Martin.

“While production for the current crop yearis on a downward trend, records show thatlocal demand or consumption of sugar isincreasing,” she said in a statement, adding

that if the allocations had not been adjusted,the country’s domestic sugar buffer stockwould hit a critical level.

According to SRA data, production for the2013/14 season is now forecast to be around2.35mn tonnes, down from earlier projectionsof 2.45mn tonnes. This was in line withBautista-Martin’s comments in November2013 to the news agency Reuters thatbetween 50,000 tonnes and 100,000 tonnesof raw sugar were destroyed in TyphoonHaiyan. The current season marks a slightdecline from 2012/13, when output hit 2.46mntonnes, although it is still higher than the2.24mn tonnes recorded in 2011/12.

While exports may be limited this year, thelonger-term outlook indicates that sugarproducers in the Philippines could soon belooking abroad for further expansion.Forecasts from the International SugarOrganisation (ISO) show the gap betweensupply and demand is gradually narrowing,with the market in Asia set to soak up much ofsurplus production.

With the cost of production lower in certainneighbouring countries, the challenge for some

local suppliers will be to remain competitive,both at home and abroad

Philippines sees export drop, domestic demand rise for sugar

S02 FEAG 2 2014 - Agenda_Layout 1 3/25/2014 10:52 AM Page 5

Agenda

6

THE FAO FOOD price Index averaged 208.1points in February 2014, 5.2 points, or 2.6 percent, above a slightly revised index forJanuary, but still 2.1 per cent less than oneyear ago. Last month’s rebound, the sharpestwitnessed since mid-2012, resulted fromstrengthening quotations of all the commoditygroups making up the index, except meat,which fell marginally. The products that haveincurred the strongest rises since last monthwere sugar (+6.2 per cent) and oils (+4.9 percent), followed by cereals (+3.6 per cent) anddairy (+2.9 per cent).

The FAO cereal price Index averaged195.8 points in February, up 6.8 points, or 3.6per cent, from the previous month and thestrongest rise registered since July 2012.Last month’s price bounce mainly mirrorsconcerns over wheat crops in the UnitedStates, a brisk demand for coarse grains forboth feed and biofuel and strong Japonicarice prices. Yet, cereal prices remain, overall,18.8 per cent below their level in Februarylast year, a clear sign that the worldsupply/demand situation has easedconsiderably compared to last year.

The FAO vegetable oil price Indexaveraged 197.8 points in February, up as

much as 9.2 points (or 4.9 per cent) fromJanuary, sustained primarily by firmer pricesfor palm oil and soy oil. The palm oil marketstrength mainly reflects concerns over dryweather in some major production areas inSoutheast Asia, together with buoyant demandworldwide, including from biodiesel producers.As for soy oil, quotations rose on fears thatunfavourable weather in South America couldnegatively impact soybean crops.

The FAO dairy price Index averaged275.4 points in February, a rise of 7.7 points,or 2.9 per cent, over January. Demand for alldairy products remains firm, especially fromNorth Africa, the Middle East (SMP andWMP) and the Russian Federation (butter).Limited supplies have lent support to prices,with the index currently standing 31.3 percent above its level in February 2013. Mildweather in some regions of Western Europehas provided the basis for a strong start tothe 2014/15 season, which will only peak inApril-May. Meanwhile, export supplies inOceania remain limited.

The FAO meat price Index averaged182.6 points in February, only 0.5 pointsbelow its revised January level. In general,prices were little changed for the various

categories of meat. Looking at longer-termtrends, compared to February 2013, thereduced cost of feed has contributed to somedecline in prices for poultry and pig meat. Onthe other hand, for the same period, bovinemeat prices are at almost the same level,while limited export supplies have lentsupport to sheep meat prices.

The FAO sugar price Index averaged235.4 points in February, up 13.7 points, or6.2 per cent, from January. Following a three-month decline, sugar prices recovered in lateFebruary, prompted by concerns of cropdamage from dry weather in Brazil, andrecent forecasts pointing to a potential dropof output in India.

WHEAT CONSUMPTION IS on the

rise in Indonesia, driven by

economic growth and

convenience, according to

Rabobank’s latest report.

Given the current consumption

rate, Indonesia could import more

than 10mn tonnes per year in the

coming five years, placing it

among the top three wheat

importers in the world.

Pawan Kumar, analyst at

Rabobank, said, “Indonesia is

traditionally a rice-consuming

country. However, in the last two

decades, the country has struggled to maintain rice self-sufficiency due to

constraints on acreage expansion, lack of quality land and lower yield,

especially among subsistence farmers.”

According to Rabobank, Indonesian wheat consumption increased by

five per cent per annum between 2002-03 and 2012-13, making it one of

the highest growth countries for consumption. Overall consumption grew 70

per cent, rising from 3.8mn tonnes to 6.6mn tonnes over the same period.

Indonesia is unable to produce wheat domestically, as the hot and

humid climate is unfavourable for cultivation. It, therefore, relies heavily on

imports from Australia, Canada and the US.

The proximity of Australia providesIndonesia with a large and sustain-

able supply of wheat

Food Outlook

THE INDIAN DAIRY sector is likely to witness positive growth nextfiscal, increase in market size and milk production and strong rise inexports, according to India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra).

Ind-Ra assigned a positive outlook to the dairy sector for FY’15.There is likely to be reasonable growth in the sector’s market

size and milk production and strong growth in dairy productsexports, Ind-Ra said in a report here.

India’s milk sector is regarded as one of the world’s fastest growingmarket and the agency expects it to expand by 16.3 per cent in FY’15.

The positive outlook also stems from increasing the government’sinitiatives on improving rural income, a PTI report said.

The agency also assigned a stable outlook to the dairycooperatives (DCs) for FY’15 due to their stable financialperformance although with some liquidity issues.

On the back of likelyfavourable monsoonsand strengtheningfarmer base of thecooperative model,India’s National DairyDevelopment Board(NDDB) expects 5.47per cent year-on-yeargrowth in milkproduction in FY’15.

Dairy sector in India set to hit arecord high in 2015

Indonesia could emerge amongtop three wheat importers


India’s milk sector is fast growing


7

Agenda

TO MEET INCREASING demand of global consumers for sustainableand environmental-friendly seafood products, fish producers in theworld have to comply with a wide range of certification standardssuch as ASC, MSC, GlobalGAP and BAP. However, too many standards are now causing confusion not only forfish producers and exporters but also among consumers in theinternational markets. Different certificates lead to hiking productioncosts and fish prices for fish farmers and producers.Hence, at a meeting in Thailand recently, Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) shrimp producers and exporters had agreedto establish a set of common parameters to grade the shrimps. At themeeting, representatives from ASEAN members discussed to buildstandards, which is suitable with ASEAN and in compliance with otherpopular international requirements.The set of standards will be established in accordance with ASEAN’sconditions and it is expected to fetch benefits to regional shrimp andglobal producers and consumers. It is estimated that global farmed shrimp production will touch 3.5mnmetric tonnes to four million metric tonnes per year, in which ASEANproducers take a major contribution. Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar are key shrimpproducers in ASEAN region with annual output of 300,000 to 600,000metric tonnes for each country.The set of ASEAN shrimp standards will be divided and applied forextensive shrimp and industrial shrimp, he added. The ASEAN shrimpstandards are expected to be enforced by 2015, when the ASEANEconomic Community is also formed, reports Vietnam FisheriesSociety (VASEP).In February, a seminar was held on the same in Can Tho city byVASEP and the ASEAN-US Maximising Agricultural Revenue throughKnowledge, Enterprise Development and Trade (ASEAN-USMARKET) project, funded by the US Agency for InternationalDevelopment. At the seminar, Corey Peet, expert from the ASEAN-USMARKET project, presented the goals, scope and the development ofthe draft for the ASEAN shrimp standards, strategies for accessing tobuyers, support for farmers to follow the requirements.

SOUTH KOREA AND Canada have recently signed an agreementfor a bilateral free trade that is expected to boost trade andinvestment ties between the two countries.

The free trade agreement eliminates tariffs and reduces non-tariffmeasures that hinder market access for Canadian exporters andinvestors in Korea. Once the agreement is fully implemented, SouthKorea will remove duties on 98.2 per cent of its tariff lines, coveringvirtually all of Canada’s imports.

The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement will benefit a widerange of sectors, including industrial goods such as chemicals andplastics, information and communications technology, aerospace,metals and minerals, etc, agricultural and agri-food products, fishand seafood, and wood and forestry products.

For the fisheries sector, the trade agreement will diversify exportmarkets by eliminating prohibitive tariffs on fish and seafood enteringSouth Korea. The Canadian provincial government has reserved itsright to enforce minimum processing requirements for fish andseafood destined for the South Korean market.

Keith Hutchings, Canadian minister of fisheries and aquaculture,said, “Achieving tariff-free access to the Korean seafood marketshould strengthen the provincial fishing, aquaculture, and sealingsectors in the coming years by creating even more internationaldemand for Newfoundland and Labrador’s world-class products.”

The agreement, Canada’s first with an Asian market, willcreate thousands of new jobs in Canada and provide Canadianbusinesses and workers with a gateway to Asia, enhancing theirglobal competitiveness.

ASEAN to set its own standard forshrimp supply worldwide

South Korea and Canada dealto boost aquaculture ties


Different certificates lead to rise in prices and production costs


Agenda

8

THE WORLD MARKET for feed phosphates is expected to reachUS$5.3bn by 2018, according to a report from Markets and Markets.

The global market for feed phosphates, in terms of revenue, wasestimated to be worth US$4,620.3mn in 2013, growing at thecompound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9 per cent, it added.

Leading manufacturers are focusing on expansion of their feedphosphate business across regions and setting up new plant so as toincrease production capacity as well as strengthen their product line.Prominent industry participants are involved in acquisitions topenetrate untapped markets.

The demand driving factors of the feed phosphate market areindustrialisation in pork and poultry businesses, increasing meatproduction, and awareness of proper supplemental diet for animals.

Crucial restraints of the industry are the increasing cost of phosphateand unavailability of phosphate reserves. However, the increasing use offeed products is creating opportunities for the feed phosphate grades.Environmental concerns and regulatory ban over some harmfuladditives are other opportunities for animal feed additives. Themanufacturers are developing innovative production techniques toincrease production capacity and make it cost-efficient. The market issegmented and revenue is projected on the basis of main regions suchas North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and rest of the world.

VIETNAM’S RED STAR Company has an built agriculture complex tocater to Australian cattle at an estimated cost of US$5mn.

Located in the Dak Lak Province, north-west of Nha Trang, thecompany has built from scratch an integrated farming system thatincludes a feedlot, abattoir and 1,500 hectares of nearby farmland togrow feed for the cattle.

Nhi, Red Star’s director general, said that the facility was ready tostart importing Australian livestock.

“We intend to import our first shipment (of cattle) in April and in thefirst week of May,” he added.

He says beef processed at his facility will be sold mostly to thoseliving in the Dak Lak province and the complex will directly employabout 60 people once the cattle arrive.

Ben Hindle, from the NT Livestock Exporters Association, said thework done by Red Star Company to meet the requirements ofhandling Australian cattle has been impressive. “The three exportersworking to export cattle to Vietnam, have the country on top of theirmind,” he said. “They understand the needs of Vietnam and are rapidlyincreasing their scale and project-based management to get a lotmore cattle into this country.

“Given the scale and the operation here, together with the investmentthrough our country too, I think it’s a perfect fit,” Hindle added.

THE WORLD MUST increase its food production by 60 per cent bymid-century or risk serious food shortages that could bring socialunrest and civil wars, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)said on Monday.The body has stressed that the region as a whole needs to improvefood production systems and delivery to consumers or face significantfood security problems within the next generation. Indeed somedeveloping countries in Asia and the Pacific will need to increase theirfood production by up to 77 per cent to feed their people by 2050.Demand for food will rise rapidly over the next few decades as theworld population surpasses nine billion and increasingly wealthypeople improve their diets, consuming more calories, said HiroyukiKonuma, the assistant director-general of FAO Asia-Pacific, as thebody launched a one-week regional food security conference inUlan Bator. But as the need for food increases, the world is spending less and lessmoney on agricultural research, causing many scientists to doubtwhether food production can keep up with demand growth.“If we fail to meet our goal and a food shortage occurs, there will be ahigh risk of social and political unrest, civil wars and terrorism, andworld security as a whole might be affected,” said Konuma.The Asia-Pacific would be left with more than half a billion chronicallyhungry people even if the region meets its millennium developmentgoal of cutting that number to 12 per cent of the population, he said.Despite progress made in fighting global hunger, the world still has842mn undernourished people, according to FAO, of which nearly twothirds live in the Asia-Pacific. One in four children under five years oldare stunted due to malnutrition.The UN body outlined two main options: increase arable land areasand boost productivity rates. But available arable land is almost fullyexploited, and production growth rates have been lacklustre for thepast two decades.During the green revolution in the 1980s, productivity rates for rice

and wheat increased by 3.5 per cent annually, but for the past 20years the rate has been stuck at 0.6 to 0.8 per cent.The growth rate needs to be stable at around one per cent if the worldis to have a theoretical chance to avoid serious shortages, saidKonuma.Water scarcity in big food-producing nations like China is worsening,and many farmers are increasingly tempted to shift production fromfood to bioenergy, a popular option to cut emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.Climate change is worsening the situation, as more frequent extremeweather events devastate crops. In the past three years, Australia,Canada, China, Russia and the US have all suffered big harvest lossesfrom floods and droughts.Cost is an additional threat to food security, according to the UN body.High and volatile food prices restrict poor people's access to food,while high crude oil prices inflate production costs.

Demand for food will rise rapidly over the next few decades as the worldpopulation surpasses nine billion

Vietnam firm builds complex forAustralian cattle

Feed phosphate market expected toreach US$5.3 billion by 2018

Asia-Pacific told to increase food production by 77 per cent by 2050



Events

9

VISITORS FROM ASIA and the world will descend in Bangkok thisApril to attend what has now become the region’s largest anddominant animal feed and grain event show FIAAP, VICTAM,

GRAPAS Asia 2014. This multi-facet showpiece event will take place atthe BITEC exhibition centre in Bangkok from 8 – 10 April 2014.

For the first time senior executives from the Asian Development Bank(ADB), the ASEAN Secretariat and the Food & Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations will share the platform to present keynotespeeches on relevant topics for the industries.

FIAAP profiles the ingredients and additives that are used withinthe formulation of safe and cost effective animal feeds. VICTAM isthe premier event for the sophisticated technology that is requiredin the processing and manufacture for these animal feeds. Theshow also covers the important and very necessary ancillaryequipment and systems that are utilised in a feed mill, rice milland flour mill. VICTAM is also the industry showpiece event forbiomass pelleting technology.

GRAPAS also displays ancillary equipment that is found within a mill,but its main coverage is for specialist systems and technology usedwithin rice & flour mills, together with additional exhibits for grainstorage, preservation and transportation. The show also profiles noodle,breakfast cereals and extruded snack production.

Each of the shows is complimented by a number of conferences.Some of the keynote speakers are Tran Dong Phuong, director for

Finance, Industry and Infrastructure, ASEAN Economic Department;Sununtar Setboonsarng, principal natural resources and agricultureeconomist, Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture DivisionSoutheast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank; HirioyukiKonuma, assistant director general and regional representative FAO,Regional Office for Asia and Pacific.

The ASEAN FEED & RICE SYMPOSIUM will commence at on 9 Aprilat BITEC. Over 200 international companies that supply additives andingredients, processing and milling technology, ancillary equipment andmuch more will be presenting the very latest innovations for feed miller,a rice miller or a flour miller at the event.

A series of conferences and technical seminars will also be held overthe same period at BITEC.

The 7th Aquafeed Horizons Asia and the 5th FIAAP Conference isalso slated to take place simultaneously on 8-9 April 2014, during thefeed industry trade.

Previous conferences have attracted high level feed industryprofessionals from throughout Asia Pacific and beyond. The 2014meetings have already seen registrations from the region as well asEurope, the USA and Australia. “With special rates for students, Thaidelegates and groups and for the first time, simultaneous interpretation

into Thai for both conferences, the organisers expect the meetings tofill up fast. People should not delay in securing their places”, organiserSuzi Dominy said.

The Aquafeed Horizons Asia Conference presents advances informulation and processing technology, while the FIAAP Conferencefocuses on feed additives and ingredients. Both meetings featurepresentations by international teams of industry experts.

The knowledge needed to make appropriate ingredient and feedadditive selections has never been more crucial. Novel carb and proteinsources and a move to even more sustainable and natural productshave spawned innovative developments in digestibility enhancers, growthpromoters, immune support and other ingredients.

With a focus firmly on practical application and profitability, the fifthin the series of FIAAP conferences will see an international team ofexperts bring insights into market direction, provide innovative solutionsfor optimising available raw materials, update information on functionalingredients for animal health, environmental impact and themanipulation of finished animal products, as well as feed additives forphysical quality and food chain safety. nn

Thailand is all set for FIAAP,VICTAM and GRAPAS 3-in-1 international feed and grain exhibitionwill serve South and Southeast Asia

EXPANDER

High capacity extruders and expanders.

EXTRUDER


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Events

10

EXHIBITORS AND VISITORS interested inthe livestock and animal health industry willgather at Jakarta Convention Center startingfrom 18 June 2014 for a three-day event inthe biggest international livestock event inIndonesian namely Indo Livestock 2014Expo & Forum.

This exhibition will be held in conjunctionwith the animal feed industry expo (Indo FeedExpo & Forum), dairy milk industry expo (IndoDairy Expo and Forum) and fish farmingindustry expo (Indo Fisheries Expo & Forum).

Hosted by the Directorate General ofLivestock and Animal Health, Ministry ofAgriculture of Indonesia, Indo Livestock 2014Expo & Forum is a ‘must-attend’ event fordecision-makers and buyers across Asia.

This series will be inaugurated H.Suswono, minister of agriculture, Indonesia.

According to the organisers PT. NapindoMedia Ashatama, more than 12,000 tradevisitors and delegates are expected to attendthe ninth expo, seminar and technicalpresentation in 2014. More importantly, Over500 exhibitors from 40 countries are expected

to once again participate in Indo Livestock 2014Expo & Forum, with countries like Europe, US,China, Korea and Taiwan in participation..

The exhibition will bring together tradebuyers representing integrators, farmers, feedmillers, meat and egg processors, feedsystems/equipment, veterinarians, importers,distributors and retailers to view the latest

technology, update on the latest issues,networks and do business in livestockindustry, especially in the Asia Pacific region.

Indo Livestock 2014 Expo & Forum is apreferred venue for buyers to source newtechnology and equipment and whereindustry professionals get an update on thelatest industry trends.

CHINA ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Expo (CAHE), leading Chinese

show for livestock

professionals, will be held in

Qingdao 18-20 May 2014.

CAHE has been held by

China Animal Agriculture

Association (CAAA) every

year since 2003. Within a

decade, the exhibition space

has increased from 20,000

square metres to 80,000

square metres, exhibitors have increased from 400 to 1,400, and the

professional visitors have tripled to 100,000.

According to organisers, international participation has increased to 8.2

per cent from 15 per cent. Besides individual international exhibitors, more

embassies in China and organisations gotten involved and opted to come into

the country.

CAHE is the primary source of funding for the CAAA, China’s largest and

most active organisation in animal agriculture. Membership includes

enterprises, public institutions and individuals involved in animal husbandry

and related industries. Formed in 2001, the association has 10 affiliations and

11,914 member companies nationwide.

The 11th CAHE in 2013 was successfully held in Wuhan. Around

1,426 exhibitors got together, of which 152 were from abroad. The total

booths amounted to 4,328, and of which 82.5 per cent were special

design installation.

The three-day show had attracted 95,668 professional visitors from 30

countries and regions, involved in pigs, poultry, cattle, sheep, feed, meat, eggs,

equipment and bioenergy.

The value of animal husbandry has rankedfirst for 15 years in China since 1990

Biggest livestock event in Indonesia to attract industry bigwigs

CAHE to showcase China’s live-stock strength


Indo Livestock 2014 is a must-visit expo for decision makers and buyers across Asia

THE 6TH EDITION of Pig, Poultry & Dairy Focus Asia, which was heldat the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand last month,was termed as a ‘great success’ by the organisers with over 400visitors from over 25 different countries. The event was attended byproduction managers, nutritionists and veterinarians and focused onlivestock production including nutrition, health and breeding.

Four keynote presentations were held before being divided intothree species specific conferences.

The first of these was given by Dr Pim Langhout from DSM on thetopic of ‘Intestinal targeting of nutrients for specific gene expression’which highlighted how different feed ingredients can influence thefunctioning of cells and/or organs in the animal’s body and how thiscould result in improved animal health and productivity.

Roland Klober from Thermo Fisher Scientific focused on therevolutionary road down which diagnostic testing was going and howsuch testing was going to play a greater and greater role in futurelivestock production.

Dr Tugrul Durali from Alltech’s Asian Pacific Mycotoxin ManagementTeam then spoke on ‘The latest developments in mycotoxin detectionand control’ and in so doing highlighted the challenges of mycotoxindiversity, masked mycotoxins and the latest survey results.

Finally, Dr Marcus Remmers, Head of Global Bio R&D at Meriallooked at the future of vaccination and in particular how the nextgeneration of recombinant vaccines will better and more broadlyaddress unmet demands. In the three species specific conferences,experts from all around the world then shared their expertise andexperience with delegates in a series of presentations on the cuttingedge of livestock production science.

The next Pig, Poultry & Dairy Focus Asia is planned for the springof 2016 and will again be held in Bangkok.

Pig, Poultry & Dairy Focus Asia seessuccess in Thailand



Events

12

ANIMAL NUTRITION SOCIETY of India isall set to host the Global AnimalNutrition Conference (GLANCE 2014)

from 20-22 April, 2014, in Bengaluru, prior tothe VIV India 2014 event.

Organised in association with CompoundLivestock Feed Manufacturers Association ofIndia (CLFMA) and VIV India, GLANCE 2014will focus on ‘Climate resilient livestock feedingsystems for global food security’. Theconference will deliberate on the recentdevelopments in the field of animal nutritionand its role in promoting nutritional security,livelihoods, profitability and environmentalsustainability in a global context.

According to the organisers, the summitaims to provide an opportunity for researchscientists, academicians, feed industry,development agencies engaged in the livestocksector, government officials to meet and interact.

Meanwhile, VIV India 2014, to beorganised from 23-25 April, at the BangaloreInternational Exhibition Centre, in Bangalore,India, will bring together different sectors inanimal production and processing.

Organised by VNU Exhibitions, eachlivestock sector at VIV India will have its owncluster for exhibition and other activities, suchas seminars, product launches, and trade meet.

VIV India will create a platform ofexperience for further business transactions,

developments and marketing. It will also opennew avenues for transfer of technologies to themotivated entrepreneurs.

During the three days that the biennialevent is held, international and Indian supplierswill present products that cover the entire foodchain from primary production to finishedproducts: from feed to meat.

VIV India enables visitors to meet importantstakeholders in the industry, to learn about thelatest technologies and innovations, and theirapplications in boosting the livestock industryin India.

The seminar, part of the International IndiaSummit, will focus on four key tracks runningin parallel session: Breeding, Health andNutrition, CropTech-FeedTech and Processing.

Two special pavilions, CropTech-FeedTechand Processing, will be developed to highlightthe need for investment in segments within thefeed to meat value chain.

While CropTech-FeedTech will focus ontechnology needed for feed manufacturing, theProcessing pavilion will focus on thetechnology necessary for processing meat,eggs and dairy produce.

VIV EuropeVIV Europe 2014, a trade show for innovativelivestock farming, production of meat, poultry,eggs, animal feed production, breeding stock,

animal health and food safety, will return to theNetherlands from 20-22 May this year.

To be organised at the Jaarbeurs Utrechtcomplex, the organisers are expecting 20,000key players from 140 countries to attend.Many of these, almost half, will be from Asia,Africa, the Middle East, South America andRussia, according to the organisers VNUexhibitions. The central theme for VIV Europeis ‘Sustainable intensification’.VIV Europe is alsoorganising specific programmes for visitors fromPoland and Hungary.

In addition to visitors from within theindustry, there will also be visits by fulldiplomatic delegations who will be comingto take a look at the world premieres ondisplay or taking part in a series ofscientific congresses that are beingorganised parallel to the show.

Six hundred exhibitors from 45 countrieshave their latest products ready for the show.Complete cattle farm complexes and systems,which cannot be exhibited at the showbecause of their size, will be visited via field-trips. Foreign governments will also be inattendance, taking a look behind the scenes athands-on farms in the Netherlands viaexclusive VIP programmes.

Show organiser, RuwanBerculo, promisesthat Utrecht will be showing off the very latestdevelopments. nn

VIV India would enable exhibitors and visitors to meet important stakeholders in the industry, to learn about the latest technologies and innovations, and their applications in boosting the livestock industry

GLANCE and VIV 2014 toopen new avenues in India



THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL Livestock, Dairy,Meat Processing, and Aquaculture,Exposition (ILDEX) Vietnam took placerecently at Ho Chi Minh City. With the aim of supporting the development ofthe livestock, dairy, meat processing, andaquaculture exposition in Vietnam andbringing the relevant state-of-the-arttechnologies, technical knowledge, andbusiness opportunities to both of Vietnameseenterprises and overseas companies, the2014 expo saw a great success. Held at Saigon Exhibition and ConventionCenter (SECC) covering an area of 6,068square metres, ILDEX Vietnam has been theconnecting bridge for internationalbusinessmen of livestock and aqua industryto enter Vietnam and neighbouring markets. The exhibition received the support of thedepartment of Livestock, Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development of Vietnam Federationof Asian Veterinary Associations (FAVA).

ILDEX Vietnam 2014 is the largest ILDEXexhibition to date with more than 180participating companies from 25 countriesaround the world including France, theNetherlands, Singapore, South Korea,China, Indonesia and with a leadinginternational company engaged in theindustry as Big Dutchman, Biomin, Buhler,Muyang, Novus, Behn Meyer, LohmannTierzucht, acoording to organisers

Within the framework of the exhibition,conference such as Investment PromotionConference on Livestock Sector in Vietnamtook place. A workshop was also conductedon using high technology in dairy farming.meanwhile, a seminar on health and animalnutrition and prevention of animal diseases,feed management took place. Additionally, aforum was created for farmers to share theirexperiences with participatory breeding offarm owners, successful farmers indeveloping countries.The exposition also created favourableconditions for companies from all over theworld to expand their production activities bycooperating with others in the field oflivestock, seafood and processing.The growth of Vietnam’s agricultural sectororiginates from the huge demand for domesticand international consumption of products,thus requiring modernisation to increaseproductivity and product quality.

ILDEX Vietnam 2014 sees 180 countries in attendance, witnesses growth

13

Events

ILDEX 2014 is the largest ILDEX exhibition todate in Vietnam

EVERY THREE YEARS at Interpack, more than 2,700 exhibitors fromall over the world present the latest in packaging systems andmachinery, packaging materials, packaging, confectionery machineryalong with accompanying services.

Experts in their field at all management levels are expected to visitInterpack to be organised from May 8-14, in Düsseldorf, Germany byMesse Düsseldorf.

According to the organisers in 19 exhibition halls covering an area ofnearly 185,806 square metres, decision makers are bound to find thesolid foundations on which to base their investment decisions — soundinformation and a comprehensive international range of products.

With around 60 per cent of the 166,000 visitors at the last stagingof Interpack in 2011 coming from international shores — not only fromwithin Europe but also from eastern and southern Asia — the eventhas become an important meeting place for the industry.

Processes and machinery for the packaging of food andbeverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, consumer goods (nonfood), industrial goods will be showcased at Interpack 2014

A regular feature at Interpack, the special show InnovationparcPackaging (IPP) 2014 will be staged on about 2,500 square metreswith ‘Save Food’ as its motto. Participating companies from all stagesalong the value chain will showcase their solutions to avoid food lossand food waste. This special show will present practical approachesfrom areas such as packaging design, packaging materials, andmachinery production. An additional display will demonstrate thedimensions of international food losses along the food value chain.

Taking advantage of this prime setting, weighing and packagingequipment specialist Ishida Europe will launch a number of newproducts at this year’s Interpack, according to the company.

Ishida aims to highlight its weighing and quality control equipmentas well as its complete line solutions for snacks and fresh foods.

Highlights include several new multi-head weighers for sectors suchas confectionery, snacks, granular products and fruit and vegetables; anew X-ray system capable of detecting small bones in meat and

poultry; new weigher/bagmaker combinations for snacks; and theadvances in complete packing lines for fresh meat and poultry.

Hersonber, one of the leading brands in Asia, specialises in a fullrange of vertical machines for handling either liquids or powders, anda complete range of Horizontal packaging machines. The companywill display both the vertical range of machines, and horizontal rangeof machines use flexible packaging material taken from the reel.

DuPont will also highlight joint developments with plasticsprocessors and leading machinery manufacturers. Such collaborationhas resulted in a wealth of forward-looking possibilities for savingenergy, materials and costs, as well as for reducing the ecologicalfootprint and enhancing the aesthetic appearance of high-performance plastics for multi-functional packaging.

Interpack 2014 ready to highlight advances in packaging systems


Interpack takes place once every three years and has become an important meeting place for industry professionals


Poultry

14

THE MODE AND pattern of poultryfeeding and drinking systems hasevolved to match increasingly

sophisticated poultry production systems. Backyard free range production systems, in

which supplementary feed is scattered by handover the whole area of the run with waterprovided in simple shallow containers, havedeveloped into large scale and intensiveproduction systems where provision of feedand water is closely measured, controlled andincreasingly automated.

Provision of feedThe design and density of feeders deployed inthe poultry house aims to:• Provide all birds with the same level and

quality of feed so that there is uniform devel-opment, feed conversion and weight gainacross the whole flock

• Suitable for the age, size and type of birdsraised and be easily adapted according tochanging their requirements.

• Offer and provide feed within a minimumstress situation

• Prevent contamination of feed with feathersand faeces and its spoilage through wetting

Provision of waterThe importance of a continuous supply of cool,clean water in a way that allows all birds toimbibe freely from chick stage upwards cannot beover-emphasised. Selection and deployment ofdrinkers should meet the following requirements:• Allow for daily checking and cleaning to en-

sure all are constantly functioning at the cor-rect height for birds being served

• Deployed at a sufficiently high density toallow all birds to drink at the same time

• Accessible to chicks on the move with abroody hen or under artificial heat

• Sufficient watering points for chicks to en-courage drinking

• Clean all drinkers daily to remove blockageby litter and feed

• For caged birds check nipples and cups of Vtroughs daily for water flow

• Accommodate social drinking habits in floorlayers and for birds in large groups. If birdsestablish their own point for drinking andthis dries up and they are forced to use othersources the stress incurred may be sufficientto disrupt the laying cycle.

Feeder equipmentOne of the biggest problems faced by producersis the changing of poultry feeding equipment inline with growth and changing needs of birds.This includes knowing exactly when to changethe system and the huge labour input required.Problems can be significantly reduced byadopting an all-age broiler feeding systemcomprising a line system of shallow pans forstarting chicks, which can be telescoped outinto deep pans to accommodate feeding as thechicks grow. The shallow pan rests on theground and when the line is raised, it telescopesout into a deep pan suspended at a height,which is suitable for by now fuller grown birds.

Mechanisation and automation of feedingsystems is the key to reducing labour costs.This can be achieved through the use ofsliding-auger trough-feeding systems forbroilers powered by low horse-power (HP)motors and used with ‘hens only’ grills for thetroughs. Other specific systems includecontinuous loop breeder pan feeding systemsthat accommodate pullets from a day-old andwhich can be used to feed adult breeders

throughout the laying cycle.Automatic chain feeders are an attractive

option for hard-pressed poultry producers. Theyare claimed to be the ideal choice for theprovision of consistent and efficient feeding ofpullets and broilers and breeder birds. Theessential parts of the system are the feeder, driveunit, the trough, the corners and the feed chain.The system, say manufacturers, allows feed tobe pushed around the complete circuit in thehouse in just minutes so that birds are providedwith equal access to the same feed formulations.

The uniform distribution of feed, thus,achieved eliminates selective feeding andresults in healthier birds, greater uniformity ofbird size and considerable monetary savingsdue to reduced wastage of feed. Systems areequipped with electrical time switches forprogrammed feeding (controlled or ad libitum)and exclusion grills.

Most feeding systems developed for domesticfowl use definite feeding points to which thebirds are attracted. On the other hand, the spin-feeder is an automatic system that mimics theage-old method of scattering feed and grain tofree range birds and in this sense bringsintensively raised birds closest to their wildancestral roots. Feed is evenly distributed over awidespread area and the accurate feeding levelsthus achieved means that most birds achievepoint-of-lay on schedule.

By using spin feeders the poultry producer

It is imperative to provideanimals with a good drinkingand feed system to achievemaximum efficiency

Optimising water supply forpoultry management

The uniform distribution of feed eliminates selective feeding and results in healthier birds


S04 FEAG 2 2014 - Poultry_Layout 1 3/25/2014 10:58 AM Page 14

Poultry

15

will ensure that birds will have uniform accessto feed, and will, therefore, grow at a uniformrate. The instantaneous aspect of this mode offeeding decreases the incidence of flocking,while the widespread distribution of the feedeliminates competition. Use of spin feeders(free standing or roof-mounted) provides cost-effective and automatic stress-free feedingbecause each dispenser is able to cater to alarge number of birds.

Spin feeding is claimed to be economical onlabour, user-friendly and operated by poultry farmworkers after the absolute minimum of training.

Custom-designed and properly installedfeeders, for the continuous provision of freshpoultry feed, are of little merit if the feedformulation used is not of the highest quality.This can be ensured by keeping feed in properstorage facilities, which comply with standardhygiene recommendations.

Drinker equipmentPure, clean cool water is the most simple andbasic, yet most vital nutrient in poultry nutritionwith design and deployment of drinkersfollowing in the same pattern as for feeders withemphasis on simplicity with care. Producershave employed increasingly sophisticated socalled open water systems such as the standardround bell type hanging drinkers.

The use of nipple drinkers into floorhousing systems is now accepted as havinghad the biggest impact on the reduction ofrespiratory disease.

Cup and nipple drinkers have been used forcaged birds for almost 50 years. Their use inbroiler flocks was first adopted in the US andlater elsewhere, so that today’s floor-housedflocks benefit from improved health andperformance and reduced secondary infection.

But switching to nipple/cup drinkers wasnot all simple. Researchers and producers were

concerned that nipple drinkers might leak,causing wet patches on the litter and also thatthey might not provide adequate water supplyto maintain good growth rates, especially duringperiods of hot weather. Both concerns weresubsequently discovered to be unfounded.

Research conducted in the Netherlandscompared five different commercially availabledrinkers: round hanging bell type, low-pressurenipples, high-pressure nipples, drinker cupsand nipple plus drinker cup. Results showed ahigher bacterial load for open watering systemsand even bigger differences for faecalcontamination as measured byEnterobacteriaceae (e.g. E. coli) counts.Overall, litter quality and integrity was betterwhile lesser growth of pathogenic organismsimproved broiler carcass quality grading withless breast blisters and hockburns. Ammoniaemissions were reduced, thus decreasing thebirds’ susceptibility to respiratory infections aswell as reducing the severity of ascites.

Over the years, worries about nipplesystems failing to provide adequate water,particularly at times of potential heat stress,have been overcome by various innovations.High-pressure nipples that produce a permanent

hanging drop of water and encouraging thebirds to drink are now the norm.

Development of a nipple with a flat button-like disc at its tip so that it would retain alarger drop of water opened new dimensionswithin this field of thinking. A droplet of wateris formed on the disc which the birds see andtip the disc to drink. The slightly tilted discallows water to flow from the drinker ball valverefilling the disc with water and which is heldthere to eliminate spillage. The stainless steeldisc reflects light which, in turn, attracts birdsto drink. Moreover, it stays clean andmaintains good hygiene.

Innovations in a similar vein includenipples with a pin that flares out at the baseallowing more water remain on the pin. Birds,thus, have access to a larger drop instead ofhaving to return to the pin several times tosatisfy their thirst.

Benefits of combined nipple/drip cupdrinking systems include easier access to thenipple, allowing day-old chicks to drink directlyand an added safeguard against water seepageonto the litter. nn

By Dr Terry Mabbett

Benefits of combined nipple drinking systemsinclude easier access to the nipple, allowing

day-old chicks to drink directly and safeguardagainst water seepage


SCIENTISTS IN NANJING have found that heating a

high-protein soy product can damage the protein,

adversely affecting the chick's immune system.

Protein oxidation of soy protein isolate (SPI) is

induced by heating, and oxidised protein may

negatively affect the immune function of broilers.

That is the conclusion reached by D W Wu and

colleagues at Nanjing Agricultural University after

a study looking at the effects of heat treatment of

SPI on the growth performance and immune

function of broiler chickens.

In their study published in Poultry Science,

they explain that the SPI was heated in an oven at

100°C for one, four or eight hours and resultant

oxidative status was evaluated.

A total of 320 one-day-old Arbor Acres

chickens were randomly divided into four

treatment groups with eight replicates of 10 birds,

and fed diets supplemented with the unheated SPI

or one of the three heat-treated SPI for 21 days.

The results showed that heat exposure of SPI

for four and eight hours caused an increase in

protein carbonyl, and a simultaneous decrease in

sulfhydryl and free amine groups compared with

unheated SPI.

The bodyweight of broilers fed diets

supplemented with SPI heated for eight hours

were significantly lower than that of broilers fed

diets supplemented with unheated SPI.

Compared with unheated SPI, heat-treated

SPI (heated for eight hours) reduced liver weight

at 14 days of age, spleen and bursa weights at

21 days of age.

The content of IgG in serum and duodenal

mucosa of broilers (at 14 days) was decreased

when diets supplemented with heat-treated SPI

(heated for eight hours).

No significant differences were observed in the

mucosa secretory IgA contents of broilers among

the treatment groups. Compared with unheated

SPI, a significant increase was observed in the

content of adrenocorticotropic hormone and

cortisol in serum of broilers fed the heat-treated

SPI (heated for eight hours) at 21 days.

The myeloperoxidase activities in serum (at 14

days) and mucosa of broilers were increased when

diets supplemented with heat-treated SPI (heated

for eight hours).

Overheated soy harms chick immunity, reveals study

By using spin feeders the poultry producer will ensure that birds will have

uniform access to feed and will, therefore,grow at a uniform rate


Poultry

16

AS PART OF poultry processing, birds must be thoroughly plucked,and all feathers must be removed, including those that are mostfirmly attached. The most common approach to achieving this is

to include scalders as part of plucking operations to loosen the head andwing feathers. These scalders also will loosen the leg cuticle.

There are ways, however, that this process can be carried out alongthe overhead conveyor.

However, to achieve a well-plucked bird, several aspects prior toplucking need to be carried out well, including:• Waiting time of the live birds at the processing plant• Hanging on the overhead conveyor• Stunning• Slaughter and bleeding• ScaldingPlucking needs to be viewed as the removal of feathers without, for example,ripping the skin, the emergence of bones through the skin, or the excessiveaccumulation of blood due to the application of too much pressure.

Waiting in the reception areaBirds should be kept in comfortable conditions. In hot climates, heatstress needs to be prevented. Should birds overheat, they will pant andthis results in an excessive accumulation of blood in the legs and wings.

Hanging on the overhead conveyorBirds must be properly held. Use only three fingers — the thumb, indexand ring fingers. When placing onto the shackles, hold by the legs, notthe thighs, to prevent possible bruising and blood accumulation. Whilemoving birds from the cages to the shackles, flapping must beminimised. Installation of a breast comforter is also recommended.

StunningTo help keep birds as calm as possible while being transported from thehanging area to the stunner entrance, a tunnel made from a dark plasticsheet could be erected. Passage through this will calm the birds.

Slaughter and bleedingStunning leads to a lack of consciousness and lowering of the heartbeatto 350 beats per minute. This lowered heartbeat will stay low for only10-12 seconds. It is also important to remember that the variousparameters of the stunning bath must be adjusted to the average weightof the bird, for example, frequency, voltage and bath height.

ScaldingIf carcasses are not fully submerged during their movement through thescalder, the most firmly attached feathers, i.e. those of the tail and theneck, will not enter the water. Consequently, their follicles will notproperly dilate and the feathers will not be loosened. The correct choiceof rubber fingers is important to avoid chicken carcasses.

Additionally, if the water level in the tank does not ensure that the

shackles are submerged to a depth of at least three inches, thosefeathers close to the leg joints and the cuticle will not be loosened. It isalso worth keeping in mind that for this to be successfully achieved,water needs to be of a sufficiently high temperature.

Scalding raises the carcass temperature, and it is worth trying toretain the heat during passage from the scalder to the plucker.

Given all of the above, it is worth considering the challenges facedduring the opeartion. But it is possible to pluck birds and keep costs lowand quality and yield high, while they remain on the overhead conveyor.This can be achieved, if the following rules are implemented:

Heat and waterCarcasses must be kept warm. Warm water (34-36ºC) should be usedduring plucking and any heat that has been absorbed from the scaldermust be preserved throughout the plucking process. This can beachieved but installing a structure that prevents heat loss duringpassage from the scalder to the plucker. Strategically place hot water(70-75ºC) sprayers along the approach to the plucker. These should bedirected towards the head and thigh joint and spray water forapproximately six seconds.

Plucking technological advancesAdvances in plucking machine technology mean that various types ofequipment can now be used in combination, for example:• That can adjust automatically to the anatomy of the bird• That rotates counter-clockwise• That can be placed inside moving cabinets, i.e. if the cabinet or struc-

ture itself moves, all the plucking units move with itIn the selection of plucking fingers, three types should be used — soft,semi-hard and hard. They must be carefully positioned to ensure thatthey remove feathers without damaging skin.

Depending on the sequential efficiency of the plucking operations,some plucking lines should b e avoided to prevent dislocated or brokenwings, skin and breast scratches, blood accumulation in the tips andother areas of the wings.

If this is followed in a disciplined manner, it is possible to reduce thedamage to chickens during plucking and so reduce operational costs. nn

Wattagnet

Careful and thorough plucking of feathers cangreatly minimise damage to chicken andreduce operational costs

Improve plucking duringprocessing of poultry

Plucking needs to be viewed as the removal of feathers without ripping the skin



Livestock

17

THE UNIVERSITY OF Illinois has exploredthe potential benefits of selected plantextracts to fight deadly pig diseases like

PRRS and E. coliThe researchers conducted two experiments

to test the beneficial effects of garlic botanicalextracted from garlic, turmeric oleoresinextracted from ginger, and capsicum oleoresinfrom pepper on PRRS and E. coli in pigs.

The pigs in the study challenged with E.coli that had been fed any of the three plantextracts had a lower frequency of diarrhoea(20 per cent) than the pigs fed the controldiet (40 per cent).

The pigs fed plant extracts were moreefficient (40 per cent) in feed use than the pigsfed control diet in the E. coli-challenged group,and challenged pigs fed plant extracts hadsounder gut morphology compared with thechallenged pigs fed the control diet.

After feeding the pigs challenged with thePRRS virus the three plant extracts, theresearchers observed that the pigs were moreefficient in week 1 (55 per cent) and week 2(40 per cent) than the pigs fed the control diet.The pigs that were challenged with the PRRESvirus and fed plant extracts also had a lowerblood viral load (13 per cent) and lowerconcentrations of inflammatory mediators thanpigs fed the control diet. These observationsalso suggest that feeding plant extracts couldsuppress ongoing inflammation and preventsecondary infections.

The researchers believe the benefitsresulted from the effects on the pigs’ immunesystems because feeding plant extractsreduced the inflammation caused by E. coliand the PRRS virus. “Though it is notoccurring on every farm, it is the biggestdisease problem in the pig industry,” saidJames Pettigrew, a University of Illinois animalsciences researcher. “E. coli has also been aproblem historically and continues to be on anindustry-wide basis.”

“Either disease can sweep through a farm

so their alleviation would substantially reduceproduction costs," he added. “Even thoughmany management practices have been usedin the swine industry, these practices cannotguarantee freedom from disease for pigs.”

Consumer concerns about bacterialresistance to antibiotics have prompted theswine industry to seek additional methods toprotect the health of pigs, including specialfeed additives. This interest led Pettigrew andhis team to explore the potential benefits ofselected plant extracts.

Yanhong Liu, a doctoral student who ledthe studies, said, “We’ve known for a long timethat plant extracts, also called essential oils orbotanicals, have certain biological actions. Forinstance, they can act as antioxidants or asantimicrobials. We wanted to test whether wecould get a benefit from feeding those productsin very low doses to pigs that were challengedwith these specific diseases.”

E. coli, a bacterial illness of the gut, ismarked by diarrhoea, decrease in appetite,decrease in body weight, and in some cases, ahigher mortality rate. E. coli is especiallydangerous post-weaning as pigs adapt to newfeed and new environments, Pettigrew added.

Liu noted that even the pigs in the non-challenged group, with a low frequency of milddiarrhea, benefited from the plant extracts.“Because there is a relatively high diarrhoea

rate in post-weaning pigs as they are movedfrom the mom and started on all solid feed, theextracts could also be used to reduce itsoccurrence,” she added.

Common symptoms of PRRS, a viralinfection of the lung, include fever, lethargy,trouble breathing, loss of appetite, anddecreased growth performance. The diseasecan also lead to spontaneous abortions andhigher pre-weaning mortality rates in pigs.

The researchers believe the benefitsresulted from the effects on the pigs’ immunesystems because feeding plant extracts reducedthe inflammation caused by E. coli and thePRRS virus. “In production animals,inflammation is costly. Inflammation reducesfeed intake, and it diverts nutrients away fromgrowth to the immune system,” Pettigrew said,adding, “If we can bring that quickly backdown to normal after a challenge, then thathelps in production.”

The researchers would continue to studythe mechanisms behind the beneficial effectsthey observed, including conducting geneexpression studies. “We want to know the bigpicture of how these plant extracts affected thechallenged and non-challenged pigs,” Liu said.

Pancosma SA, Geneva, Switzerland,provided funding for the research. nn

— University of Illinois

Plant extract can helpcombat pig diseasesPorcine reproductive andrespiratory syndrome is themost expensive and invasivedisease for pig producers ona global scale

Pepper extract increased pigs’ efficiency and lowered blood viral load


S05 FEAG 2 2014 - Livestock_Layout 1 3/25/2014 11:01 AM Page 17

Livestock

18

NEW RESEARCH REVEALS that the age ofPeking duck breeders affects some eggcharacteristics, relative yolk sac weight, yolkmineral content, embryo growth duringincubation and duckling weight.

Egg weight and yolk percentagesincreased as the flock aged but albumenpercentages, shell thickness and yolk indexdecreased. The effects of breeder age onmineral contents and weight of yolk sac,embryo development and hatchability inPeking ducks were investigated byresearchers of Turkey’s Ankara University.

In a paper in Poultry Science co-authoredby researchers from the universities ofKiikkale, Afyon Kocatepe and Selçuk, theyreport that they found breeder age to beimportant for some egg characteristics,relative yolk sac weight, some contents ofminerals in the yolk, embryonic growth duringincubation and duckling weight.

A total of 495 freshly laid eggs wereobtained from the same flock of Pekingducks, aged 28, 34 and 40 weeks, and werereared in accordance with the managementguide of the duck breeders (Star 53-GrimaudFreres).

At each breeder age, egg measurementswere made on a random sub-sample ofunincubated eggs. Embryo and yolk sacmeasurements were made on embryonic dayE12, E16, E20, and E25.

On Day 28 of incubation, the healthyducklings were removed and sex of chickswas determined. All chicks were weighed and

hatching results were determined.Shell percentages, shell breaking

strength, albumen index and Haugh unitswere unaffected by breeder age.

However, breeder age affected themagnesium, phosphorus, potassium,calcium, copper and zinc levels in the yolk,except for sodium level on day of setting, andbreeder age affected the mineral consumedby embryo during incubation.

However, on E25, the levels of examined

minerals, except for phosphors level in theyolk sac, were not statistically different induck breeder age groups.

Relative yolk sac and embryo weights ofeggs obtained from different breeder agesvaried from E16 to E25; however, embryolength was different in breeder age groupsfrom E12 to E20.

Hatching weight was affected by breederage and sex but hatching results were notdifferent the breeder age groups.

Duck’s breeding age affects egg production, researchers say


LIVESTOCK BRED ON a high-calorie diet are more climate-friendly and more profitable tofarmers, a new Austrian studyhas found.

The International Institute forApplied Systems Analysis(IIASA) who conducted the studyalso believes a switch to such adiet would improve the globalfood supply, APA reported.

Agriculture currently accountsfor about 12 per cent of globalgreenhouse gas emissions, inpart from methane from animalsreleased into the environment.

The IIASA believes theseemissions could be reduced byabout a quarter by 2030 if thepure grass diet of cattle is

changed to include high-calorieadditives such as corn meal,bran, corn silage and press cake.Lead author Petr Havlik said 21per cent of ruminants globallyare still fed a pure grass diet.

In addition to theenvironmental benefits, cows,sheep and goats also grow fasterand produce more milk on ahigher-energy diet. As such theycould be kept on smallerpastures, the breeding would becheaper, and the security ofsupply larger.

Havlik said decision-makersshould take steps to changeinfrastructure to allow farmers tomake necessary changes, andalso to improve education.

Calorie-rich food makes livestock more climate-friendly, finds study


Livestock

19

FEEDING LIVESTOCK MORE fibre maylead to less aggression and improve guthealth while maintaining performance.

However, type of fibre and feeding level areimportant factors influencing these effects.

The maintenanace of gut health iscomplex and relies on the delicate balancebetween the diet, the commnesal microfloraand the mucosa, including the digestiveepithelium and the mucous overlying theepithelium. The diet has a great impact on guthealth, and it can provide either beneficial orharmful input, The diet should be composedto create a balance between the gut, themicrobiota and the gut environment. Dietaryfibre interacts both with mucosa and themicrobiota and consequently has animportant role in the control of gut health.

Potential feed resources used for animalsin many Asian countries derive primarily fromthe vegetable food and agro-industry co-products such as cassava leaves, sweetpotato vines, water spinach, rice bran andtofu residue. they represent underutilisedfeedstuff, most having high fibre content,which may impose limitations in their use indiets for monogastric animals, particularly inyoung animals, due to bulky nature and alimited capacity to ferment fibre.

According to Wageningen UR researcherCarol Souza da Silva, “Fibre gives restricted-fed pigs more satiety, whereas ad libitum-fed

growing pigs compensate the lower energy infibrous diets by increasing intake.”

Souza da Silva tested different types offibre in her research, but found that feedingfermentable fibres was best for pigs such ascassava roots or raw potatoes.

The aim of her research was to determinehow and which types of fibres influence satiety,to prevent pigs from becoming hungry betweenmeals, thereby improving their welfare.

In her research she noticed that pigs fedresistant starch maintained a feeling offullness for up to more than seven hoursafter their meal. “The pigs were lesshungry, which was also reflected in theirbehaviour. Moreover, resistant starch wasfound to change gene expression patternsand microbiotica composition in the hindgut, reflecting improved gut health andstabilized glucose levels.”

Feeding more fibre to sows preventsthem feeling hungry, avoiding behaviouralproblems. More fibre in the ration is alsogood for fattening pigs, according to theresearcher. “Their energy system can, to alarge extent, adapt to this reduced energyration. They compensate this by increasingtheir intake, consequently growth is thensimilar to fibre-free rations . In future ourresearch will focus on the bodycomposition after slaughter, which isinfluenced by fibrous diets.” nn

Fibre diet leads tobetter gut healthDietary fibre has an important role to play in pig and poultrydiets and a minimum level of fibre has to be included tomaintain normal physiological function in the digestive tract

Fibres stimulate gut health, increase the satiety, affect behaviour and improve animal well-being

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Livestock

20

‘SUPERDOSING’ POULTRY DIETS with theenzyme phytase could result in huge savingsto the poultry industry, a new research byUK’s Nottingham Trent University revealed.

It was found that adding high levels ofphytase to rapeseed meal — a cheaphome-grown protein source in Asia — wasjust as nutritious for broiler chicks as thewidely-used soybean.

Rapeseed meal cheaper than soybeanmeal but contains higher levels of anti-nutritional factors which can reduce birdhealth and performance. However, scientistshave said that increasing levels of phytase inrapeseed significantly increased thebioavailability of phosphorus in broiler chicks,which is vital for the development andmaintenance of their skeletal system.

Phosphorus — which is present in planttissues, grains and oil seed — issupplemented into poultry feed, but is veryexpensive and broilers find it hard to utilise itbecause it is always bonded to other elementsand compounds.

About two-thirds is bound to a molecule

called phytate, and cannot be accessed bypoultry because they have such tinyamounts of phytase in their gastrointestinaltract — which is needed to make thephosphorus bioavailable.

The team, from the university’s Schoolof Animal, Rural and EnvironmentalSciences, studied the effect of feeding

broilers diets where the main proteinsource was either rapeseed or soybeanmeal. The diets were then supplementedwith no phytase, the recommended dose ofphytase, or a ‘superdose’.

The phosphorus and dietary calciumsolubility of almost 200 chicks were thenmeasured. The researchers found thatsuperdosing rapeseed meal diets withphytase resulted in 76 per cent of dietaryphosphorus being absorbed, which is twoper cent higher than that absorbed insoybean diets supplemented with therecommended dose.

In addition to this, the amount of calciumand phosphorus excreted reduced by nine percent and 11 per cent respectively, comparedto diets without phytase, and by four and fiveper cent compared to diets with therecommended dose.

“Cheaper and more environmentally-friendly ways to meet the phosphorusrequirements of broilers are constantly beingsought after,” said Natalie Morgan, who isbased in the university’s Poultry Unit.

HYDROLYSED FEATHER MEAL is a co-product of

the poultry processing industry that can be used as

a protein source in swine.

It is an excellent source of protein for

livestock. It is very similar to soybean meal in its

energy content and much higher in protein than

soybean meal or meat and bone meal. Hydrolysed

feather meal has much higher lipid levels than

corn or soybean meal, and much less crude fibre.

Calcium and available phosphorus contents are

similar to corn and soybean meal.

Hans H Stein, a University of Illinois animal

sciences researcher, and Lee Chiba, a professor of

animal nutrition at Auburn University, collaborated

to determine the amino acid and phosphorus

digestibility and the concentration of digestible

and metabolisable energy in hydrolysed feather

meal from four different processing plants.

The processing of hydrolysed feather meal is

not standardised, which means that feather meal

processed in different plants may vary in

nutritional value. Because feather meal may

contain coagulated poultry blood, each source was

included in the experiment both without and with

added blood.

Results of the research indicated that the

digestibility of crude protein and every amino acid

was different among the four sources of

hydrolysed feather meal if no blood was added.

The addition of blood to feather meal had

inconsistent effects on the digestibility of amino

acids. Digestibility of lysine increased with the

addition of blood in two of the sources of feather

meal but not in the other two sources; however,

adding blood reduced the digestibility of

isoleucine, leucine, methionine, valine and the

average of all indispensable amino acids in two

sources of feather meal but had no effect in the

other two sources.

Stein says that the differences in amino acid

digestibility might be due to differences in processing.

“Processing conditions such as steam pressure

and time of hydrolysis can affect the quality and

digestibility of protein and amino acids,” he

explained. “It also is possible that differences in

the timing of blood addition, before or after

hydrolysis of the feathers, have an effect on amino

acid digestibility.”

Other results of the experiment indicated that

there was a tendency for phosphorus digestibility

to differ among the four feather meal sources, but,

in all cases, digestibility was greater than 89

percent for feather meal without blood. For all

sources, phosphorus digestibility in feather meal

with added blood was less than that in meal with

no blood added, with digestibility in one source

reduced to as little as 50.2 percent.

The concentration of metabolisable energy

ranged from 4,206 to 5,474 kcal per kg DM with

no consistent response to the addition of blood;

however, there were significant differences among

the four sources of feather meal.

These values are greater than values

previously published for hydrolysed feather meal.

“It’s important for producers to consider the

source of feather meal and whether or not it has

added blood when they're using it in swine diets.

That way they can accurately assess its nutritional

value,” Stein said. “These results indicate that,

regardless of source or addition of blood, feather

meal contains more digestible and metabolisable

energy than has been demonstrated in the past.”

The article, Amino acid and phosphorus

digestibility and concentration of digestible and

metabolisable energy in hydrolysed feather meal

fed to growing pigs, was published in the Journal

of Animal Science.

Hydrolysed feather meal has nearly as much methionine as soybean meal and

meat and bone meal

Rapeseed mixed with enzyme is a cheaper, better broiler feed

Feather meal a good source of energy for swine


Rapeseed meal cheaper than soybean meal but contains higher levels of

anti-nutritional factors


21

Livestock

THE GLOBAL AQUACULTURE Alliance (GAA) is spearheading acase study to identify the shrimp-farming practices that prevent themanifestation of early mortality syndrome (EMS), also known asacute hepatopancreatic necrosis.

The case study will act as a foundation for recommendations tothe aquaculture community for better shrimp-farming practices.

The crux of the case study is a comprehensive survey of shrimpfarms in six countries in Asia and Latin America that consistentlyachieve good results even though neighboring farms are impairedby EMS. The survey results will be entered into a database fromwhich hypotheses will be formulated regarding the propermanagement of EMS. The hypotheses will then be tested in the field.

The survey results will also be summarised in a report andpresented at GAA’s GOAL 2014 conference in Ho Chi Minh City, VietNam, from October 7 to 10.

The hope is that identifying the common denominators of propermanagement will lead to the adoption of better shrimp-farmingpractices industry-wide. EMS, which first emerged in China in 2009,is costing the industry in excess of US$1bn annually.

The project is being supported primarily by ALLFISH, aWorld Bank public-private partnership organised by theInternational Coalition of Fisheries Associations, in the form ofa US$100,000 grant. The Seafood Industry Research Fund isalso supporting the project.

“In order to properly address this disease, aquaculture’s leadingresearchers will come together in March to design a survey of farmsacross the entire range of the disease to determine best practicesfor managing EMS,” said GAA president George Chamberlain.

The project’s first step is to establish a committee of about 10international experts, who will analyse the survey results andformulate the hypotheses for further testing. This committee iscurrently being assembled and is convening in Vietnam later thismonth. A checklist for the survey will be developed to assureconsistency in evaluation of pond management methods. Qualifiedauditors will then be dispatched to shrimp farms in China, Vietnam,Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico and India - particularly in areas greatlyaffected by EMS - to gather survey data.

The fourth step is to collect the survey results for input into adatabase, which the committee will review and formulate intohypotheses. Finally, the data will be complied for a written report tobe presented to the aquaculture community through GOAL 2014,GAA’s Global Aquaculture Advocate magazine and other outlets.

A NEW ONLINE Atlas of freshwater biodiversity presenting spatialinformation and species distribution patterns is now available online.

The Atlas is an output of BioFresh — an EU-funded project that isputting together the scattered pieces of information about life in riversand lakes, to better understand, manage and protect freshwaters. It isalso managed by a pan-European group of freshwater science andconservation experts from 12 research institutes and supported by keyinternational organizations active in the field of freshwater biodiversityresearch and conservation.

Freshwaters are incredibly diverse habitats: they cover less thanone per cent of the Earth’s surface, yet are home to 35 per cent ofall vertebrate species. But freshwater life is declining at an alarmingrate faster than any other component of global biodiversity,according to reasearcher.

A challenge for policy is how to integrate protection of freshwaterlife and the ecosystem services it provides with real and pressingdemands on freshwater resources from the energy, food andsanitation sectors

The Atlas is a response from freshwater scientists to this policychallenge. It provides policy-makers, water managers and scientists withan online, open-access and interactive gateway to key geographicalinformation and spatial data on freshwater biodiversity across differentscales. The Atlas is a resource for better, evidence-based decisionmaking in the area of water policy, science and management.

New study to identify bestshrimp-farming practices

EU creates a new website tomanage freshwater ecosystem


Determining the common denominators of proper management willlead to the adoption of better shrimp-farming practices


Crops

22

RICE IS AN important provider of essential minerals, nutrients andvitamins for human growth, development and health. However, ricealone cannot fulfil the dietary needs of the human body. Therefore,

it is essential to add additional nutrients for better health maintenance.Rice is the most consumed staple food for a large part of the globe,

especially Asia. As a result, rice is the most sensitive to changes insupply and demand and, therefore, price movements.

Among the cereals, rice protein is high in quality but modest incontent. Therefore, it is important to add essential minerals, nutrientsand vitamins while consuming rice.

This importance was recognised in 2004 with establishment of theinternationally acclaimed HarvestPlus Programme, which focuses on twomicronutrients and one vitamin (zinc [Zn], iron [Fe] and beta carotene[vitamin A] and recognised by World Health Organisation (WHO) asamong the most limited and limiting nutritional factors in human diets.

The HarvestPlus programme foresaw biofortified crop varieties as theanswer with the funding for research provided by the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation and The World Bank. Rice was recognised as one of the keycrop vehicles that could bring about planned improvements in diet andnutrition and alleviation of suffering for billions of the world’s poor.

Biofortification as a broad concept is a potentially three-way avenue— genetic biofortification, i.e., breeding rice varieties with high zincgrain content, agronomic biofortification, i.e., application of zinc-basedfertilizer to the soil, or soluble zinc products sprayed on the foliage.Fortification of rice based foods by supplementing with targetednutrients, minerals and vitamins is a useful last resort option.

Essential micronutrientGlobal HarvestZinc Fertiliser Project was established in 2008 underHarvestPlus. Zinc is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and

development and an equally essential mineral for normal humangrowth and development and the maintenance of health. Zincdeficiency in soils and crops such as rice is directly linked tosubsequent zinc dietary deficiency affecting millions and responsiblefor among other things child blindness.

Genetic biofortification with zinc is a sustainable way forward up tothe point of planting but thereafter clearly relies on farmers beingwilling to plant these varieties. However, the necessary incentives maynot be there if they are not the highest yielding varieties on offer and/orare more prone to pests and diseases than standard varieties.Supplementation of processed rice based foods with zinc is a usefullast resort.

Agronomic or fertiliser biofortification appears to be the mostsuccessful of the three processes because of incentives to farmers fromhigher yields and superior quality grain, through targeted application andoptimum utilisation of zinc as an essential plant micronutrient, especiallyalkaline (high pH) soils where zinc becomes ‘locked up’.

Global HarvestZinc Fertiliser Project is supported by a consortium ofcompanies which includes Omex Agrifluids, an international, researchand development based company based in the UK. Omex Agrifluidsdesigns, develops and sells soluble liquid nutrient products for soil, seedand foliar application. Omex is the only foliar fertiliser companysupporting the project.

“The Global HarvestZinc Fertilizer Project uses biofortification toenhance the zinc status of cereals like rice for maximum high qualitygrain. High zinc content in rice grain transfers and translates as dietaryzinc into human well-being and health,” says Peter Prentis, exportdirector at Omex Agrifluids.

Agronomic biofortification is a logical way forward with foliarapplication of soluble liquid zinc formulations the most rational route,

Zero in on zinc for betterhealth and nutrition

Farmers transplanting rice

Pho

togr

aph:

Om

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grifl

uids


The deficiency of this mineral in human diet canlead to many diseases, especially in children

S06 FEAG 2 2014 - Crop 1_Layout 1 3/25/2014 11:32 AM Page 22

Crops

23

given the relatively high immobility of zinc in soil, adds Alan Lowes,regional director at Omex.

“Soil applied zinc may help to improve plant growth but it does notget into the grain as quickly and to the same level as that from targetedsprays of foliar applied zinc,” Prentis notes.

Omex Zinc trial in TurkeyLowes says, “Our research and development department is activelyinvolved in the Global HarvestPlus Zinc Project to increase the zinccontent of cereal grain yields,” citing a research programme on wheat inTurkey. This project went on to identify Omex Zinc applied as a foliarspray as most effective route to harvested grain with a sufficiently highzinc content for the maintenance of human health*.

Zinc (Zn) as Zinc Sulphate (Zn S04) and Omex-Zinc (a patentedsoluble zinc formulation for foliar application) were applied by sprayingto greenhouse grown wheat plants (cv. Adana 99) in a range of Znconcentration and at different plant growth stages. Zn S04 was used atzero per cent, 0.1 per cent, 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent. Omex Zinctreatments exactly matched those of ZnS04 in the per cent of Zn used.

Plants were sprayed once at the early milk stage or twice, at headingas well as the early milk stage. In a separate trial, flag leaves of wheatplants were soaked in 0.3 per cent Zn S04 or Omex Zinc containing anequivalent concentration of active zinc. Flag leaves (up to five cm to sixcm from the tip) on plants at milk stage were immersed in the respectivesolution for 10-12 seconds each morning for eight consecutive days.

Grain concentrations of Zn were significantly increased by ZnS04 andOmex Zinc (compared with no zinc control), with highest responsesshown by plants receiving Omex Zinc. Superiority of Omex Zinc wasmost marked at the highest concentrations and when plants were treatedonce only at the milk stage. For instance, plants treated with 0.3 percent Zn S04 applied at the milk stage showed an increase in grain Znconcentration of 12 mg kg-1 while those treated with Omex Zincresponded with a 21 mg kg-1 increase in grain Zn.

“Ten mg kg-1 is known to be the minimum elevation in grain Znrequired to achieve a measurable positive impact on human health”,says Prentis. “For enhanced human zinc nutrition cereal grains shouldcontain around 40mg—60mg Zn per kg whereas normally they willtypically contain only 10mg—30mg per kg”, he adds.

Omex focus on rice Zinc deficiency in rice is a covert problem. There are well documentedinstances of yield reductions of up to 20 per cent without deficiencysymptoms being shown in the leaves. Root development is a corefunction of zinc, which must be available at the critical seed germinationstage when plants put down first roots. Thereafter, accurately placedfoliar sprays, synchronised with the appropriate growth stage, ensurerapid uptake of soluble zinc by the leaves and its transport to developingand filling grains throughout the reproductive phase of the rice cycle.

Omex Zinc products used in the formulation of rice fertilisationprogrammes are: • Primer Zn Bio, a high concentration suspension seed treatment con-

taining 700gm/l (70% w/v) Zn and a natural bio-stimulant sourcedfrom seaweed.

• Kingfol Zn, a flowable foliar applied nutrient containing 700gm/l(70% w/v) Zn. In the form of Zn0 as small particles and formulatedwith enhancers to optimise uptake by foliage and plant nutritionalperformance over time

Application of Primer Zn Bio as a sprayable seed dressing ensuresrice crops get off to a flying start by providing required levels of Znfor production of enzyme and structural proteins. The seaweedcomponent stimulates rapid root development by providing thecorrect balance of natural auxin and cytokinin growth regulation.Treated seeds benefit from early root and shoot development, anduniform germination with rapid uptake of water and nutrients tosustain growth beyond the germination stage. Established plants arebetter able to cope with stress and to attain full yield potential.Follow up treatment with Kingfol Zn as a foliar spray, post-transplanting at the tillering stage, ensures rapid uptake andutilisation of Zn, including transfer to the panicles for incorporationinto developing and filling grains.

Complete foliar feed programme for riceZinc cannot be considered in isolation from other nutrients. Omexhave designed a complete foliar feed programme for rice based onresearch conducted in countries including South East Asia.



24

Tried and tested worldwideIndividual Omex products and the complete Omex foliar feed programmefor rice have been tried and tested worldwide.

Calmax applied in Peru to crops at the spike emergence stage andat 1.0 l/ha increased yields by 60 per cent and halved the number ofsplit grains. Applications in Thailand made at the tillering, booting andmilky stages increased yields reduced lodging and relieved aluminiumtoxicity in rice.

Tissue analysis of rice leaves clearly shows the effectiveness of theOmex Foliar Feed Programme for rice. Nutrient analysis of the flag leaf atpanicle initiation and five days prior to harvest demonstrated higherlevels of key essential nutrient elements. Net overall result from theOmex Foliar Feed Programme was a 17 per cent increase in grain yield.

Prentis and Lowes sum up the benefits of Zinc biofortificationthrough fertiliser application and soluble Zn by foliar application.“Evidence from 40 field trials over eight countries show Omex Zincfoliar applied products increase rice, wheat and maize grain yields byaround five per cent. Moreover, grain zinc concentrations were

enhanced by up to 60 per cent. After two years of field trials (2008-2009), which compared a range of zinc fertiliser treatments,HarvestZinc concluded that foliar application of zinc is superior to soilapplication for increasing the concentration and level of zinc in brownrice and cereal grains in general.” nn


Crops

Close up on panicles full of ready to harvest rice grain

(Pic

: Om

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grifl

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)

Location/application Timing/Growth stage Treatment/Omex product/rateSeed dressing Seed Primer Zn Bio (3ml/kgNursery/spray Seedling Bio 20* (3 l/ha)Post-transplant/spray Tillering Bio 20* (1-2 l/ha) Kingfol Zn (0.5 -1.0 l/ha)Post-transplant/spray Panicle initiation CalMax* (2-4 l/ha) Micromax* (1.0 l/ha)Post-transplant/spray Spike emergence NK 60* (1.0-2.0 l/ha) Boron 15* (0.5 l/ha)

*Bio 20: NPK 20:20:20 with Magnesium (Mg) and trace elements*CalMax: Calcium (Ca) as Ca0 (22.5%) and Nitrogen (N) 15% with Mg and trace elements*Micromax: A comprehensive trace element profile plus Mg and Sulphur (S)*NK60: 39% K20 with 11% N*Boron 15: 15% Boron (B) chelated with ethanolamine All percentages in the table and footnotes are w/v (weight/volume)

Zinc is an essential trace element for normal growth anddevelopment in plants and animals, including humans. Shortages ofplant-available zinc reduce crop yields and rice grain quality toimpact on the health and well-being of rice eating communities.Zinc as an essential plant micronutrient plays key functional rolesas a constituent of cell organelles and a regulatory co-factor for awide range of enzymes controlling important biochemicalpathways. These are concerned with:• Photosynthesis and polymerization of sugars into starch• Synthesis of structural and enzyme proteins and control of en-

zyme function, for rapid growth• Production and regulation of plant auxin for normal growth and

development• Maintaining integrity and selectively of cell membranes• Formation of pollen grains• Increasing plant resistance to infection by pathogensReference*A new foliar fertilizer (Omex-Zinc) with its high impact on grain zincconcentration. I. Elliot1, A. Hadrami1, A. Green1, I. Cakmak2, Y.Tutus2 and A. Yazici2

1Omex Agrifluids Ltd of Norfolk, UK2Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University,Istanbul, Turkey

By Dr Terry Mabbett

THE PHILIPPINES-BASED International Rice

Research Institute (IRRI) will provide

technological support to the rice farmers in India’s

northeastern state of Assam to popularise water-

resistant varieties. Assam is a chronically flood-

prone region. Last year, the Agricultural Ministry of

Assam distributed two tons of the IRRI-developed

Swarna SUB-1 (flood tolerant) variety of paddy to

farmers. The new varieties reportedly helped

double yields to up to four tonnes per hectare. This

year, submergence rice varieties are planned to be

used in about 493,000 hectares of flood-prone

land, which is almost 20 per cent of the 2.5mn

hectares of rice cultivated area in Assam,

according to a report at Oryza.

Robert S. Zeigle, director general of IRRI, said

that agro-climatic zone-wise trials are planned to

help farmers easily adapt to the newer varieties. He

also says that there is a need for phase-wise

strategic improvement of capacity building. Assam

could easily become a rice-surplus state by

reducing flood-induced crop damages significantly,

he added. According to government sources,

Assam’s rice production during the FY 2012-13

(April - March), spread over an area of about 2.5mn

hectares, stood at about 5.13mn tonnes. Assam

accounts for about five per cent of India’s total

rice production of around 105mn tonnes in the FY

2012-13. The state is expected to produce around

six million tonnes of rice in FY 2013-14.

IRRI to encourage use of water-resistant rice among Indian farmers


Crops

25

AS A POPULAR crop in the Philippines,peanut is considered one of the majorfield legumes grown in the country with

its diversified uses such as a nutritional snack,major ingredient in food preparations and itsoil for industrial uses.

According to the Philippine Council forAgriculture, Aquatic and Natural ResourcesResearch and Development (PCAARD), peanuthas an excellent nutritional value as indicatedby its proximate nutrient analysis: 25.67 percent crude protein, 20.05 per centcarbohydrates, 47.41 per cent crude fat, 4.39

per cent moisture and 2.48 per cent ash. At25 per cent protein and 45 per cent oil,PCAARD says peanut is an inexpensive, highprotein, high energy food for humans andlivestock. The agency added that concentratedfood from peanut has more proteins, mineralsand vitamins than beef liver, more fat thanheavy cream, and more energy than sugar.One cup of roasted peanuts has the energyvalue of approximately four cups of milk, fivecups of meat and five chicken eggs.

Based on Protein Digestibility CorrectedAmino Acid Source (PDCAAS) — standardquality for protein measurement, PCAARD sayspeanut is a plant equivalent of meat and eggs— essential for human growth and health. It isalso good source of niacin for brain health aswell as antioxidants to reduce cardiovasculardiseases and lower cancer risks as well asresveratrol for anti-aging.

Considered as one of the top cash crops,peanut is a guaranteed income-generating

livelihood of rural families for making peanutbutter, roasted peanut and many peanut-based confectioneries. The farming of peanutin the country, according to Dr PatriciaJimenez of Agricultural Training Institute,involves men and women, in all productionactivities such as plowing, harrowing,planting, weeding, harvesting and post-harvest such as storing and drying.

Figures from the bureau of agriculturalstatistics (BAS) show that peanut production in2013 was 29.10 thousand tonnes or 0.1 percent lower than 29.13 per cent thousandtonnes in the same period of 2012. This wasattributed to the following:• Adverse affects of typhoons Labuyo (interna-

tional name Utor), Maring (Trami) and themonsoon rains in Ilocos region , CALABAR-ZON, Bicol region and typhoon Yolanda(Haiyan) in Eastern Visayas

• Shifting to onion and tobacco in OccidentalMindoro and to corn in Lanaodel Norte.

Go nuts over peanuts

The Philippines is headingtowards a better prospect forthe legume for the reasonsbeing profitability andincreasing demand worldwide

At 25 per cent protein and 45 per cent oil, PCAARD says peanut is aninexpensive, high protein, high energy food for humans and livestock


S07 FEAG 2 2014 - Crops 2_Layout 1 3/25/2014 11:34 AM Page 25

26

Ilocos region and Cagayan Valley contributed53 per cent of the country’s peanut production.

According to the department of agriculture(DA), the country imports 30,000 tonnes to50,000 tonnes of peanut out of a total supplyof 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes. The bureau ofagricultural research (BAR) data show thecountry usually imports shelled and in-shellraw peanut, peanut butter and preparedpeanut worth more than US$10mn annually.More than 50 per cent of its peanut supplyimports come from China. The country alsoexports processed peanut in three forms:preserved, cooked (in shell) and peanutbutter. The US is the biggest market forPhilippine peanuts.

Because of its bright prospects, thegovernment is allocating 5,000 hectares inCagayan Valley which was deemed the idealarea for a climate change-mitigating crop withits nitrogen-fixing property.

The DA targets a 43 per cent increase inpeanut production in Region 2 in three tofive years. At present, the total area plantedto peanuts is only 3,500 hectares. Theagency also sees peanut production has theability to reduce the emission of greenhousegas-emitting nitrous oxide. It is also drought-resistant having an average irrigation waterrequirement ranging from four to 50mm perapplication, which is ideal for tropical nationslike the Philippines.

The BAR has launched a programmewhich involves breeding for improved peanutvarieties with the support from PCAARD. Wheninter-planted with corn or rice, peanut canraise land use efficiency and farmers’ income.

At a production cost of US$605.37, a

farmer may earn a net income of US$514.44out of a 2,000kg per hectare yield, given aUS$0.55 per kilo farm gate price.

Asha — new ray of hopeDespite the seemingly good prospects, peanutyield still remains low due to poor seed qualityas planting material, low level technology usedand seasonality of local peanut varieties and itsuse as an intercrop rather than a primary crop,cited BAR. In order to meet the domesticdemand for peanut, BAR has teamed up withthe International Crop Research Institute for theSemi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India to helpintroduce new varieties that could helpimprove local production.

ICRISAT has brought three new peanutlines to pass the standard field testingrequirements for legumes of the NationalCooperative Test: The NSIC Pn 10 in 1993with an average yield of 1.5 tonnes perhectare (ha), NSIC Pn 11 in 2002 - a varietywith an average bean yield of 1.65 tonnesper hectare (ha), and NSIC Pn 12 in 2003with an average yield of 1.62 tonnes/ha.

According to BAR, these three varietieswere approved for commercial release by theNational Seed Industry Council (NSIC) of thePhilippines. Under this endeavor, ICRISATwas able to secure a large-seeded, highyielding peanut variety from India called‘Asha’. Asha is meant to bring hope — itsdirect English translation — to the localpeanut industry. ICRISAT and BAR togethercreated numerous activities Asha through itsCommunity-based Participatory ActionResearch (CPAR) primarily in Region 2 or theCagayan Valley area. CPAR established

techno-demo farms to showcase theperformance of Asha variety and productiontechnologies to farmers, buyers, processorsand other peanut enthusiasts. Theprogramme revealed Asha’s suitability to thecountry’s climate and agronomic condition asit has produced the highest recorded yield of3,991kg per hectare. According to BAR, Ashawas able to double the yield of regular peanutvarieties which might help raise income of upto more than US$600 per hectare. Asha is a3-in-1 variety in terms of seed sizes: Class A(50 per cent extra large seeds; 1 seed: 1gram); Class B (30 per cent large seeds; 2seeds:1.5 grams) and Class C (20 per centmedium small seeds; 3 seeds: 1 gram). Thebiggest seed are the same sized as cashewnuts and has a high shelling recovery of 73per cent to 79 per cent making it ideal forconfections and table food.

BAR says Asha is resistant to bacterial wiltand other foliar diseases such as Cercospora leafspot and rust as well as an ideal livestock foragedue to its high fresh biomass and dry matteryield. Because of its good performance, Asha isnow grown in different parts of the country.

Multinational companies have also noticedAsha’s high-yielding ability. BAR says fivemajor peanut processors — MarigoldCommodities Inc, Newborn Food Products,Tobi Marketing, Growers Food Industries andCalifornia Manufacturing Corporation are nowaccepting peanut products from differentproduction areas. Because of Asha, the localpeanut industry renewed its hope of a betterindustry in years to come. nn

By Gemma Delmo


Crops

All parts of the peanut plant can be used. The peanut, grown primarily for human consumption, has several uses as whole seeds or isprocessed to make peanut butter, oil and other products


FILIPINO FARMERS WILL soon reap a harvestafter using emergency seed supplies providedto grow crops following a devastating typhoonthat struck during planting season inNovember last year, Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) said recently. Super typhoon Haiyan had raked across thecentral Philippines in 2013, killing at least6,200 people with around 2,000 others stillmissing, while also displacing four million andleaving tens of thousands of farmers withouttheir livelihoods. Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general ofFAO, said, “Haiyan hit between the rice plantingseasons but timely seed replacements haveensured a second harvest is not lost.”“When the crop is harvested in March or Aprilthis year... it should yield enough rice to feed800,000 people for more than a year,” he added. “This means that they will not only be able tofeed their families, but also sell the surplus

and generate extra income which is crucial forthem to fully recover,” Silva added.Haiyan had destroyed 1.1mn tonnes of crops,along with 33mn coconut trees in a majorfarming region described by the Philippinegovernment as among the poorest. He saidproviding coconut farmers with other sources

of income, such as helping them plant faster-yielding crops, was a top FAO priority in thesix to eight years it will take for new coconuttrees to start bearing fruit. Meanwhile, the government of New Zealandwill also provide additional US$2.5mn to FAOin helping affected farmers and fishermen oftyphoon Haiyan.The additional fund is in addition to theUS$5mn that they had earlier provided to theorganisation for the emergency response andrelief effort.The fund will be used in ensuring the recoverycrops production for rice, corn, and coconut,as well as on livestock and fishery. Kayeadded that farm tools and agricultural trainingwill also be funded from the amount the NewZealand government will donate.In Barangay Gacao, the New Zealand-funded FAO will implement intercropping incoconut farm.

Philippines to reap harvest of emergency seed planting after 2013 typhoon

27

Crops

The harvest is expected to be in surplus this year

SCIENTISTS FROM AUSTRALIA’S Queensland

University of Technology (QUT) have isolated a gene

from resurrection grass, a native Australian grass

found around Charleville in Queensland, which is

likely to develop rice varieties that have improved

resistance to salinity and drought conditions.

Professor Sagadevan Mundree of QUT said that

the resurrection grass found in Queensland can

tolerate extreme environmental stresses,

including severe drought, salinity, high

temperature and high light-intensity stresses for

prolonged periods and resurrect within 24-72

hours upon rehydration. These qualities could be

used to help reduce losses and increase rice area

in large parts of the world.

Under a three-year US$600,000 project, QUT is

working with India’s International Centre for

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB)

and the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU)

to find genes from resurrection grass could be

used to genetically improve abiotic stress

tolerance in rice.

Scientists say that the project will help

understand how the drought-tolerant gene

works and prepare it for transfer into rice.

Mundree added, “We are very confident that we

will be able to harness this death-defying

property and provide rice varieties that will help

sustain the growing world population in the

midst of global warming.”

Indian and Oz scientists develop stress-tolerant rice for Asia


The resurrection grass has high tolerance for extreme climates

VIETNAM’S RUGGED NORTHERN terrain is characterised by sloping hills giving

way to lush paddy fields and stretches of ancient tea.

Yet the scars of climate change mark themselves in the landscape — scars

which scientists and researchers are now using to piece together climate-

smart solutions so communities can adapt to future weather shocks, according

to CGIAR study.

Vietnam is among eight countries in Southeast Asia that is vulnerable to

the impacts of climate change, with widespread poverty and highly populated

low-lying agricultural areas prone to encroaching salinity and increased

weather intensity.

Already firmly rooted in West Africa, East Africa and South Asia, the Climate

Change, Agriculture and Food Security Program (CCAFS) is now rolling out a

set of research hubs, or climate smart villages, in Southeast Asia.

The village sites – which will allow farming communities and researches

to identify together site-specific agricultural practices to adapt to changing

climate impacts – are also being established in the focus countries in the

region which include Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

The climate-smart villages will link farmers to weather information

systems, advice on resilient water management practices and greenhouse gas-

cutting techniques, through improved farming practices or fuel-efficient

machinery for example.

The first village in northern Vietnam has been chosen by a team of

researchers through a consensus selection and criteria based ranking system,

taking into account the diversity of the landscape, climate challenges faced by

the local communities and existing infrastructure such as road access.

The prospective site is in Yenbai Province, northern Vietnam, where the

landscape is affected by variable climate patterns with episodes of cold

weather, heavy rains and drought.

This is causing crops and livestock loses and aggravates rapid degradation

of natural resources, for example leading to soil erosion in lowland and upland

areas as farmers intensify their production systems.

Other climate-smart villages will be chosen in the central and

southern parts of the country, with prospective sites already selected in

Laos and Cambodia.

Climate-smart solutions for better farming in Vietnam


Crops

28

IN 2013, THE International Rice Research Institute

(IRRI) had released nine salt-tolerant varieties in

the Philippines.

The 44 new varieties released last year in Asia

and Africa include nine salt-tolerant varieties in the

Philippines, three flood-tolerant varieties in South

Asia, and six in sub-Saharan Africa. In total, 21 were

released in the Philippines, six in Bangladesh, five

in Myanmar, three in Nigeria, two in Tanzania, two

in India, and one each in Cambodia, Vietnam,

Indonesia, Mozambique, and Rwanda.

Eero Nissila, head of IRRI’s breeding division,

said, “Overall, IRRI has released around a thousand

improved rice varieties across 78 countries since

its establishment in 1960.”

An independent assessment by the Australian

Centre for International Agricultural Research

(ACIAR) found that Southeast Asian rice farmers in

three countries have been harvesting an extra

US$1.46bn worth of rice every year as a result of

the research work done by IRRI and its partners. A

13 per cent boost in yield gave returns of US$127

per hectare in southern Vietnam, US$76 per

hectare in Indonesia, and US$52 per hectare in the

Philippines, the study added.

Similarly, a study commissioned by the Swiss

Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) on

the impact of investments in rice research

suggested that a US$12mn investment in rice

research has returned more than US$70mn in

benefits to rice farmers and national economies in

four Asian countries. The countries covered in the

study were Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, and

the Philippines.

Around half of the current global population —

or about 3.5 billion people — relies on rice as a

source of sustenance and livelihood, IRRI said.

FEARING THAT THE large scale cassavacultivation would lead to the deforestation andthe soil degradation, Vietnam’s Binh Dinhprovince has decided to bring the cassavacultivation programme under control.The stable and high prices of cassava inrecent years, bringing high profits to farmers— have prompted people to shift to cassavainstead of other crops. As a result, thecassava growing area has been increasingrapidly, expanding beyond the expectations.Under the cassava development plan, BinhDinh would have 10,000 hectares of cassavagrowing area by 2020. This includes 4,400hectares of stable cultivated area whichprovides materials to the local starch factorywhich makes products for export.The cassava material growing areas would belocated in 21 communes of three districts ofPhu My, Phu Cat and Tay Son.However, the total cassava growing area hasreached 13,000 hectares, or 3,000 hectareshigher than the area projected for 2020.Cassava growing areas have been developedin many districts, including Van Canh, PhuCat, Phu My, Tay Son, Vinh Thanh and An Lao.According to the local authorities, it is easyand not costly to grow cassava, while the saleis stable. Therefore, growing cassava is thechoice of many local people.However, the ‘cassava movement’ is

threatening the existence of the forest. Localpeople tend to clear forest land to acquirecassava fields.Especially, experts have warned that themassive development of cassava in thelocality may lead to soil degeneration. Thecurrent cassava growing land would not besuitable to other crops.Therefore, the provincial authorities havetaken drastic measures to minimise therisks, requesting farmers to strictly followthe land development programme and onlygrow the crops under the plans approved by

the authorities.Farmers have also been told to growcassava together with other crops to helpupgrade the soil.According to Deputy Director of the Binh Dinhprovincial agriculture department Ho NgocHung, cassava will be developed only onsuitable land, while the land with the slope ofmore than 15 degrees would be reserved forfruit trees, industrial trees or forestation inorder to optimize the economic efficiency andhelp protect the environment.A new method of cultivating cassava in thesustainable and environment friendly wayhas been used in Phu Cat district of BinhDinh province.Phan Sy Hung, Deputy Head of the district’sagriculture sub-department said one of themost important solutions in developingsustainable cassava material areas is tooptimise the economic efficiency in the samecultivation area.A lot of people here grow peanuts togetherwith cassava, making the profits 2-3 timeshigher than the alternate peanut-cassavacultivation and 3.5 times higher than purecassava cultivation.Probiotics have been used by a lot of farmershere instead of chemical pesticide, thusallowing to reduce the insects, cut investmentcosts and improve the soil.

According to the local authorities, it is easyand not costly to grow cassava, while the

sale is stable

IRRI introduces salt-tolerant rice varieties in the Philippines

Vietnam encourages environmental friendly cassava cultivation


In total, 21 rice varieties were introduced in the country in 2013


29

Crops

BY USING A combined approach of simulation modeling and on farm

research, the International Plant Nutrition Institute — Southeast Asia Program

(IPNI SEAP) together with partners were able to quantify the gaps between

potential maize yield and the actual yield produced, evaluate the

performance of SSNM in closing these gaps and gauge its profitability in

various production and fertiliser scenarios in Penang, Malaysia.

SSNM is a component of precision agriculture and can be used for any

field or crop. It combines plant nutrient requirements at each growth stage

and the soil’s ability to supply those nutrients, and applies that

information to areas within a field that require different management from

the field average.

With demands for livestock feed increasing, maize is rapidly becoming

a major industrial commodity. Current production totals 250mn tonnes,

which is insufficient to match the growing demand — projected to rise to

291mn tones by 2020. Rather than area expansion which may impact the

environment negatively, sustainable crop intensification to increase yield

is a suitable alternative.

Between 2004 and 2008, field trials were conducted in at least 65 sites

in 13 major maize-producing regions in Indonesia, Vietnam and the

Philippines in order to develop and evaluate SSNM for hybrid maize. By

adjusting fertilizer N.P and K to optimal application rates in each site, maize

yield was increased on average by 13 per cent compared to farmers’ practice.

Applying the right nutrient source, at the right rate, at the right time, in the

right place is essential to nutrient stewardship and is the core of the 4-Rs.

The 4-R based SSNM approach of balanced NKP fertilization and timely

application of nutrients according to crop growth stages in more extensive

plant growth and increased nutrient use efficiency. In the case of N with the

average application rate decreasing by 10 per cent, the N use efficiency

increased by 42 per cent.

With SSNM improving crop yield, profitability increased by US$167 per ha

per crop, i.e., 15 per cent of the total average net returns. Using simulations,

the study revealed that greater returns were more likely with SSNM in highly

favourable rain-fed environments compared to irrigated and less favourable

rain-fed areas which did well under farmers’ fertilizer practices. In highly

favourable rain-fed areas, maize crops grown using SSNM reduced existing

yield gaps through improved yields and nutrient use efficiency, thereby

improving profitability.

New method can help improve maize yield in Southeast Asia


With demands for livestock feed increasing, maize is rapidly becominga major industrial commodity


Equipment

30

US’ PURDUE UNIVERSITY researchersand a group of agricultural companieshave announced an open source

project to standardise farm data formats andimprove communication between farmequipment and farm management tools madeby different companies.

The Open Agriculture Data Alliance, orOADA, will also seek to set standards on dataprivacy and security, among the top concerns offarmers gathering and sharing increasingly deeppools of data from high tech farm machinesarmed with global positioning technology andwireless data transfer capability.

Aaron Ault, senior research engineer atPurdue University’s Open Ag Technology Groupand project lead for the OADA, said, “Thepurpose is to solve some of the issues thatfarmers have dealing with their data.”

Agricultural data can include everything fromfarm financial documents and futures marketpositions to the number of seeds planted peracre and inches rainfall in each field.

“We will solve as many problems withtechnological solutions as we possibly can.The ones that we cannot solve withtechnological solutions we will solve withcommon language that lets the farmer know,up front, what it is they are getting into whenthey enter into agreements with thesedifferent companies,” Ault added.

Involved in the effort are agriculturaldata science company Climate Corporation,Valley Irrigation, farm cooperativeGROWMARK, equipment maker CNHIndustrial and seed company AgReliantGenetics. Other participants include farmproducts suppliers Wilbur-Ellis Companyand WinField, Reuters reported.

Agriculture companies such as John Deere,DuPont Pioneer and Climate Corporation parentMonsanto have been investing heavily inprecision agriculture and data analytics toolsover the past year. They have launchedservices that will analyze data and make

recommendations to boost crop yields orincrease efficiency by pairing soil types withoptimal seeds or focusing chemicalapplications only where they are needed.

But the high tech tools have raisedconcerns that data shared by farmers could bemisused or sold to third parties. Although thecompanies have reassured farmers that theirdata is safe in often-lengthy privacystatements, the OADA will seek to standardiseprivacy and security guidelines industry wide.

OADA will also create a “referenceimplementation” of a cloud storage and dataanalytics service to set an example for theindustry on how an OADA-compliant systemshould function. Developers are invited tocontribute software code to improve upon thetemplate or use it to create their own OADA-compliant tools. No company owns theintellectual property that is part of the project sohow each company decides to take it and use itto their own benefit is really up to them. It reallyopens up the ability for small players to innovate.And it allows the farmer to choose the best-in-class solution instead of the one that happens towork with his equipment today,” he said. nn

Agriculture firms havecollaborated to invest in theproject that will improvecompetency in farms

Companies launch effort tosecure farm data

Developers are invited to contribute software code to improve uponthe template or use it to create their own OADA-compliant tools


S08 FEAG 2 2014 - Equipment_Layout 1 3/25/2014 11:42 AM Page 30

31

Equipment

A REMOTE-CONTROLLED SYSTEM for a power tiller

has been developed by Indian innovator Prajwal V

Kumar, which can be used by farmers to plough

their land for cultivation without physically

operating it. Kumar has received the National

Award for Commercialisable Patent 2013-14 by

the Technology Information, Forecasting and

Assessment Council (TIFAC), Department of

Science and Technology, Government of India.

Kumar said that the remote-controlled power

tiller started as a weekend project in 2005, with

an idea to make the task of farming easier. It can

be used to plough the fields with the help of the

remote control, which will prevent injuries

resulting from thorns, stones, snake bites, etc.

With the remote-controlled power tiller, one need

not get on the field, let alone walk with the tiller

for hours on end to control its direction. The tilling

work that may normally take upto three hours can

be completed in less than two, he said.

This system is an electronics combined

mechanical gadget, which goes as an attachment

for power tillers and was developed in 2005, after

prolonged testing and field trials. The tiller has

now achieved a big success to go for production

with great demand from all over India, the

innovator said.

Power tillers are used to plough fields and to

make the land suitable to grow crops. Unlike

tractors where people sit and control the machine,

power tillers need somebody walking behind it to

control the directions. One of the major

advantages of a power tiller over tractors is that

power tillers can go to any sort of fields where

tractors fail to reach. Most of the Indian farmers

depend on tillers for agricultural need because of

its versatility and price. But the drawback is that

somebody has to go along with it to till the land.

Considering this drawback, the company came

up with the plan to use remote control system to

control the tiller without even getting into the

field. This remote control system for power tillers

has a potential to revolutionise the farming

system in India.

The operation includes left direction control,

right direction control and main clutch

disengagement or the brake control. Even an

unskilled operator can operate the power tiller just

by the touch of a button, thereby saving time and

money required for the skilled labor. This system

will encourage those farmers who had stopped

farming due to lack of skilled labour, to restart the

process of agriculture.

The main objective of the tiller is to increase

the production by timely operation and effective

work. Sometime due to lack of labour, particular

operations cannot be done at the stipulated time,

which in turn affects the growth and ultimately

results in declined production, Kumar added.

The Asian area is rich with stones which cause damage to all kinds of harvesting and seeding machines.

The Asian area is rich with stones which cause damage to all kinds of harvesting and seeding machines.

One year ago we started with our partner Crop Tech Asia and brought the first units into Thailand. The sugar cane farms fought against a big problem with stones and were very satisfied with the results during the first year. Following units are on the way to Thailand. You can directly contact our importer, Thaus Co. Ltd (Crop Tech Asia), Bangkok - Mr. Vorachai Manomuth to get an offer and find out where the machines can be watched for a demo!email: [email protected], mob: +66819123838

PEL-TUOTE OY, Seppälänsalmentie 181, FIN-58900 Rantasalmi [email protected] +358-40-5688115 Jens Köllner – Export Manager

Award-winning remote-controlled tiller can reduce physical labour


The main objective of the tiller is to effectivelyincrease the production


Equipment

32

INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY GROUPAndritz has received an order from OKI Pulp& Paper Mills to supply the world’s largestrecovery boiler for OKI’s new kraft pulp mill inIndonesia. The start-up is scheduled for thesecond quarter of 2016. The order valueamounts to approximately US$164mn, asthe company said in a press release.

The total capacity of the Andritz HighEnergy Recovery Boiler (HERB) is about 50per cent higher than of any other recoveryboiler in operation worldwide, reaching ablack liquor firing capacity of 11,600 tonnesof dry solids per day. The maximum dailygreen electricity production of the boiler isequivalent to the average daily electricity

power need of a European city of one millioninhabitants, the statement informed.

The boiler will feature state-of-the-artsolutions for optimising power-to-heat ratiosby operating at higher pressures andtemperatures than conventional boilers. Thisallows pulp mills to maximise theirenvironmental-friendly power generation.The order confirms the position of theAndritz Pulp & Paper business area as onethe world’s leading suppliers for high-energyrecovery boilers.

Andritz Pulp & Paper is a leading globalsupplier of equipment, systems, and servicesfor the production and processing of all typesof pulps, paper, tissue, and board.

A NEW HALAL restraining box — Rajin 2 —featuring simple, easy-to-maintain and low-cost construction has been released for use inmarkets around the world.Glenn Storer, Philippines-based Australianand manager of Wellard’s Halal abattoirdesigned and developed the box. The unitsare manufactured to high standards in thePhilippines and marketed through Australia,Southeast Asia and other countries byprocessing equipment supplier Kentmaster.Previous Halal-approved boxes like the Mark 4were mainly hydraulic in operation. In contrast,the Rajin 2 restraining box is completelymanual in operation, and conforms with Halalrequirements, featuring additional length onthe chin-lift and a breast-plate restrainer. Thebox meets ESCAS requirements.

The ruggedly-built unit costs US$15,061 and themaintenance requires only food-grade greasingof hinges and latches. It is also easy to keephygienically-clean with regular wash-down. Thefirst unit was sold only in November 2013, and ithas since gone into slaughter facilities inIndonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.A boom at the front of the box allows theoperator to conveniently hang both thebalancer and the stunner within reach. Forthose sites that already have an operatingbox, the front component of the Rajin box canbe bought separately and retro-fitted.Units are shipped directly from the Philippinesto the client to minimise freight costs. They aretransported as a flat-pack for easy assemblywith the help of an assembly video andmarkings on each component.

The Rajin 2 restraining box is completelymanual in operation

Andritz inks US$164 million deal with Indonesian firm for recovery boiler

Kentmaster introduces new low cost Halal restraining box


BÜHLER DESIGNS AND manufactures custom

multi-pass conveyor dryers and ovens for use in

drying and cooling a variety of products including

extruded petfood and fish feed, ready-to-eat cereal,

snacks and food ingredients. The multi-pass dryer

features conveyor beds positioned one above the

other in order to maximise capacity in the least

amount of floor space.

The multi-pass conveyor dryer is an ideal

solution for plants with restricted floor space. Dual

and triple-pass conveyor dryer beds can help plant

owners double or triple their production capacity

without expanding their plant or building. Smooth,

continuous product flow is achieved with the

multi-pass dryer’s first-in/first-out product control.

It also offers consistent product quality thanks to

optimal temperature and airflow control. The multi-

pass conveyor dryer uses zoned temperature control

and alternating airflow to customize the thermal

process and maximise the efficiency of heat and

mass transfer. The design ensures consistent product

characteristics across the entire conveyor bed.

Multiple passes allow the product to be stacked

deeper as it progresses through the drying cycle,

resulting in longer retention times with more

efficient and consistent drying.

The sanitary design features ensure clean, safe

operation. Dryer floors and roofs are pitched for

easy cleaning and continuously welded for

maximum sanitation. The sanitary door option

provides continuously welded insulated door

panels to prevent moisture from entering the

panel. Easy access via large doors and removable

panels allows cleaning to be done quickly and

thoroughly during routine operations.

Bühler’s AeroDrymulti-pass dryer offersmaximum results


THE NEW CAT 313D LGP Series 2 hydraulicexcavator is a low-ground-pressure modeldesigned specifically for agricultural andforestry applications. The new model features aheavy-duty undercarriage with ample groundclearance and wide track shoes for productiveperformance in rough terrain and soft underfootconditions. Weighing 16,000kg, the 313D LGPSeries 2 uses a fuel-efficient Cat 3054C enginethat meets Tier 2/Stage II emissionsregulations. A selection of grapples and Catbuckets ensures versatility, and the redesignedcab promotes operator comfort andconvenience that further enhance productivity.To ensure long-term durability and reliability,CAT uses advanced engineering andmanufacturing techniques to design andfabricate the undercarriage and majorstructures. More than 70 per cent ofstructural welds are robotic and achieveadded penetration, compared with manualwelds. Ground clearance of 650mm and1,250mm of counter-weight clearanceprovide a solid platform for working insevere conditions and poor groundconditions, such as those encountered in

agricultural and forestry application.Track links are designed to provide longservice life in the toughest applications, and athree-piece track-guiding guard systemprovides excellent protection from large debrisand helps extend track roller service life. The313D LGP Series 2 also features a massive, X-shaped high and wide carbody that isdesigned with a higher ring height to provideadded clearance for increased protection. Anoptional tow hook equips the machine for thetoughest conditions, and optional upper-

structure guards protect the machine frompotential damage.The robust front linkage incorporates a heavy-duty, 4.65 metre boom with interior baffle platesand reinforcement in critical areas to ensuredurability. A choice of sticks allows fitting themachine to the application. Choices include the2.5-metre heavy-duty stick with newlydesigned forged parts that provide increaseddigging forces and durability, plus the 3.0-metrereach stick, featuring box-section constructionof high-tensile-strength steel.The 313D LGP Series 2 is designed for fastroutine service. The left service door allowseasy access to the engine radiator, oil cooler,water separator and fuel filters. A reserve tankand drain are attached to the radiator forsimplified maintenance. The air filter featuresdouble-element construction for superiorcleaning efficiency.A service door on the right side allows easyaccess to the pump, pilot filter, drain filter,engine oil filter, oil sampling ports anddiagnostic pressure taps. A centralised,remote-greasing block on the boom deliversgrease to hard-to-reach locations.

New Cat 313D balances high productivity with low operating cost

33

Equipment

The ergonomically designed operator stationis spacious, quiet, and comfortable, ensuring

high productivity during a long work day

FOR MORE THAN 40 years

Hellmann Poultry has been a

specialist for laying batteries,

enriched cages, rearing cages,

egg collection, feeding systems,

manure removal systems,

climate control systems and

accessories for equipment.

The Hellmann cage systems

for layers are designed for the wellbeing of both the hen and the egg, and

they are made of durable material, almost exclusively made in Germany. The

wellbeing of the hens is given by designing the cages such that the hens can

live in a clean and spacious surrounding, with unlimited access to feed and

water. The egg is treated gently by the flexible suspension of the cage floor

that allows the egg to slide out to the egg tray in an as short as possible

time. Large breastplates and other accessories help to optimize the egg

quality. Options like extra cage height and cage depth, screening off of the

manure belts, extra scrapers and many more can increase the technical

performance yet again. The cages are available in depths of 50cm to 69cm

(19.7 – 27.1”) and in widths of 50.25cm or 60.25cm (19.8 or 23.7”) and in

different heights, ranging from 40cm (15.75”) to 52cm (20.47) at the front.

For different climatological environments, the cages are available with

solid, perforated or wire partitions and in different cage heights. The cages

are provided with two or three stainless steel 360° nipples and a v-

driptrough. Amongst others, Hellmann offers feed chain or travelling

hoppers, the Lift system, invented by Hellmann, or two different types of

elevators, many options like automatic flush, egg saver, stepping rails,

different types of inspection carts, manure drying, etc.

Hellmann layer and rearing cagesfor hen and eggs


THE PORCINE REPRODUCTIVE and

respiratory syndrome (PRRS) confronts pig

producers throughout the world with big

problems: The pandemic disease severely

affects the health of their animals. To avoid

economic losses that inevitably occur once

the disease has hit a stock, Big Dutchman

offers a new modular PRRS capturing

filtration system with integrated cooling for

pig buildings.

Its unique feature is that, unlike

conventional filtration procedures, the new

AirProTec operates under positive pressure

ventilation. Fresh air will not be allowed

into the houses without being filtered, thus

significantly reducing the number of viruses entering the house. Combined

with the day-to-day hygiene measures, pig producers can ensure a high state

of health of their stock.

Each filter module basically consists of three air purifying phases: The first

phase is accomplished by a wind breaking net or mesh to block coarse dirt

particles from entering the unit. In the second phase, the air must pass through

the actual antimicrobial filter medium that is able to filter out smallest

particles such as the PRRS virus. The clean air finally passes through the

evaporative cool pad system, which will cool down the air if needed.

AirProTec filtration units are generally 2.4 metres in width and height, and

the total length including the connecting duct is 3.22 metres.

AirProTec can be used during all stages of pig production. The filtration

system is suited for the management of sows and boars as well as piglet

rearing and can be used in all climate zones of the world.

New PRRS filtration system to the rescue of pigs

AirProTec can beused during all stages

of pig production


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35

FOR A LONG time, it was thoughtimpossible to isolate a pearl’s geneticmaterial. Now, a Swiss research team

has achieved this elusive goal. Scientists JoanaMeyer, from the ETH Institute of IntegrativeBiology group headed by Prof. BruceMcDonald, and Laurent Cartier of the SwissGemmological Institute (SSEF), under thedirection of Michael Krzemnicki, succeeded forthe first time in extracting trace amounts ofDNA from a variety of cultured pearls in analmost non-destructive way. Using the geneticcode, they were able to differentiate pearlsfrom three different species of oysters vital tothe jewellery trade. Their results were recentlypublished in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

Joana B Meyer, researcher at the SwissFederal Institute of Technology, “This DNAfingerprinting method could be used todocument the source of historic pearls and willprovide more transparency for traders andconsumers within the pearl industry.”

The genetic material is likely embedded inorganic matter found in the calcium carbonatematrix of the pearl, as well as in randompockets of organic matter enclosed in thepearl. The tiny amount of DNA recovered wassufficient to determine the species of pearloyster that produced the jewel in question. Theexamined pearls were South Sea pearlsoriginating from the species Pinctada maxima,Tahitian pearls from Pinctadamargaritifera andpearls from Akoya oysters. This last group isone of the most important producers of bothcultured and natural pearls (Pinctadaradiata).

China became the largest worldwideproducer of cultured pearls in the 1980s. In2010, it produced 20 tonnes of marinecultured pearls from the Akoya oyster and a

staggering 1,500 tonnes of freshwatercultured pearls.

Non-destructive samplingAn important part of the project was to developa technique for isolating pearl DNA withoutdestroying the commercial value of the jewels.The researchers used a fine drill to expandexisting holes in a barely visible way. Theresulting 10 milligrams of drilled-out materialwas sufficient to isolate enough DNA for thepurpose of species identification.

A patent application has already beenfiled for the method developed by theresearch team. In the future, it will bepossible to use it to differentiate betweenvarious kinds of pearls and to provide betterdocumentation of historical specimens. Thiswill give dealers and owners of pearljewellery greater transparency and certaintyregarding a pearl's source.

In a next phase, the researchers envision usingthe pearl DNA to determine a pearl's local origin,potentially allowing jewellers and owners toidentify the region or even the specific lagoon inwhich a pearl was produced.

Michael S Krzemnicki, SSEF director, said,“This is a breakthrough in pearl science andopens up new and interesting opportunities forfuture pearl research and testing.”

“We are constantly exploring new scientificmethods to test pearls and are excited about thisnew method we have developed in collaborationwith scientists at ETH Zurich, one of the world’sleading universities. These new methods give usa considerable advantage in distinguishingdifferent types of pearls and for the futuredocumentation of historic pearls. We hope toadd them as client services in the near future.”

Age determination withradiocarbon datingIn a parallel research partnership betweenETH Zurich and the SSEF, IrkaHajdas fromthe Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics at ETHZurich and Michael Krzemnicki from theSSEF sought to determine the age of pearlsusing radio-carbon dating. This involvedmeasuring the ratio of radioactive carbon(14C) to normal carbon (12C) in the nacre.This study, which was published in thescientific journal Radiocarbon, demonstratedhow the true age of pearls can be determinedusing the 14C method. This method canhelp clarify whether a historical piece ofjewellery is an antique or a forgery made ofmodern cultured pearls.

Identifying forgeriesPearls are among the oldest jewels used byhumans. Natural pearls, which formrandomly in the mantle tissue of molluscs,are especially valuable. It is often necessaryto break open thousands of shells to find asingle natural pearl. Cultured pearls havebeen commercially available only since 1910,but have been produced in massive quantitiessince then. In 2012, China alone producedmore than a billion pearls for the jewellerymarket, most of which were cultured pearlsfrom freshwater molluscs.

Determining the type of pearl in a piece ofjewellery and its age and origin are becomingincreasingly important for the trade in bothhistorical natural pearls and modern culturedpearls. These new technologies will make iteasier to expose frauds and forgeries. nn

Source: Phys.org

China had become the largest producerof cultured pearls in the 1980s


The going gets toughfor fake pearls

Moreover

Researchers have successfully isolated theDNA to create genuine pearl and this couldpave way for transparent trading


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Far Eastern Agriculture issue 2 2014