The need for the world’s food products from animal origin, like meat, milk or eggs, will continue to grow in the coming decades. The main reasons are population growth and an increase in the numbers of people who can afford valuable food, like the fast growing middle-classes in China and India.
The feed sector is an essential partner of the European food industry – supplying sufficient, safe, high quality and healthy foods like meat or milk. The feed and feed production technologies also need to help the livestock sector – addressing the challenges of sustainability and resilience. Most of the challenges have a clear feed dimension as reported recently by the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC):
- Improve the resource efficiency (in other words produce more with less);
- Contribution to animal health;
- Socially responsible livestock farming (how to minimize the negative impact of livestock farming on the environment).
The Swiss based company AGOLIN SA is serving the feed industry with innovative products based on plant extracts. Many years of research has resulted in specific blends of components for different species with clear benefits to the animals, the farmers and the environment. A contribution to reach the challenging targets of the feed sector.
Feed conversion rate
Different plant active ingredients are selected for the AGOLIN products.
AGOLIN POULTRY contains pungent substances from pepper, which supports gut health as well as essential oils with effects on pathogens.
Proof of the concept is the performance achieved in a German field trial of 40,000 birds (Ross). They were fed with a commercial feed and split in two groups (with and without the supplementation of AGOLIN). The birds fed with the AGOLIN supplement did grow 2% faster and the feed conversion rate was improved by 4.2%. (FCR= kg feed intake / kg weight gain).
One of the researchers’ focus when developing AGOLIN was the effect on Clostridia. Clostridia are organisms present in the digestive tract of monogastric animals and are one of the main reasons for growth depression.
In vitro research carried out by top class Universities demonstrated a slow-down of the growth of Clostridium Perfringens when components of AGOLIN were present in low concentrations.
AGOLIN was also the first company launching a product with coated tannins. AGOLIN TANNIN is a unique, coated chestnut extract, which contains hydrolysable tannins. The product is designed to maintain a high level of feed intake and animal performance by using the special effects of chestnut extracts on the digestive system, with the main effect of improved litter quality as demonstrated in different institutes, like in the well – known AVIFORMUM in Switzerland.
Wet litter is a sign of an unbalanced gut ecosystem, and can be the reason for footpad lesions in meat poultry too.
Greenhouse gas reduction
A trial at INRA (Institut de Recherche Agricole, France) confirms the significant effect of AGOLIN RUMINANT to reduce the production of the greenhouse gas methane in ruminants.
Methane production is a natural process of rumen fermentation and represents an energy loss for the cow. Therefore mitigating the methane production has not only a positive effect on the environment but also on the performance. One example is the research trial carried out with 600 high yielding dairy cows by the University of California. The main finding was a significantly improved feed efficiency. With the same amount of feed, the Holstein animals fed with AGOLIN produced 3.2kg more milk.
Founded in 2006, AGOLIN SA develops, produces and markets innovative feed additives, based on botanical compounds, which are effective, easy to use and safe. These best-in-class products have been successfully introduced into Europe, Asia and the US.
AGOLIN’s quality management system (FAMI-QS) ensures safety and guarantees traceability. The company is a member of FEFANA, the Association of European feed additives and premixtures operators. AGOLIN’s first took part in an EU research project in 2010 – SMEthane, a technologigal platform developing nutritional additives to reduce methane (FP7).
AGOLIN SA
Tel: +41 (0)21 807 03 34
Fax: +41 (0)21 807 03 35
