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DSM launches Sustell™ – an intelligent sustainability service

DSM launches Sustell™ an intelligent sustainability service to drive improvements in the environmental footprint and profitability of animal protein production

Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, has launched Sustell™ — a first-of-its-kind intelligent sustainability service that delivers accurate, simple, and actionable farm-level solutions – to improve the environmental footprint and profitability of animal protein production. Through Sustell™, DSM is underlining its commitment to its strategic initiative We Make It Possible, which is driving a robust and achievable global transformation toward sustainable animal protein production. By leveraging digital and data-driven solutions such as Sustell™, DSM is advancing its precision animal farming journey towards a brighter future.

DSM has developed Sustell™ together with Blonk, a recognized independent expert and leader in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and sustainability performance in the food and agriculture fields. The Sustell™ service is built around a state-of-the-art Intelligence Platform that is connected to the Blonk APS-footprint tool, together with an ‘Expert Center’ made up of a team of DSM and Blonk experts in LCA, animal nutrition and sustainability. The Expert Center partners with animal protein producers, assessing the baseline environmental footprint of their animal production using their actual farm and feed data rather than industry averages and proxy data sets, and then developing case-specific intervention scenarios known as ‘what-if’ models to make measurable sustainability improvements. In this way, Sustell™ combines an advanced, powerful sustainability calculation tool that utilizes real farm data, with expert knowledge, tailor-made, practical solutions and business development projects to unlock the value of sustainability.

Sustell™ is a global service, built on validated protocols, calculation methodologies and proven processes that meet international standards. It provides accurate, globally recognized, comparable analyses and results of environmental impact assessments, interventions and improvements throughout the animal protein value chain:

Compliant with the internationally recognized FAO LEAP (Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance) and Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR). Following calculation guidelines from IPCC, and in alignment with ISO 14040/44. Built on credible and sound food, feed and agriculture databases like the Agri-footprint database and GFLI (Global Feed LCA Institute).
Covers the 17 largest agricultural producing countries in the world where the animal production systems can be defined in detail thanks to country-specific data.
Analyses the environmental impact of 19 different categories including climate change, resource use, water scarcity, marine and freshwater eutrophication, ozone depletion, to name only a few, corresponding to impact assessment method Environmental Footprint 2.0. providing global recognition for the results.

By providing deep insights into farm-level emissions Sustell™ opens new possibilities for the wider value chain, including the ability to certify and incentivize sustainable farm practices. For example, retailers and financial institutions will be able to objectively manage the risks and opportunities relating to the environmental footprint of animal protein. In addition, Sustell™ enables farmers to accurately forecast the impact of sustainability measures on financial performance.

Hans Blonk, CEO Blonk Consultants & Blonk Sustainability Tools: “We are excited to be launching Sustell™ today alongside DSM – a truly intelligent sustainability service that is front and center to our mission at Blonk – to support organizations in addressing the challenge of making the global production and consumption of food more sustainable.”

David Nickell, VP Sustainability & Business Solutions DSM Animal Nutrition & Health: “Sustell™ achieves the seemingly impossible – simplifying the complexity of measuring, validating and improving the environmental sustainability of animal protein transparently, scientifically, farm by farm, system by system. Animal farming companies and the associated value chain, have, for the first time, a powerful solution to measure, compare and improve the sustainability of animal protein.”

Ivo Lansbergen, President DSM Animal Nutrition & Health: “To sustainably feed almost 10 billion people by 2050 within our planetary boundaries, we must apply new thinking, technologies and business models. Together, we must shift away from criticizing animal farmers for their environmental impact and instead help and support them by providing the tools and systems to improve the sustainability footprint of animal farming. In line with this ambition, Sustell™ is a first-of-its-kind service that will enable positive change for business and the environment – and help deliver on our purpose of creating brighter lives for all.”

News Update
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2 min read

Novus Animal Nutrition (India) Pvt. Ltd. CSR Initiative

Novus Animal Nutrition (India) Pvt. Ltd. CSR initiative: ‘’Making schools more sustainable by uplifting their basic infrastructure and turning them into a better place for educational progression for poor children’’

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the continuous commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families, as well as of the community and society at large.

For its community enrichment initiatives, Novus South Central Asia team collaborated with Bhumi, which is one of India’s largest independent and youth volunteer non-profit organizations. They contribute for causes like education, environment, animals, and community welfare that Novus team also sees to be the major areas of community development and sustainability of nation.

Adhering to its core principle of sustainability, Novus South Central Asia team decided uplifting the basic infrastructure of schools as a part of their community enrichment activity and turning schools into a better place for educational progression for poor children.

Novus India team is very excited to share that we were able to positively impact the educational experience of 300 children by uplifting the infrastructure of 3 schools during the year 2021. A brief of these projects is as below:

Project details:

1. Building a cafeteria shed for Corporation Elementary School, Vaniyambadi, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu.

2. Installing roofing sheets and floor tiles for Suyam Charitable Trust in Chennai, Tamil Nadu; and

3. Building a lavatory for the Ganeshpura Primary School in Chickmagalore (Dist.), Karnataka.

Novus International, Inc. is a leader in scientifically developing, manufacturing and commercializing animal health and nutrition solutions for the agriculture industry. Novus’s portfolio includes ALIMET® and MHA® feed supplements, MINTREX® chelated trace minerals, CIBENZA® enzyme feed additives, NEXT ENHANCE® feed additive, ACTIVATE® nutritional feed acid, and other specialty ingredients. Novus is privately owned by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Saint Charles, Missouri, U.S.A., Novus serves customers around the world. For more information, visit www.novusint.com.

Articles General
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11 min read

Understanding the Economics of Broiler Chicken Production

The Role of Marginal cost and consumer surplus theory on the economics of Broiler Chicken Production

Synopsis: There has been series of discussions in the area of profit maximisation through input cost optimization. However very less discussion has been brought in the area of when and how much to produce. The theory of when and how much to produce relates to the basic theory of marginal cost, consumer surplus and law of diminishing returns. In this article, an attempt has been made to bring in these concepts in relation to production decision and also the efficiencies measurement from the perspective of the resource allocation. The resource allocation can be across the sectors in the broiler production cycle in a vertical tree or in the horizontal and peripheral domain area. In the near future, the implementation of Artificial intelligence (AI) & machine learning (ML) and digitalization of the production value chain would further play a significant role in identifying the key factors associated with cost and revenue in the broiler production cycle and their moderation in the context of consumer demand and supply.

Background : Over the years, Indian Poultry sector has metamorphosized as one of the most promising sector within the agribusiness spectrum contributing to ~ 5% of the agricultural GDP of India. In recent years, the broiler production and farming has emerged as attractive farming activities due to the higher Return on Investment (ROI) against the land area utilization. There has been a significant improvisation in feed conversion ratio (FCR) and other related production parameters in last one decade as a result of upgradation in genetic traits, superior feed formulations, and scientific management practices. In recent times, the farmers and the integrated broiler chicken producing organizations could achieve remarkable production performance by optimizing the cost driving factors such as FCR, average body weight, liveability and meat yield.

In this article, at attempt has been to highlight the decision dynamics on various cost driving factors and their subsequent implications on the economy of broiler chicken production.

There are three fundamental areas that determine the cost economy and profitability of the broiler chicken production:

1) Input Cost Drivers: The basic cost driving factor in broiler chicken production are broiler day old chicks, feed, medicines & vaccines, administrative overheads as well as the rearing cost. Out of all the input cost factors, feed and chick cost comprise of close to ~90% of the total broiler production cost. Therefore, fundamentally the Cost of feed production or feed purchase cost and day-old broiler chick production cost or buying price of day old broiler chicks plays a significant role on the total cost of broiler production.

Fig 1: Cost drivers and their contributions in Broiler Chicken Production

2) Performance Output: The resultant performance of the broiler batch in terms of liveability, FCR, body weight attainment and the yield %age are the outcome related factors which determines the overall cost. The below schematic diagram illustrates the implications of the performance parameters and their efficiencies on the overall performance of the broiler production cycle.

Fig 2: A Scenario Analysis- Economic Impact of Performance drivers

The basic action points that play role in optimizing the cost such as:

Balanced nutritional formulation: Alternate resources and formulation based on season, raw material price and availability ensuring best feed conversion ratio.
Health Monitoring: Scientific approach on bio-security and immunization and disease control process to ensure highest liveability with maximum yield.
Best management practices: Ensuring conducive environment for the broiler birds in the shed leading to highest daily body weight gain.

3) Volatility in Broiler Chicken Market Rate: Although the cost optimization is the driving factor in the perfect competition scenario like broiler chicken production wherein every producer in the market produces identical product, but volatility of the market rate is an equally important area to look at in the economics of the broiler production cycle. Many often broiler farmers cannot make profit due to the volatility of the market rate in spite of the fact that their production efficiencies are optimum and cost is under control.

Fig 3: Broiler Chicken Selling Price Vs Production Cost Trend of Last 15 Years

The major concern of the broiler chicken production sector is the information asymmetry on demand and supply leading to the price discrepancies. At present, the Price dynamics is based on a bunch of assumptions more than the basis of the data. Like any other agricultural perishable commodity, Broiler chicken too witnesses a high volatility in pricings.

Fig 5: Schematic Representation of consumer Surplus in a perfect competition environment

Dynamics of Marginal Cost and optimum quantity production and its relationship with Law of Diminishing returns:

The basic objective of the marginal production Vs Marginal cost analysis is to establish the implication of the change in total cost Vs change in output over a period of time, The theory of marginal cost is more applicable to the farmers or the producer organisations who has a production capacity with multiple locations and placement plan on a weekly basis. The producer companies or farmers many often intend to ignore the production efficiencies and cost drivers from the perspective of marginal cost theory.

Fig 6: Illustration of Marginal cost with the contained variable costs factors on per unit production

The above self-explanatory illustration indicates the importance of the optimum production quantity in relation to the marginal cost in a controlled variable cost scenario in a given geography. Although in all the above scenarios, the variable cost per unit production remains the same and there has been a projected improvement in total fixed cost, but beyond a certain quantity of production level, the per unit marginal cost starts to enhance causing an economic impact on the production performance ratios.

Fig 7: Schematic representation and illustration on Optimum Quantity production

The three facts based on the marginal cost concept that the broiler producing companies and farmers are to be cautious about are:

Volume of production in a given geography is considered to be brought into the strategic decision only when the variable cost factors are ascertained to be contained in spite of a consideration of overall reduction in overheads.
Optimum Volume of production is required to be determined through regular analysis of cost in relation to volume through Change in Cost against change in total output.
It is advisable to consider rework on production volume as soon as the marginal cost curve matches with the Average Cost, therefore ideally the Optimum Quantity (Qe) = MC/AC =1

Fig 8: Illustration on Law of diminishing returns based on production out Vs Resource Inputs

Previous article by author: Entrepreneurial Dynamics of FB in Indian Poultry Sector

About the author
Dr. Anjan Goswami, Director in R J Feeds Pvt Ltd, and Navjeevan Hatcheries Pvt Ltd. have got over thirteen years of Enterprise management experience in the Poultry and Food Sector across all the verticals. He has been instrumental in innovating and implementing different types of revenue and investment sharing models which are being adopted by different companies in the sector.

Dr. Anjan has mentored and co-founded enterprises in the Health and Service sector. He is the present Gen. Secretary of KPFBA. He brings exposure in the areas of Business Management strategy, financial analysis, investment advisory, due diligence, and corporate restructuring of businesses and has experience of successfully closing overseas M&A deals. The Equity, Debt investments, Joint Ventures, and M&A Agreements have been his area of expertise as well.

Dr. Anjan is a Doctoral Research Fellow at ISB Hyderabad, holds an MBA from the IIM, Bangalore. Apart from being a M.V.Sc, his academic exposure also includes advanced business management training from “Capsim Management Simulation Inc” USA and studies on rural sociology under the program “understanding rural India” from Azim Premji University, Bangalore.

Photo Credit: David Tadevosian Shutterstock.com

Articles Nutrition
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4 min read

Feed Additive Combinations could be Solution for Wooden Breast

New research from Novus International is included in latest issue of Frontiers in Physiology.

Dr. Vivek Kuttappan, photo — Dr. Vivek Kuttappan, Novus Research Scientist

SAINT CHARLES, MO (May 6, 2021) – A concern for poultry producers globally, wooden breast is a degenerative condition affecting chicken breasts that ultimately impacts meat quality and can cost the industry millions each year. New research from Novus International, Inc. recently published in Frontiers in Physiology explains how combinations of feed additives can impact this financially damaging myopathy.

Strategies to reduce wooden breast do exist; these are broadly growth-rate-related and antioxidant-based approaches. The results from these methods vary and sometimes can impact performance such as growth rate, slaughter weight, and breast yield. However, an ideal solution is one that offers repeatable success in reducing incidence of wooden breast without sacrificing performance in broiler birds.

The study*, led by Novus Research Scientist Dr. Vivek Kuttappan, evaluated the effect of various dietary interventions on the incidence of wooden breast, particularly when birds are exposed to oxidative stress.

“Although the exact reason is unclear, it’s well-known that incidence of wooden breast is associated with oxidative stress in broiler birds,” Kuttappan said. “So, we wanted to see if combinations of feed additives such as highly bioavailable sources of trace minerals and dietary antioxidants that address tissue oxidative stress could make an impact.”

Poor quality fat or heat stress can instigate oxidative stress in animals, potentially leading to conditions such as wooden breast. Knowing that, Novus researchers took birds experiencing oxidative stress associated with feeding oxidized fat and heat stress and evaluated how Novus’s MINTREX® trace minerals (zinc, copper and manganese), which are marketed for their bioavailability, along with or without a dietary antioxidant and organic selenium impacted the meat quality.

In the study*, birds fed a diet with oxidized fat, a combination of MINTREX® Zn, MINTREX® Cu, and MINTREX® Mn, along with a dietary antioxidant showed reduced oxidative stress in muscle tissue and significantly increased normal/wooden-breast-free fillets by 22% (33% vs 11% when compared to control birds). Where heat stress was concerned, adding MINTREX® trace minerals alone to the diet showed significant increases (13%) in the incidence of normal fillets (21% vs 8% when compared to control birds), and reduced other poultry carcass quality defects such as tibial head lesions, skin scratches, and breast blisters. Researchers observed a higher magnitude of increase in normal fillets (38% vs. 8% compared to control birds), when MINTREX® was combined with the antioxidant and organic selenium.

“The combination of MINTREX® trace minerals, organic selenium, and dietary antioxidants resulted in the effective reduction of wooden breast severity, plausibly through the reduction of oxidative stress in tissue,” Kuttappan said. “This may be due to the activation of various endogenous antioxidant enzymes and reducing dietary sources of oxidative stress.”

*Frontiers in Physiology is a peer-reviewed Journal that examines the physiology of living systems and its interaction with the environment. The Novus study titled, “Nutritional Intervention Strategies Using Dietary Antioxidants and Organic Trace Minerals to Reduce the Incidence of Wooden Breast and Other Carcass Quality Defects in Broiler Birds,” is included in the April 2021 journal in the Avian Physiology section and is viewable Here.

For more information about MINTREX® trace minerals or Novus, visit www.novusint.com.

-HR Corner People Matter
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11 min read

Managing Consultants and Employee Selection

Employee selection has been an area of focus and concern for organizations. The role of consultants in employee selection needs a closer look by organizations. Selection of right consultant, transparent communication and robust performance tracking could help organizations manage consultants and reduce lead time in selection while ensuring higher employee retention.

Do you sometimes take longer to fill positions or have a need to fill the same position few times or find it difficult to attract the required talent despite engaging multiple external recruiters (I will call them consultants in my article). It may seem as though these consultants are not able to find suitable candidates and you may think finding newer ones may solve the problem.

You may be surprised to note that more than 90% of the positions filled are in fact replacement positions. This sort of explains the problems faced by our industry in talent management. When companies are busy finding replacements, where would they have time to groom them and develop them. When companies are grappling with an issue of such magnitude, looking to consultants for help may not solve the problem.

Though there are no ideal metrics, I feel that if you take more than 60 days to shortlist and issue offer letter to the successful candidate, your hiring process needs an introspection. In this article I would like to write about how you could better manage the consultants so that you not only get the right candidates but also get them on time and at right cost.

Why are you filling a position?

The first question that you may want to ask is why I am hiring a position. Can this be done by someone inside through job enlargement or job sharing. Could part of the job be eliminated or even outsourced (if it is mundane or very niche). It is a good practice to see if you could find someone internally who could fit. Also asking these questions helps you to be very clear on the requirement. There could be several cases where you start the hiring process only to stop it midway and put the position on hold. Remember every hiring activity that you do costs the company and you may need to be judicious

How could I best fill the position?

What options do you have once you have looked at your internal talents? You could look at employee referrals, database, company website, job portals, job fairs, campus recruitment or look at consultants. Remember you need to maintain a healthy mix of sources in hiring if you want to get a diver set of employees. Each source has its own advantage but also comes with its downside. Job portals might be good at getting more resumes in quick time but how many of them would be suitable or interested is a question.

You may need to decide on the source of hiring depending on the position and your needs. Sometimes you may even look to close positions through multiple sources if the number of positions to be filled are high. Consultants are very handy if you are looking for confidential search or looking to head hunt from a specific company(or competitor) or the requirement is very niche where you do not have the expertise. You may engage consultants if you are looking for some diverse set of candidates or those from other industries/geographies which you have never worked upon.

How do I work with consultants?

Having decided to engage consultant to fill a particular position, please look for a consultant who has very relevant experience and has closed similar positions in the past. Good to seek references from their clients. Please develop a criteria to engage a consultant (things like domain experience, clientele, ability to work across geographies etc) and reach out to them. Evaluate them on these objective criteria and arrive at a decision. Please be clear on the commercials and sign an agreement before you ask them to start working on any position. A few things that I find as good practice are given below;

Professional fee – Do not consider professional fee as make or break criteria. A consultant who could help you close position with right candidate in less than 30 days helps you save cost. Especially if it a sales position every day lost is revenue loss. Even if you pay a slightly higher fee, it makes sense and has a good pay back. Remember, the harder you negotiate and beat them down to lowest rates, there is also a possibility that they may assign lesser priority to your positions. To close a position, consultant too needs to spend lot of resources and they look for better ROI like how you do. A better way to deal with it may be tie the fee with time to fill whereby the consultant gets a higher fee if they could get right candidates within say 2 weeks. This serves as an incentive to the consultant to close the position faster.

Treat them as your business partner – Communicate clearly about the requirement and also about your organization. The working conditions, reporting relationship, opportunities in future. If you have already seen some candidates, pl consider providing the list so that they do not approach the same candidates. Encourage consultants to interact with the hiring managers so that the requirements are clear. Remember, any candidate would want to know more than what is mentioned in the Job description. It is good to provide all relevant information to candidates so that there is transparency. Also show consultants on how you are growing and the value of long term relationship.

Kindly provide timely and specific feedback on the profiles presented by them as this helps them understand the requirement better and find suitable candidates. It is a good practice to revert on a profile in a week and see the logical end in about 2-3 weeks. Any consultant would love to work with organizations that are quick on their selection process and lose interest if there are undue delays.

How many consultants for a position?

Two consultants working on the same position can’t reduce the lead time by 50%. Though some bit of competition might help speeding up the process, there is also a risk that they reach out to same set of candidates. When candidates are getting calls from multiple consultants for the same position, they get a feeling that the company is very desperate to close positions. Worse still is you don’t want to get into a situation where two consultants claim for the same candidate.

Better way to manage is to find the most appropriate consultant and ask them to work exclusively for a week or two. Remember, engaging consultants is like using anti biotics. Excessive usage might be counterproductive.

Track performance – After assigning a position, how do you monitor performance of consultants. Do you track in how many days are they able to get the relevant resumes, how may profiles for a closure, and how long do they stay with the organization. For instance when I was managing HR function, we found out that consultants had given close to about 150 resumes for about 5-6 closures while employee referrals contributed to 15 hires with half of the resumes. A good performance tracking helps you identify the right consultant and also fix issues, if any in your selection process.

Conclusion

As you could see from the article that consultants could be very good source of hiring provided, they are used very judiciously. A good selection of consultant, transparent communication and a robust performance tracking would go a long way in managing your selection process and getting candidates on time. In the absence of these measures, we may leave success to chance and blame consultants for delays/failures while some the problems might be out of their control.

About the author: Mr. Pattabiraman Nagarajan is a HR professional, Consultant, trainer and an ICF certified coach. Has managed organization change and aligned HR practices to ensure business growth. He holds master degree in Social work and a PG Diploma in Business Management from IIM Trichy. He could be reached at npattabiraman@relyonus.in

News Update
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5 min read

Report: Conference on Poultry Technologies

On 23 April 2021, TNTDPC of CII organized the ‘Conference on Poultry Technologies’ with the focus on poultry industry, technology, and business. The conference discussed an in-depth knowledge of the existing scenario in the poultry processing industry and the emerging trends and technologies for the Indian poultry sector.

Mr SKM Shree Shivkumar photo — Mr SKM Shree Shivkumar, Conference Chairman & CEO & Managing Director, SKM Egg Products Export India Ltd

Mr SKM Shree Shivkumar, Conference Chairman & CEO & Managing Director, SKM Egg Products Export India Ltd delivered the Theme Address.

He highlighted that the Indian domestic poultry industry is the fastest growing segment with a compound growth rate of 18%. Boiler meat production in India is estimated at about 4.8 million tons annually. India’s poultry industry, which includes broilers and eggs, is worth $ 12.96 Billion annually. India now ranks as one of the fastest growing major world poultry markets. He also mentioned that India is the largest egg producer in the world and the per capita consumption of eggs has gone up from 30 eggs per annum to 68 eggs per annum, and per capita consumption of chicken from 400 grams to 2.5 kg per annum in the last few years.

Dr P Selvaraj photo — Dr P Selvaraj, Chairman, NECC, Tamil Nadu Zone, India

Dr P Selvaraj, Chairman, National Egg Co-ordination Committee, Tamil Nadu Zone mentioned in his Keynote Address that the poultry market is further projected to reach INR 4,340 Billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 16.2%. India today is the one of the world’s largest producer of eggs and broiler meat.

Mr Suresh Chitturi, photo — Mr Suresh Chitturi, Chairman – IEC & Vice CMD Srinivasa Farms Pvt Ltd

Mr Suresh Chitturi, Chairman – International Egg Commission & Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Srinivasa Farms Pvt Ltd mentioned about the Poultry meat is 50% of the total meat production in India. Food processing stand low even as it amongst world’s largest producers and consumer of food producers. He mentioned about the role of digital technology in disease management outlook, the ability to spot disease or find morbid birds before the entire flock is affected. From a food safety perspective, enhanced Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli detection at the early stage. Innovation in Poultry Production – 3D printing prosthetics, Sensors for individualized monitoring, Artificial intelligence (AI) in processing, Augmented reality helping the consumer, Virtual reality (VR) training in production, Block Chain and Internet of Things (IOT). He also mentioned about Government should encourage startups working on the emerging technologies in poultry.

Dr M Angamuthu, IAS, Chairman, The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority delivered the Inaugural address and mentioned that the Poultry is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector in India today. The Potential in the sector is due to a combination of factors – growth in per capita income, a growing urban population and falling real poultry prices. Poultry meat is the fastest growing component of global meat demand. He also quoted that, in India, poultry sector growth is being driven by rising incomes and a rapidly expanding middle class, together with the emergence of vertically integrated poultry producers that have reduced consumer prices by lowering production and marketing costs. Integrated production, market transition from live birds to chilled and frozen products, and policies that ensure supplies of competitively priced corn and soybeans are keys to future poultry industry growth in India.

The one day conference had around 250 participants from the following business sectors viz Poultry industries; Hatcheries and Breeding companies; Poultry equipment companies; IT / IOT Companies; Feed manufactures; Animal protein companies; Research companies; Veterinary colleges and Research Institutions; Food companies; Vaccine companies; Poultry Farmers; Other industries and individuals.

Our Poultry Trends magazine was the exclusive Magazine partner for the event.

Note: Announcement details of Conference , agenda and speaker details HERE

News Update
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4 min read

CPDO&TI APP – Your Information Portal On The Go..

CPDO & TI under Government of India (GOI), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Bangalore, India was established during 1972 to cater to the training needs of the country and of other developing countries in poultry production and allied activities. The institute imparts advanced and specialized training to the technical officers of the Central/State govt. Organizations, agricultural universities, bank and insurance corporations, Cooperative sector, poultry and meat corporations and private sector poultry Organizations of the country.

CPDO&TI started online trainings for Vets/Graduates/prospective entrepreneurs on Poultry from September 2020 which includes Entrepreneurship in Poultry Awareness Week (EPAW), Entrepreneurs Day (ED) and Online Discussion Forum (ODF).

EPAW is a programme designed for providing basic knowledge takeaways on poultry sector, management, nutrition, diseases, GOI schemes, rural poultry including business models for adoption. This programme is designed for four days including Entrepreneurs Day wherein successful entrepreneurs are invited to share their inspirational stories by their dedication and hard work.

ODF – is mainly designed to discuss in depth about a specific issue in poultry sector. So far, three ODF are organized focusing on

Alternate Species (Duck/Turkey/Quail/Guinea Fowl).
Pan India poultry training facilities both in public and private sector.
Poultry Feeding Trends in India.

CPDO&TI organized all these events online through zoom network and live telecasted in CPDO&TI youtube channel: CPDO&TI TRAINING, Hybiz TV youtube channel and posted in CPDO&TI facebook: cpdoti.bangalore.

The App: CPDO&TI conceptualized the App, presently in Android platform – Google playstore in order to create a diary of past and present events retrievable in a user friendly format. This app was released on 27th March, 2021 during the third ODF at the Institute.

Designed with a choice of language in the first page with both English and regional language Kannada. Once language is selected, the viewer will have a display of Entrepreneurs day and Online Discussion Forum list based on the dates of the event. Further entering the selection of Entrepreneurs Day of a particular date, he/she will see a display of speakers with their image and the talk delivered on that day. The viewer can select topic and the speaker of his/her choice and get the information in an edited video format of less than 30 min. Similar is the arrangement if it is clicked on Online Discussion Forum. On the top of the app page, both facebook and website links of the organization is made available to navigate to both facebook and website of CPDO&TI for further detailed information. At the bottom, setting button can be used at any time to navigate back to the language of selection.

A small attempt is made to dub few of the events of Entrepreneurs day and ODF in Kannada, the regional language for the selected viewers. Presently this App is only in Android format (and can be downloaded by typing CPDO&TI in Google PlayStore). However, IOS – appstore format will be released soon.

Source: CPDO&TI Release

News Update
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1 min read

Victam Asia will join forces with VIV Asia in January 2022

After postponing the event Victam Asia twice, now with the current vaccination programs all over the world, we are positive that Victam’s world leading event can be organized again in January 2022! This means that we are getting back on track.

Venue: Impact Exhibition Center, Bangkok, Thailand
Dates: January 12 – 14 – 2022

As many events were postponed the past two years, there will be a full agenda once events can take place again. To optimize the event for our exhibitors and visitors and trying to avoid conflicts with other events, Victam and VNU have decided to join forces: Victam Asia and VIV Asia will be organized in co-location.

The two events Victam Asia and VIV Asia will be organized in co-location at the IMPACT Exhibition Center in Bangkok, Thailand from January 12-14, 2022.

After informing our existing exhibitors, we received many positive reactions on this cooperation, so we trust we are coming back with our event that you have come to know us for, only bigger, better and stronger!

We are thankful that we are able to restart our activities and happy that we will meet again soon. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sebas van den Ende
General Manager
VICTAM Corporation

https://victamasia.com

News Update
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10 min read

Late Sh. Shaik Imam: The LEGEND lives on!!

Hyderabad (India) is known for several things right from its jewels to its food. Little does anyone know that one of the most remarkable revolutions in the Indian poultry industry also began here. With the introduction of automated poultry mechanisms of the West and an imagination of a greater scope for the industry, Shaik Imam Saab stands as a legend in the poultry industry of India.

Born on 22nd February 1930, Shaik Imam Saab finished his schooling at Nampally Government High School and went on to pursue a BSc in Chemistry at Nizam College. Though he initially pursued pharmacy, his interests lay in manufacturing and the industry, which led him to shift to Microbiology. As the only Indian studying at this University in Nebraska, Shaik Imam Saab moved to America in 1948 to pursue microbiology.

Shaik Saab fondly remembers his stay in America as probably the best part of his life. Being the only Indian in the University during his studies, he attracted curiosity among his American friends, some of whom also became family. One such exceptional friendship was with Prof Dick Earl, who was in the Poultry Department at the Agricultural College of the University. The Prof was also a consultant at a poultry company and had his own farm. His was the first automated farm that Shaik Saab had seen – Verdant, with no human beings and fully automated. This inspired him to think of something similar in the Indian context.

After his studies in the University, Shaik Saab worked with the Health Department of the Municipality of Nebraska. He was also invited to continue to work in America but Shaik Saab wanted to come back to India. After frequent visits to Prof Earl’s farm, he began to get a better understanding of the farm and the knowledge of an organizational setup. When he told the Prof that he was interested in working on a similar set up in India, he asked him how he would manage the feed. Shaik Saab was bewildered with that question and asked, “What is feed?”

Incidentally, the first thing Shaik Imam Saab started working on when he came back to India in 1962 was set up Hyfed Feeds, the first formulated feed company in India. He initially received training and literature from the Technical Cooperation Mission, a scheme that came to India in 1962. The poultry experts under the TCM scheme helped him with the development of the feeder, health care, drinking facility and other equipment to make and mix feed. He also made strong relationships with Dr. Moor and Dr. B.V. Rao, who contributed to his growth in his pursuits in the poultry industry. When Shaik Saab started Hyfed Feeds, the farmers were the first ones who were immensely benefited and became permanent customers. Meanwhile, Godrej and Hindustan Lever also started feed companies but they couldn’t manage to get entry into Andhra Pradesh. This was the period when the poultry industry in the country was beginning to make visible changes.

Hyfed Feed was fully functional till 1967 and simultaneously, around 1966 Shaik Saab began doing trials with birds. By 1967, he set up the first Hyline franchise in India and Hyfed Feeds was replaced by Hyfed Hatchery, with the first batch of 500 birds. He had the biggest franchise of Hyline birds till 1972, after which the company left India. However, by 1971, Shaik Saab built his own hatchery on 10 acres land in Malakpet, which began with two incubators and grew steadily for over ten years. His wife Mrs Jamila Banu and his brother Vikaruddin Saab were instrumental in building and nurturing the hatchery. Dr Sitarama Rao, a retired Veterinarian, joined him and had contributed immensely to the hatchery.

Kasila Farms Ltd started in 1981 in collaboration with Hubbard Farms (U.S.A.)

By 1981, he began basic breeding of Hubbard Pureline birds under the Banner of KASILA FARMS PVT LTD., and had the exclusive franchise for Hubbard in India. He started HORIZON FARMS PVT LTD., a parent farm in Mambapur in the year 1985 and tutored his eldest son Mr. Khalid Imam in it. He also started Lohmann Pureline Layer (LSL) breeding unit at Vikarabad under the name of Select Breeders Ltd. in the year 1989-90 for which Mr. Ajaz Imam was incharge of it. He guided Mr. Sajid Imam to start (SPF) Specific Pathogen Free Eggs production in the year 1994 at Kandlapally village, Vikarabad and floated Select Biologicals Pvt Ltd. He had a keen interest in exports which led him to establish Kasila Farms in Sharjah and it was taken care by his youngest son Mr. Ilyas Imam which exported upto 12 countries. By 1992, Shaik Saab developed his own breed Hubchix.

Shaik Saab’s contribution to the poultry industry in India, whether it was mechanizing farms, introducing better bird lines or opening up markets, reflects in the status of the industry as the fastest growing sector in agriculture. Over the years, his friends and colleagues became family and his family, especially his wife and brothers, supported his work in the industry with much care. He has also received exceeding support from the Government in all his initiatives and has maintained healthy cooperation with the state.

Later in the year 2017, he was awarded ‘The Living Legend’ award for his contribution to the Poultry Industry globally.

This living legend has left us all in void on the 14th of April 2021.

The above inputs are framed and given to us by Mrs. Surekha Venugopal (Founder – SV Marketing) who initially joined as a personal secretary to Shaik Saab and was elevated to higher designations in various sectors. Here is what she has to say about him.

Surekha: Shaik Imam Sir was my first boss and there never existed an employee – employer bond between the two of us. The reason behind me considering him as my fatherly figure is that I have lost my father at a very early stage and never got to be guided. The feeling was mutual for us. He never missed an event unattended. From my wedding to my children’s birthday parties which were all small scale, he would show up with a big smile and with the entire family. He taught us the values.

I’m personally very blessed to be under his guidance. He has nurtured and groomed me to be the person I am today in front of you all.

He was a true example of simplicity and diversity which very fondly reminds me of him driving his car to work until the age of 88. He never believed in awards and recognition which is one of the reasons he never received any until the age of 87. This award (‘The Living Legend’) was accepted by him with the greatest effort put across by his oldest son Mr. Khalid Imam. It took us a lot of convincing to see him up on the stage on that day. I cannot stop quoting examples of him, his simplicity and humbleness.

Today, I stand straight and look up to him every single day of my life thanking him in every step I take. He is not just a role model for me, but for my children too, who fondly called him – Shaik Tatha.

Will always move forward in life with all the life lessons learnt from you Sir. We all miss you and this is not a final goodbye. YOU WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER AND EVER.

The information gathered is put up here to the best of my knowledge and ability. Please consider my sincere apologies if I have failed to add a few points or if there is any disparity in his life story.

Articles Nutrition
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Nutritional strategies for poultry gut health in antibiotic-free production

A healthy chicken gut is essential for optimum digestibility, maximum nutrient absorption, immunity development and disease resistance. Disruption of gut integrity and imbalance of gut microbiota may have negative effects on feed conversion, productivity, and health of chicken.

Dr. Anjan Mondal, Senior Technical Manager, Novus International, Inc.

For the last few decades in poultry production, antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) have been widely used in poultry diets to promote growth, improve feed efficiency and control dysbacteriosis and enteric diseases. Unfortunately, the extensive use of antibiotic growth promoters at subtherapeutic doses in poultry diets has the possibility to generate antibiotic resistant pathogens in animal products. Antibiotic-free poultry production is a common trend worldwide because the use of antibiotics has been banned by governments in many countries and due to increasing concerns about antibiotic resistance. These circumstances have ensured a search for alternative strategies to modulate gut development and health in poultry.

Strategies to modulate gut health in antibiotic-free poultry production

Feed quality

Optimum nutrient digestion and absorption depends on high quality feed ingredients.
Feed particle size is very important for gizzard development. A well-developed gizzard is essential to enhance grinding activity, leading to not only increased gut motility and greater digestion of nutrients, but also to greater reduction in particle size entering the small intestine, ultimately increasing the accessibility of the feed to digestive enzymes. Poor pellet quality and excess fine particles can reduce gizzard function which can increase the incidence of feed passage (undigested feed in the animal’s waste) and dysbacteriosis or microbial imbalance.
High levels of antinutritional factors in the feed could lead to poor digestibility, resulting in more undigested protein in the intestinal lumen. The presence of undigested protein in the lumen favors the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria, such as Clostridium perfringens. Supplementing the diet with good quality exogenous protease enzyme has been shown to considerably improve protein digestibility.
High concentrations of trypsin inhibitors in diets have a negative effect on nutrient digestibility and gut health. Trypsin inhibitors are directly correlated with rapid feed passage and dysbacteriosis. Thermal processing of soybean meal is critical because negative effects from undercooked and overcooked soybean meal on digestion have been cited. Undercooked soybean meal has higher concentrations of trypsin inhibitors whereas overcooking decreases digestibility of the proteins. Inclusion of a good quality protease in the diet can reduce the impact of trypsin inhibitors on digestion.
Coarser particle size of soybean meal, close to 700-900 µm, favors higher digestion of soybean protein and minimizes the negative effects of antitrypsin factors.
A high content of soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) in the feed can increase viscosity in the gut, decreasing the passage rate of feed in the stomach (digesta). This leads to decreased absorption of digesta and increased incidence of wet droppings. The addition of an exogenous NSP enzyme in feed can considerably decrease NSP levels and reduce the risk of bacterial enteritis.
Mycotoxins can alter the normal gut functions, such as barrier function and nutrient absorption. Where feed storage is concerned, control measures need to be implemented to minimize grain damage and conditions that could increase mold and insect spoilage. Adding a broad-spectrum mycotoxin binder to the diet can reduce the adverse effect of mycotoxins on poultry health.
Rancid oils and fats should be rejected since they have been shown as a path to enteric diseases. Proper storage conditions in tanks and transportation lines should be evaluated frequently to control rancidity development within the feed mill. Additionally, the use of antioxidants in feed can reduce oxidation and thereby reduce rancidity.
Certain feed ingredients and additives have been shown to modulate gut microbiota and the immune system in poultry. Those dietary factors should be considered when formulating broiler diets (Figs 1 & 2). Several classes of feed additives have been proposed and evaluated in poultry preproduction, including organic acids, essential oils, probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes, and trace minerals. These feed supplements are used as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters to modulate gut microbiota and enhance gut integrity for better growth, feed efficiency and improved bird health (Fig 2).

Fig.1 The vicious cycle of poor gut health

Fig 2 — Fig.2 Nutritional strategies to improve gut health in antibiotic free production

Water quality
Water is the most important nutrient for poultry and is involved in every physiological process of a bird. Water is also a medium that can transport bacterial, viral and protozoan infections in poultry houses. Unfortunately, the importance of water quality is usually overlooked. Water quality is essential for proper digestion, so its physicochemical characteristics should be measured, controlled and improved on the farm.

The water’s pH is an important factor that can influence microbial populations in water and in the animal’s gut, thus maintaining microbiota balance in the lumen environment. The ideal water pH for poultry should be between 5 and 7, because alkaline pH (that above 7) is shown to reduce the activity of digestive enzymes. Studies show that birds can tolerate a low pH of 3.5. Drinking water with carbonates and other salts that increase the alkalinity and hardness can cause problems. Hardness and alkaline pH of water create an environment for biofilm and endotoxins to thrive in the water tank, pipeline, and drinker due to the proliferation of algae and microbes.

Conclusion
To better optimize poultry digestibility and performance in antibiotic-free production, there is a need to develop cost effective alternative strategies that manipulate gut microbiota. Several feed additives including organic acids, essential oils, probiotics, prebiotics, exogenous enzymes, and trace minerals have been successfully used for better gut health and efficient production performance in poultry. Combinations of these various alternatives with proper farm management and biosecurity measures are the key to maximizing poultry performance in this antibiotic free era.
References available upon request.

This article has been originally published by FeedNavigator.com, for more details contact : reena.rani@novusint.com

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