Sustainability is also increasingly becoming a central issue in the feed industry. However, it is also important to further increase the efficiency of feeding and, at the same time, to keep animal welfare in mind. The scientific approaches to achieving these goals, for example in pig feeding, are diverse and creative.

Sustainability, healthy and efficient animal nutrition, and animal welfare will continue to be key issues for the feed industry in 2023. Innovative feed additives made from wood, for example, or new technologies are making their contribution.

Sustainability and effective use of resources, especially energy in view of the Ukraine conflict, are currently at the forefront of discussions in the feed industry. In animal nutrition, the focus is primarily on additives that can optimize feed rations and promote animal health.

Animal health, animal welfare and thus efficiency in feeding as well as feed conversion have increasingly become the focus of livestock farmers and feed producers. The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in this and there is increasing scientific research into the factors that positively influence it.

Dear readers, the FeedMagazine/Kraftfutter issue 7-8/2022 is out. The topics range from IT in the compound feed mill to on-site analytics and enzyme combinations to reduce feed costs.

There are opportunities to increase efficiency and resource utilisation in the planning and control of a compound feed plant. In the follow-up to Victam, which took place from 31 May to 3 June in Utrecht/NL, we report on current developments and offers. In particular, the fusion of planning and control software can increase both efficiency and production reliability.

Compound feed production in Europe is currently facing major challenges. The supply of raw materials is not always secured and when it is, it is at unusually high prices. Increasingly, these cannot be passed on to feed customers. Nevertheless, it is expected that the compound feed producers will succeed in meeting the usual demands on quality, hygiene and sustainability, for example.

Supplies are missing Now the pandemic effects have also reached the supply chains for additives. The supply of lysine, the first limiting amino acid for monogastric animals, is stagnating. As a result, the price quickly goes up. It is not yet clear when things will return to normal. This additive is particularly important, especially for sustainable, crude-protein-reduced feeding.

An unusual year is drawing to a close. Face-to-face events are rare, public pressure on animal husbandry is increasing, the number of animals kept is decreasing. This also increases the pressure on compound feed producers. Volume growth no longer takes place. New concepts and ideas are sought in animal nutrition as well as in the production of compound feed. The technical equipment in the factories must be kept up to date and digitalisation is making inroads in many areas.

Animal nutrition is a very research-intensive sector. New raw materials and additives are tested and tried out. The development departments grow and support the economic basis of the feed companies. New functions with regard to the environment and animal welfare are increasingly being taken into account without neglecting the economic basis, feed efficiency.

Feed mills are full of technology that is constantly evolving. This is not only to improve efficiency and profitability, but also to meet the demands of animal nutrition. Only companies that keep their finger on the pulse of the times with their equipment and are open to innovations can meet the growing demands on feed production.

As in many other industries, the feed industry has recognised that sustainability is an essential direction for sustaining life on earth. Among other things, FEFAC as the European umbrella organisation of the feed industry has created a basis for measuring the ecological footprint of the feed industry with the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rule (PEFCR) Feed for Food-Producing Animals. More and more feed companies are referring to this in their sustainability guidelines.

For the technical equipment of a compound feed mill, it is important to take advantage of advances in feed processing. Thus, replacement investments should not only pursue pure replacement but also provide for progress - especially in terms of animal welfare and animal health, as shown in this issue by the example of a crushing roller mill with individual roller drive.

The conditions in the compound feed mill, transport vesel and feed trough can be very stressful for additives. Temperature, pressure, humidity, vibration and other influences are involved when an additive does not have the effect it should have. This has to be taken into account in development and formulation if the compound feed producer and the livestock farmer are to be satisfied with a product and the return on investment makes it economical to use.

Once again, a year tends to come to an end. A special year of pandemic, event cancellations, accelerated changes in nutritional behaviour, the appearance of ASF in Germany and a decline in European compound feed production. For the coming year, the main hope lies in the end of the pandemic and its negative consequences but also in an improved environment for the feed industry. But some trends are likely to remain irreversible.

Research and development is driven by many small and big ideas. Not holding on to what has been achieved, but searching for and going new ways brings marketable innovations. The results from the R+D departments presented in this issue focus on healthy animals with high performance. A lot of hard work is put into the conservation of resources by adapting them to the conditions in the digestive tract, which often relieves the strain on the metabolism and reduces the burden of nutrition.

Special feeds often require special techniques. Both are given special consideration in this issue. Encapsulation, carry-over control and special additives allow the production of special mineral feeds, feeds with immunity-enhancing properties and the supply of trace elements. Here a close interlocking of nutritional knowledge and technology is required.

Special feeds often require special techniques. Both are given special consideration in this issue. Encapsulation, carry-over control and special additives allow the production of special mineral feeds, feeds with immunity-enhancing properties and the supply of trace elements. Here a close interlocking of nutritional knowledge and technology is required.

Especially in times of crisis, it becomes clear that extensive economic activity is not automatically sustainable. Particularly in feeding, it is clear that the path to greater sustainability is closely linked to increased efficiency. High productivity with low resource use is not a requirement that is only economically necessary.