Agreement signed for Calysseo’s FeedKind® Aquafeed Project, China

Calysseo, a joint venture between companies Adisseo and Calysta is set to build their first commercial-scale plant in Chongqing's Changshou district, China. This marks an important milestone for their Feedkind® project, and acts as a great opportunity to develop business supplying aquafeed ingredients in Asia – which represents 70 percent of the global market.

FeedKind® protein is an economical, safe, healthy, nutritious and traceable protein source, an innovative solution to the growth of aquafeed. The first phase of the FeedKind® facility has been designed to produce up to 20,000 tons and will be operational by 2022. Following the completion of the first phase, a second phase investment will be made to add another 80,000 ton capacity.
 

Hao Zhigang, chairman of Bluestar Group and Adisseo
Image credit: Adisseo

Following the set-up of Calysseo in February 2020 aimed at developing a major business supplying aquafeed ingredients Feedkind®, Adisseo has announced that on June 20th an agreement has been signed with all involved parties allowing settlement of the first Calysseo production facility in Chongqing.

This signing is a result of the two company's commitment to increase investment in China and pursue aqua feed opportunities in Asia. Despite difficulties resulting from COVID-19 pandemic, the project has continuously progressed with support from all parties, thus enabling the successful signing ceremony convened in the form of cloud meeting. The meeting was attended by representatives from all parties including officials from Chongqing municipal and Changshou District government in Chongqing, representatives from China Bluestar Group in Beijing, Calysta in the US and in Shanghai, as well as from Adisseo in Paris and in Shanghai.

At the ceremony, Zheng Xiangdong, the Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, on behalf of Chongqing government and Changshou Region, extended his warm welcome and sincere gratitude to Bluestar Group, Adisseo and Calysta for choosing Changshou Region as the home of FeedKind® production facility.

He said that he believed the project's settlement in Changshou Region will contribute to the transformation and upgrade of natural gas chemical industry in Chongqing and Changshou Region and further reinforce China's leading position in the biochemistry industry in the world.

Zhao Shiqing, Party Secretary of Changshou District also expressed that Changshou District is committed to further deepening the reform of 'regulation and service', in striving to create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalised business environment.

Hao Zhigang, chairman of Bluestar Group and Adisseo, commented, 'I was delighted to join the investment signing ceremony, which marks another key step for the rollout of Adisseo business diversification strategy as well as its China development strategy. I would like to, on behalf of Adisseo and all our business partners, express our gratitude to Chongqing and Changshou governments, for all the support extended to the project.'

He continued, 'Adisseo and Calysta, have very high expectations of this project. It is a major strategic investment for us. Being the controlling shareholder of Adisseo, we will continue to give our strongest support to Calysseo in building the first high-tech, safe and environmentally friendly manufacturing unit for FeedKind® in Chongqing. On the business front, Adisseo is already developing and marketing high-quality feed additives for aquaculture and now is moving into a new dimension with FeedKind®. Today's announcement brings us another step closer to realising our ambition and we are delighted by the ambition and support of our partners in this. We believe that project will be successfully completed and put into operation, and will rapidly realise its returns, bring real benefits to consumers and provide more innovation capabilities for the industry.'

Visit the Adisseo website, HERE.

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Nor-Fishing 2020 Digital taking shape

The Nor-Fishing 2020 Digital program is starting to take shape. Much has been finalised and new posts are still being added to the program. You can now take a sneak peek at the program.
 

Among the posts in the program are:
• Presentation of digital exhibitors
• Presentation of finalists for the Innovation Award 2020
• Panel debates, mini-seminars and talks
• Celebrating the Nor-Fishing 60th anniversary
• Presentation of the winner of the Innovation Award 2020

This year's digital exhibition will be an important meeting place for the fishing industry, and above all an important marketplace for presenting technology and solutions to potential customers.

Take a look at the program and stay tuned for updates up until the exhibition.

For more information and to register visit the Nor-Fishing 2020 website, HERE.

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Gael Force Group’s feed solutions

by Rebecca Sherratt, Features Editor, International Aquafeed

Scottish marine solutions company Gael Force Group are no doubt a familiar name to many of our readers at International Aquafeed. They are widely known for their innovative SeaQure range, as well as their extensive line up of pen, barge and camera solutions, but they also offer a variety of feed solutions to help users optimise the use of their feed in their aquaculture systems.

The SeaFeed product range was created via direct cooperation with fish farmers and professionals, listening to their needs and wants for the ultimate feeding system for their aquatic species.
 

Gael Force Group discovered that one of the primary features that fish farmers want from their feeding systems is the comfort that they are in complete control, and the SeaFeed system provides this. Each innovation in the SeaFeed range is completely customisable and places the operator in complete control of their farm and feeding system.

SeaFeed Pellet Detection
One of Gael Force’s latest technological feed solutions is SeaFeed Pellet Detection, a pellet detection software which connects with the on-site SeaFeed System to analyse and optimise feed use in aquaculture.

The SeaSight 410 cameras equipped to the on-site systems relay back to the computer software, enabling users to seamlessly visualise the feed they provide their marine species, as well as how it disperses, how the fish respond to it and how much of the feed is consumed. Through this solution, users can easily discover if they are under-feeding or over-feeding their fish, providing an excellent opportunity to optimise the efficiency of feed intake and potential reduce feed costs, whilst ensuring your species remain healthy and happy.

Clarity and simplicity were clearly key features Gael Force Group focussed on when establishing the SeaFeed Pellet Detection system. The SeaSight 410 camera boasts 360-degree continuous pan and tilt, meaning zero blind spots when detecting feed pellets.

The lense is also auto-cleaning, removing any build-up of fouling or cleaner fish. The 410 also records in both colour and monochrome and when light levels fall particularly low, infra-red recording takes place. The image is also digitally enhanced, so each tiny speck of feed is perfectly visible through the camera system, combatting the light-filtering effects of seawater.

Read more, HERE.

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Andritz company profile

ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors.

The publicly listed technology Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of almost 25,000 employees. ANDRITZ operates over 250 sites worldwide.

Visit the website HERE.

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BioMar scales up RAS and fry feed production in Denmark

 BioMar has announced a new production line at Brande, Denmark is now fully operational. The line is dedicated to RAS and fry aquaculture feed production and is the result of a DKK 100 million investment that has enabled BioMar to increase the annual capacity of the Danish facility by 25 percent.

BioMar's Danish feed production facility is situated in the heart of the Silicon Valley for RAS in the Jutland region of Denmark. Jutland is home to leading RAS companies from technology providers to fish producers who have been supplying the industry for over 30 years. Hence, BioMar has a full focus on feeds for land-based farming and accelerated efforts in the area with a dedicated taskforce and continuously strengthens the team with more RAS experts.

 

BioMar Denmark
Image credit: BioMar

'Being situated in an area with a long history of RAS research and development has enabled us to be first movers in RAS feeds and will continue to be crucially important in the innovation development of feeds for land-based farming. There is good recognition for our RAS feeds globally and our ambitions for this growing segment are high', said Carlos Diaz, CEO BioMar Group.

The Danish production facility has experienced organic growth in recent years hence a decision was made two years ago to invest and add capacity. The facility has experience in specially designed feeds for more than 40 aquaculture species, including trout, salmon and yellowtail kingfish. The investment project has been able to increase the overall capacity by 25 percent up to 160,000 tons of feed produced annually with improved flexibility, quality and production performance.

Anders Brandt-Clausen, the Managing Director of BioMar Denmark explained, 'installing an extra production line into a facility that is in daily operation was challenging, particularly in the last few months of the process where we all have been working under extraordinary circumstances due to the COVID-19 situation. Thanks to our highly skilled and dedicated people, we have been able to successfully manage the process without compromising the daily operations and scheduled deliverables'.

Aquaculture feeds from the new line, have been tested through the last couple of months and has shown impressive results. BioMar's premium range of fry feeds produced on the new line demonstrate an extraordinary performance on technical quality parameters. Pellets coming out of the new line are now in a much better diameter: length ratio, the inter-size gap has been improved for at smoother transition between pellet sizes. The improved process control technology on the new line will further strengthen BioMar's ability to focus on more physical quality parameters such as sinking speed and water stability.

Visit the BioMar website, HERE.

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Black soldier fly meal : A highly digestible protein source for aquafeeds

by Agronutris, France

As aquaculture production is expected to increase in the next few years, implying a significant increase in the need for alternative proteins by 2050, insect meal appears as a sustainable protein source to answer the challenges of the industry.

The long-lasting growth of the aquaculture sector is putting growing pressure on protein resources for aquafeeds. A recent study by Lux Research highlighted that, by 2050, the industry will need 15 million tonnes of alternative proteins, among which insect proteins are set to play a key role. The many assets of insect meals have been increasingly highlighted in the past few years: they are rich in proteins and essential amino acids, highly digestible, have interesting amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids and show no adverse effect on palatability (Makkar et al., 2014 ; Zamprogna et al., 2017).
 

Furthermore, insect production falls within a circular economy process, as larvae are often fed with underused byproducts, thus reintegrating low-value materials into the feed chain. Among the various insect species reared for protein production, the black soldier fly, or BSF (Hermetia illucens) appears as a particularly promising sustainable alternative to tackle the forecasted shortage of protein for aquafeed.

Agronutris, a French biotech company based near Toulouse, specialises in rearing and processing black soldier flies into proteins for animal nutrition. In the R&D centre, entomologists, engineers and agro-industry experts are developing efficient and sustainable practices to rear BSF on a large scale. Efforts are being made to optimise the diet of the larvae, directly impacting their nutritional content, in order to better match the requirements of the aquaculture sector. The R&D pilot also allows the team to gain extensive know-how on the management of the breeding conditions. Temperature, hygrometry, air flow, light, shape and organisation of the cages are some of the many parameters that are being challenged to reach the best reproduction performances of the flies.

Read more, HERE.

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Van Aarsen company profile

Van Aarsen has become a household name worldwide for machinery and turnkey projects for animal feed technology, both for commercial feed producers and for vertically-integrated businesses. 

Quality is of the utmost importance in both sectors of the industry and innovations in feed production are therefore of great interest. 

Thanks to their extensive experience, engineers and technicians are always able to offer tailor-made solutions.

Visit the Van Aarsen website, HERE.

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GeoFood: An example of circular economy by using geothermal heat, RAS and horticulture to produce fish and vegetables

by LandIng Aquaculture, Netherlands

As the world moves away from fossil fuels, we keep on the lookout for alternative ways to supply our countries with electricity and heat. Geothermal energy is still a largely untapped renewable resource and offers great potential. For instance, the European ERANET project GeoThermal estimated that Europe produces 1.5GW of electricity from geothermal sources. However, they estimate Europe’s capacity could be equivalent to 80-100GW of electricity.

Different countries offer different possibilities. Areas with active volcanism such as Iceland and Italy have high-temperature, shallow sources of heat which can be used to create steam and with it, electricity. Other countries, such as the Netherlands, sit over deep regions of lower temperatures, which can be used directly for district heating and industry. In the Netherlands, some horticultural greenhouse companies have made it an objective to operate their facilities with a minimum use of fossil fuels - both for heating and providing CO2 for their crops.
 

The Dutch geothermal growers, however, face a substantial challenge. Deep geothermal wells are large investments in the order of several millions of euros and. once running, they may not be utilised to their full capacity. As other utilities, geothermal wells have large fixed costs which must be spread over as many users as possible to guarantee profitability. This is a problem when most users prefer higher temperature heat, and when the demand disappears during summers. Today, geothermal wells are still eligible for subsidies that aim to support the transition towards sustainable energy sources.

We at the GeoFood project introduced the idea of RAS farms as heat sinks for geothermal heat and waste heat – this is, the lower temperature heat users generally do not want. Our rationale was that RAS farms 1) require a constant input of water and, if they grow a warm water species, heat, 2) they tend to use underground water sources which are colder than rearing temperature and 3) their water and sludge emissions can be used to fertigate greenhouses. Some preliminary modelling, in which a tomato greenhouse and pikeperch RAS are considered, showed us that, if RAS farms can be used as a heat sink for geothermal greenhouses heat extraction can be increased by 31 percent.

Read more, HERE.

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Dinnissen company profile

With over 150 permanent employees and an extensive network of agents all over the world, Dinnissen is a global player in the feed, food, pharma and chemical sectors.

They are always looking for new and innovative solutions for complete processes, system integrations or standard products – many of which they develop, test and produce in-house!

 
Visit the website HERE.

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Less than 2 weeks remain to register for the Aqua Feed Extrusion Conference

Less than two weeks now remain for you to secure your place at the Aqua Feed Extrusion Conference- register now to guarantee your slot! The Aqua Feed Extrusion Conference, now in its fourth rendition, serves as a platform for industry leaders to explore optimal feed processing and nutrition solutions and help attendees make the most out of their feed solutions.

This rendition of the conference will specialise in extrusion for aquatic feeds, and will be held online on July 8-9th, 2020. The two-day conference will feature a variety of industry expert speakers delivering innovative presentations on how users can make the best use of their extrusion machinery and aqua feed systems.

 

Register to attend now! - Tickets only US $199

International Aquafeed's Roger Gilbert interviewed conference co-organiser Dr Mian Riaz of Texas A&M University in the Rongorongo Live Lounge, discussing what people have to look forward to from the event:

Read more HERE.

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Imas launch innovative feed mill with modular design

Imas, a leading milling technology supplier, has developed a new feed mill type with modular design for the feed industry.

Viteral, a brand of Imas is developing solutions for the feed milling industry, started to offer its farm-type feed facility with a capacity of 2-3 tons per hour for its customers.

The plant which is installed in an area measuring 8x8m with 9m height has many features such as a modular design, short installation time, low investment cost, and short amortisation period.

 

"Imas Machinery, which has been sustaining its works with a sense of quality and trust for more than a quarter-century, analyses customer demands in the feed machinery sector in the best way and aims to provide the best service to its customers in this sense,' said Imas.

Visit the Imas website, HERE.

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1,3‐1‐6 ß‐glucans enhance tissue regeneration in zebrafish (Danio rerio): Potential advantages for aquaculture applications

by João Fernando Albers Koch, Global Technical Manager, Biorigin

In intensive aquaculture, the animals need to be handled for several purposes (eg fish grading, tank transfers, transportation and others) and during these processes tissues get damaged and also skin wounds frequently occur.

These kinds of injuries may result in the onset of secondary infections that may impair not only fish growth but also survival. When injury or tissue damage occurs, a complex cascade of signals activates inflammatory responses. Specifically, macrophages secrete growth factors and cytokines that attract keratinocytes and fibroblasts to trigger both tissue repair and scar formation (Yoshinari & Kawakami, 2011).
 

In zebrafish, the starting phase of the wound re‐epithelialisation starts with the migration of inflammatory cells and the formation of granulation tissue consisting of macrophages, fibroblasts, blood vessels and collagen (Richardson et al., 2013). Furthermore, it is important to highlight zebrafish have an outstanding ability to regenerate amputated fins and lesioned internal organs, such as the brain, heart and other tissues. Considering this, zebrafish is considered one of the most important animal models for tissue regeneration studies and aquaculture research.

Recently, to cope with injuries that occurs during fish rearing and handling, the aqua feed industry has been able to employ a wide range of immuno‐active feed ingredients and additives to induce innate immune system and macrophage activation. One of the most studied group of immuno‐active feed ingredients are the β‐glucans, that are characterised as homopolymers of glucose having a linear structure (1,3‐β‐d‐glycosidic linkages) or a branched one with bound side chains (1,6‐β‐d‐glycosidic linkages).

Read more, HERE.

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Inteqnion Solutions company profile

Inteqnion is specialised in the design, build and installation of control systems for the batch and continuous controlled process industry. With their control solutions, Inteqnion focus on the improvement and optimisation of your production process. 

Industries 
You can find Inteqnion Process Control Systems in different segments within the feed, flour and bulk industry. For each segment, Inteqnion modifies the Process Control Systems for the specific requirements in the particular market.

Why choose Inteqnion? 
“When you cooperate with Inteqnion you choose for quality and reliability. You benefit from our knowledge and experience our passion. Inteqnion is a no-nonsense organisation with more than 30 professionals who have years of experience in the process industry”
– Interqnion Solutions

Visit the Inteqnion website, HERE.

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The Aquaculture Awards 2020: A virtual celebration of excellence in our industry

Due to the postponement of Aquaculture UK this year, the Aquaculture UK Awards Dinner, will unfortunately not take place as originally planned.

However, our sponsors and judges all agree that it is vital that this important event does not go unmarked, so we are delighted to announce that this year's winners will be celebrated as part of a unique Virtual Awards Ceremony across social media, on 16th September 2020.
 

In addition to the 13 award categories decided by our esteemed judging panel, there will be an opportunity for the aquaculture industry to recognise the most inspiring and innovative of all the nominees via The People's Choice Award, sponsored by Sølvtrans. Individuals across the global industry will be able to vote for any company or individual that has made it onto a shortlist, which means there are over 40 finalists to choose from for the People's Choice Award.

This year's awards feature an impressive range of companies, research organisations and individuals. The biographies of everyone shortlisted can be found on the awards website, HERE.

This is the chance for the people to vote on who they feel is the most deserving overall winner within Aquaculture this year.

You can cast your votes now via the official website voting form, HERE.

Note that voting will close at 5pm 15th September 2020, and the winners will be announced across social media platforms on 16th September 2020.

'These prestigious awards will once again highlight the incredible range of talent and cutting-edge advances in technology involved in the global aquaculture sector. We are once again incredibly grateful to the judging panel, featuring Alex Adrian, aquaculture operations manager of Crown Estate Scotland; Martin Gill, head of aquaculture and fisheries at Lloyds Register; Nicki Holmyard, Director of Offshore Shellfish Ltd; Professor Dave Little, head of research at Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture; Ingrid Olesen, senior scientist at Nofima; and The Fish Site's Rob Fletcher. Once again, the quality of this year's awards entries has been outstanding. Congratulations and good luck to each of our shortlisted finalists,' says event director Cheri Arvonio.

There will also be an award for the Best Overall Aquaculture Company, which is sponsored by Crown Estate Scotland and is decided at the judges' discretion.

The judging procedure for the awards was based on a voting system following a rigorous debate between the panel – those judges with a connection to a company or product in the running for an award had to declare their interest and abstain from voting on that particular category.

The shortlist

Finfish Farmer of the Year – sponsored by Gael Force Group
• Lovemore Ndovie, Kayalami Aquaculture
• Funke Olatunde – a PhD student and fish farmer, Nigeria
• Ross Fennel – site assistant with the Scottish Salmon Company, Gigha, Scotland
• Noelia Rodriguez – hatchery manager for Scottish Sea Farms, Barcaldine, Scotland

Shellfish Farmer of the Year – sponsored by M&S Select Farms
• Gordon Turnbull – owner and operator of Isle of Mull Oysters, Scotland
• George Holmyard – manager of Offshore Shellfish, Devon, England
• Koo Eng Wah – Sepang Today Aquaculture Centre, Malaysia

Outstanding Contribution to the Industry – sponsored by Marine Scotland
• Amy Novogratz – co-founder and head of Aqua-Spark, Netherlands
• Alan Henshaw – manager of Calverton Fish Farm, England
• Alastair Barge – owner/operator of Otter Ferry Seafish, Scotland
• Djames Lim – CEO of the Lim Shrimp Group, Indonesia

Environmental Impact – sponsored by Cargill
• Innovafeed – insect protein producer, France
• Fjord Maritime – generators for feed barges, Norway
• Nofir – recycling, Norway
• EWOS/Cargill Aqua Nutrition – developing compostable feed bags, Scotland

Aquaculture Supplier of the Year – sponsored by Stingray
• Benchmark Genetics/StofnFiskur
• Ace Aquatec
• NAFC Marine Centre UHI
• Gael Force Group

Community Initiative - Sponsored by Diversified Communications
• Loch Duart – Salmon Pool community funding
• Mowi Scotland – Salmon Wagon
• The Scottish Salmon Company - Outer Hebrides Local Energy Hub (OHLEH), Lewis

Economic Sustainability – sponsored by BioMar
• AquaseedFishtecknik – fish smokers, Nigeria
• The Scottish Salmon Company - Apprentice to Expert training scheme, Scotland
• Scottish Sea Farms – Eday Employee Housing, Scotland
• The Scottish Salmon Company - Outer Hebrides Local Energy Hub (OHLEH), Lewis, Scotland

Animal Welfare – sponsored by MSD Animal Health
• John Avizienius and Malcolm Johnstone – RSPCA Assured
• FAI Farms – Tilapia Wellbeing project
• Benchmark Genetics – SalmoBreedSalten
• Ace Aquatec and Scottish Sea Farms – novel slaughtering systems

Innovation – sponsored by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre
• Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group – novel packaging
• Vita Aqua Feeds (World Feeds Ltd) – cleaner fish feed blocks
• EWOS/Cargill Aqua Nutrition/Gaia BioMaterialsLtd - compostable feed bags
• Ace Aquatec & Scottish Sea Farms – novel slaughtering systems

Rising Star – sponsored by AILG Skills Group
• Funke Olatunde – Imoran Farms, Nigeria
• Rosie Dreghorn – Cargill/EWOS, Scotland
• Zoe Fletcher – AquaBio Tech Group, Malta
• Ivana Russo – BioMar, Scotland

Collaboration – sponsored by the University of Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture
• The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI)
• Mowi Scotland – River Lochy salmon enhancement project
• Davidsons Animal Feeds / The James Hutton Institute – seaweed in livestock feeds
• Benchmark Genetics / Nofima – development of whitespot-resistant shrimp

Unsung Hero
• Professor Chalres Ngugi – Kenya
• Dr Martin Jaffa – Callander McDowell, UK
• Nigel Woodhouse – Hawkshead Trout, UK
• Nick Bradbury – BioMar, UK

Visit the Aquaculture Awards 2020 website, HERE.

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AFIA invites industry newcomers to virtual feed industry institute

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has opened registration for its popular biennial Feed Industry Institute (FII), which will be offered in a self-paced, virtual learning environment over a span of a few weeks later this summer. The conference, which kicks off August 17th and runs until September 23rd, brings together industry newcomers to learn the fundamentals of the animal food manufacturing process – from the types of ingredients used to the animals served to federal policies that shape the output of the industry.

'The Feed Industry Institute is a great educational forum where people who are new to the livestock feed or pet food industries can learn more about the business of animal food from those who know it best — industry experts,' said Paul Davis, Ph.D., AFIA's director of quality, animal food safety and education. "Our goal is that attendees not only understand how to manufacture high-quality animal food, but why doing so is so essential for animal productivity and well-being.'
 

Typically a weeklong conference, the 2020 FII has been revamped into a virtual learning environment in light of current public health concerns and travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. FII officially opens on August 17th, when attendees will be invited to sign in to the online platform and watch nearly 30 lectures – at their leisure – from highly acclaimed experts in the field. Attendees must complete the lectures by September 23rd, when AFIA will hold a live webinar with attendees to answer questions, recap the presentations and conduct a graduation ceremony.

There will be plenty of opportunities for attendees to engage with the material, such as through quizzes, and with each other. Upon registration, AFIA will invite participants to join a private group on social media, where they can network, discuss the course content and get to know their industry colleagues.

'At AFIA, we recognise that COVID-19 has changed how we communicate with one another, but it should not be the stumbling block for those new to the industry looking to start their careers off on the right foot,' said Veronica Rovelli, AFIA's senior director of meetings and events. 'We are committed to meeting people where they are – whether that be physically distanced or career stage – so they can learn the essentials, build their professional networks and put their best foot forward.'

The 2020 FII will include an overview of the US feed industry, animal physiology and nutrition basics, information on the types of ingredients used in animal food and why, the role of medications and other additives, and various processing techniques. It will also look at agriculture's role in building consumer trust, the role of international trade and provide an overview of state and federal regulations. The full agenda can be found on the event's website.

AFIA encourages people to register between now and July 22nd to receive the special one-time discounted rate of $300 for AFIA members and $650 for non-members. After that, the rate raises to $450 for AFIA members and $850 for non-members.

For more information about FII and to register, visit the event's website, HERE.

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Hamlet Protein strengthens NCA distribution relationships

Hamlet Protein, market leader in specialty proteins for young animal nutrition, announced the renewal of existing distribution partnerships and the start of new ones in Canada, Mexico and Central America. Based in Findlay, Ohio, the American branch of multinational Hamlet Protein has been steadily increasing its production capacity, technical and commercial resources. The company aims to increase its leading position in swine nutrition and has made a successful entrance in the poultry market.

The NCA region (North and Central America) combines some of the world's top feed producing countries, with 215 MMt produced in the US, 37 MMt in Mexico and 30 MMt in Canada. Hamlet Protein increased the production capacity in Findlay, Ohio with the completion of a new production line earlier this year, and is targeting growth across the region.
 

Image credit: Mike Mozart on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

 Canada has long been a target market for Hamlet Protein. It renewed its already successful partnership with Jefo Canada, with the aim to increase market share in the monogastrics segment.

To be closer to customers in the Spanish speaking geographies in the NCA region, Hamlet Protein established a distribution relationship with Jefo Mexico and partnered with Profil in Central America. Distribution agreements were signed for Profil's group companies in El Salvador (Servicios Tecnicos Avicolas); Honduras (Profilaxis) and Guatemala (Profilaxis).

Grady Fain, Regional Director NCA with Hamlet Protein commented, 'We are very pleased to announce the extension of existing relationships and the start of new ones. Our distribution partners have deep knowledge of the local markets. Coupled with our first in class technical support, we feel confident that together we can achieve our ambitious growth agenda going forward.'

Hamlet Protein produces soy-based protein ingredients for young pig, poultry and cattle feed at two production plants in Denmark and the US. Hamlet Protein services customers around the world through a network of own sales offices and distributors.

For more information visit the Hamlet Protein website, HERE.

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5th edition of AquaFarm set to take place February, 2021

The AquaFarm team is back to work to organise the 5th edition of the event which will be held on 17-18th February 2021 at the Pordenone Exhibition Centre in Pordenone, Italy.

Technological, procedural and regulatory innovations for an aquaculture capable of providing healthy, safe and high-quality products: as in the previous years, AquaFarm will put forward research, studies and case histories to give evidence to innovations in this sector.
 

The 2020 edition enjoyed rich media coverage. The contribution of exhibitors and speakers enriched the event presenting the results of the research and internationally relevant case histories for which both the daily and the specialised press acted as a large sounding board.

For more information visit the AquaFarm website, HERE.

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An interview with Mr Jack Chen, Famsun, China

International Aquafeed magazine paid a regular visit to China 2019 year end, and we had the opportunity to sit down with Mr Jack Chen, the Chief Technology Officer of Famsun Group - a China-based, global integrated solution provider who has a strong market position in China and the global feed manufacturing industry - to talk about something new from Famsun R&D and his perspectives on the future of feed technology.
 

How your team work out new solutions or make improvements for the feed manufacturing industry?
In Famsun, almost one-third of our employees work for R&D. They are the best talents from different professional fields with great knowledge, experience and wisdom, and innovative skills and motivation for success. With a stand of R&D Institutes in Asia, Europe and America, our R&D team works around the clock in the development of existing products and solutions plus exploiting new terrain and unlock new business fields on the basis of markets analysis, customer needs evaluation and feasibility assessment.

No individual or business can develop on its own. Famsun develops products and solutions through collaboration. Most of our solutions are developed by collaborating with feed producers and applied in their operations. We develop new processing technologies and innovations to help our customers overcome obstacles in their productions, create new solutions to support their new business strategies, and help them bring their innovative products onto the market.

Famsun also have formed dozens of partnerships with industrial partners, universities, research institutes and academics in the past decades. It has included China National R&D Centre for Feed Equipment and Technology, International Technology Committee (TC) of Feed Machinery and the ISO/TC293 Secretariat (Feed machinery) in its Sci-Tech Park since the modern manufacturing and innovation facility was opened in 2013. We will continue to bring all stakeholders in global farm-to-food supply chain together to promote collaborative innovations and create a win-win future for the agri-food industry.

What technology do you think will change the future of feed industry?
As always, Famsun is continuously taking our technical advantages to make improvements in our solutions in order to help feed producers address future challenges and develop sustainably. We have noticed that, the feed sector of today is less efficient and remains less digitised compared to other industries. We have invested a lots to incorporate the latest modern techniques such as automation, sensing and digital tech of big data, blockchain, IoT, AI, etc, into our machines and processing solutions recent years, with the aim of boosting feed mill operational efficiency by increasing capacity, reducing energy consumption and waste, and improving safety in production as well. 

From animal nutrition and health to feed ingredient origination, feed formulating, and from feed production, feed testing and traceability to logistics, feed industry has a wide supply chain span. Any technical improvement or innovation at these links is possible to change the feed future. We find some emerging techniques on the chain and start to invest in some of them, for example: insect meal, algae and other alternative ingredients. Insect tech can produce feed-use insect meal and insect oil from food waste in a much quicker compositing process with less land and water. Same as insect farming, commercial algae production can provide sustainable feedstock of proteins and oils for feed manufacturing while absorb million tons of carbon dioxide and treating wastewater as well.

New and innovative technologies that changing the way we produce meat have also come out of the horizon and will bring disruptions to the feed industry. Plant-based meat that making meat entirely out of plant ingredients without farming animals can shorten the production chain from plant to meat. Elsewhere, by growing meat from cells in labs instead of from a whole animal, cell-based meat tech becomes possible to create high-quality cuts of meat using fewer resources and with less environmental impact.

As an agri-tech company, Famsun is excited about new technologies and is starting to involve in some of these research fields. Our R&D efforts in these new fields will provide more options to complement the existing agri-food production system and help players in this chain grow business in a more sustainable way.

Read the full interview, HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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Wynveen International company profile

Wynveen International B.V. is a leading Dutch company, specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of complete mills for the animal feed industry.

With a knowledgeable, experienced and enthusiastic team, the company focuses on the development and construction of high-quality innovative equipment and installations for animal feed, aqua feed and pet food manufacture.

In addition to turnkey projects, their core products are hammer mills, ribbon and paddle mixers, double-shaft paddle mixers, rotary sifters and coaters for liquids (vacuum and atmospheric).

Approximately 80 percent of their products are exported. In order to guarantee its high quality standards, Wynveen assembles and tests all its key equipment in-house.

Wynveen always aims to fully understand customer requirements, working in partnership with customers and using all their accumulated knowledge and experience to deliver the optimum, often highly innovative, technological solution.

That’s why their company motto is: ‘Versatility in feed processing’.

Visit the company website, HERE.

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Fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic feed production: The state of development

by Amandus Kahl, Germany

Global consumption of fish is steadily increasing. While production was still at 20 million tonnes worldwide in around 1950, by 2016 it had already exceeded 170 million tonnes (FAO: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture - Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, 2018). But the share of capture fisheries has only grown slightly since the 1980s and has been stagnating in recent years, due to overfishing and shrinking fish stocks.

Since the 1990s, aquaculture has been the focus of attention. It is a global growth market, with 61.8 million tonnes produced in 2011 and 80 million tonnes of fish already in 2016 with a market value of 231.6 billion dollars. It corresponds to almost half (47%) of edible fish produced worldwide. The aquaculture industry, with its high growth rates, is one of the fastest growing branches in the global food industry. This growth trend is expected to continue in the upcoming years (FAO: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture - Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, 2018).
 

In order to make aquaculture more sustainable and cost efficient, the replacement of animal proteins by vegetal proteins and the use of highly nutritious microalgal species is being discussed more and more. An optimised feed strategy for maximum raw material utilisation requires a versatile and appropriate micro-proportioning of enzymes, vitamins and essential amino acids. We at Kahl would like to combine the ecological and economical components in one intelligent plant concept.

The Kahl concept for aquatic feed plants
The standardised aquatic feed plant concept in a modular design from Kahl is perfectly adapted to the needs of producers. The individual machines of the production line are equipped with the most modern process technology, which enables conveying, proportioning, preconditioning, conditioning, extrusion, vacuum coating (infusing) and subsequent cooling and storage. The following figure shows the gold standard of aquatic feed production by Kahl.

The raw materials are stored in silos with load cells and can be conveyed as required. The proportioning system controls the mass flow throughput of the entire system and enables a consistent proportioning. The versatile Kahl screw conveyors with variable speed allow gravimetric or volumetric proportioning of the raw materials. Due to the continuous weight measurement, this system offers highest accuracy.

Read more, HERE.

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Phibro Aqua company profile

Phibro Aqua is a division of Phibro Animal Health Corporation, a diversified global developer and manufacturer of a broad range of animal health and nutrition products for the poultry, swine, cattle, dairy and aquaculture markets.

Growing worldwide demand for high quality protein, combined with expanding human populations and decreasing wild stocks of fish, assures an increased future dependence on aquaculture products and technologies.

The challenge is to develop profitable and sustainable aquaculture practices which will implement advanced technologies. These technologies will allow aquaculture to make a significant contribution to future supplies of aquatic products.

Phibro Aqua has developed a strong team of fish health specialists and scientists with a focus on providing the global aquaculture industry with cost effective health management solutions in order to maximize the productivity of their customer’s farms. This Phibro Aqua team brings customers a full range of expertise in production and operation, fish health management, disease diagnosis and vaccination.

Phibro Aqua operates comprehensive Research and Development facilities. These facilities include a large scale wet lab for clinical evaluation of fish vaccines, medication and feed additives. Phibro Aqua's lab includes a full diagnostic service addressing parasitology, bacteriology, histopathology and molecular-biology.

Visit the Phibro Aqua website, HERE.
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Upcoming webinar: The current and future outlook of aquaculture and aquaculture nutrition

Aquaculture Nutritionists Network and Jefo are hosting Dr Albert Tacon for the inaugural session of 'Talking with Titans' series of webinars.
 
Dr Kabir Chowdhury will receive Dr Albert Tacon to discuss about the current and future outlook of aquaculture and aquaculture nutrition. The webinar is set to take place Friday 26th June, registration is free of charge.
 

After an illustrious carrier with FAO and University of Hawaii at Manoa, Dr Albert Tacon has been working with Aquatic Farms Ltd (Hawaii) as an independent consultant in aquaculture and aquaculture nutrition and feed related activities. His expertise has taken him to working in over 44 countries, and has over 228 scientific publications and one patent.

Dr Kabir Chowhury received his PhD in Animal Nutrition from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. His expertise covers evaluation of novel plant proteins and the effects of anti-nutrients and fibers on nutrient utilisation by fish, along with pellet quality assessment and ingredient characterization. He has been developing and promoting Jefo's aquaculture solutions as global aquaculture manager and is now Jefo's Sales Director for South Asia.

The Aquaculture Nutritionists Network is group of passionate aquaculture nutritionists that have regrouped on LinkedIn to share experience and scientific finding with their peers.

More information and registration is available, HERE.

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Organisers optimistic World Aquaculture will take place in Singapore, December 2020

World Aquaculture 2020 is still proceeding with the new dates of December 14 - 18th, 2020 at the SingEx Max Atria, Singapore. Singapore has begun reopening so we are optimistic that the December dates will continue as planned. 

The Steering Committee is working hard to keep track of the developing guidelines and regulations from the Singapore government, international health organisations and other authorities.  As these develop, we will be incorporating them into WA2020 to make it the safest and most effective International Aquaculture Conference and Exposition.
 

World Aquaculture 2020 is making all of the preparations to deliver a safe and effective show to attendees, some of these features include:
- WA2020 will create extra business meeting rooms following the safety procedures, most will be in 5-6 pp board style and free of charge.
- We can create some extra rooms up to 100 pp theatre style for exhibitors to organise your meeting with your staff and/or customers

WA2020 will create a safe way to visit the exhibition following all safety procedures. The exhibition hall is very large and the space we use can be easily expanded.
- The 3m aisles can be expanded. 
- To create space between booths possible
- Extra sanitary blocks can be opened – all following safety regulations.
- Several food stalls will be opened with the highest safety procedures

Organise your project meetings during World Aquaculture 2020.
- Organise your project meeting in Singapore
- Organise your seminar, workshop during WA2020

Time to meet all media partners and other aquaculture experts
- We all need to be ready for 2021. Time to gather the marketing staff with the media partners.
- Time to get updated on the latest news on marketing, production figures, etc.

Safe Transport within Singapore – all following strict regulations with metro or taxi.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Contact Mario at Mario@marevent.com or visit the website, HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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