In The Spotlight
Although all estrus cycles are not the same for individual females within a herd, it is one of the most important indicators of whether a cow or heifer will be successfully bred
Animal reproduction professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, Ronaldo Cerri, PhD is carrying out research work to improve cattle fertility by identifying which cows and heifers are the best candidates to breed using tactics like artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET), with estrus intensity as the deciding factor.
Cattle have typical baseline activity when they aren’t in estrus. When they start to enter estrus, their activity rises as the intensity of the estrus increases. Pinpointing when estrus is about to peak is crucial to a successful pregnancy.
After analysing extensive data from estrus detection sensors, Cerri and other researchers have pinpointed patterns based on what’s occurring during estrus. Cows exhibiting low estrus intensity tend to have lower concentrations of progesterone during the growth of the ovulatory follicle and fail to ovulate more often than those with high estrus intensity. Similarly, ET recipients that show high estrus intensity have more consistent pregnancy results.
“The patterns are very consistent in many of the studies we do,” said Cerri. “Cows with lower estrus intensity always display less physical activity, but they also have lower pregnancy rates. On the flip side, cows with high estrus intensity display more activity and have higher pregnancy rates.”
Evaluating estrus intensity
Using heat detection tools to evaluate estrus intensity can help to pick and choose which cows are the best candidates to breed at a particular time. While implementing a mass breeding protocol, offers the option to use estrus intensity to direct choices on what type of genetics to use.
With breeding indicator patches, estrus can be monitored by looking for patches that have 50% or more of the surface ink rubbed off as being in high estrus intensity and are ready to breed. Females with less than 50% of the surface ink rubbed off are in low estrus intensity and could be bred with lower-cost genetics or bred later when they have reached high estrus intensity.
With millions of units sold around the world, the ESTROTECT Breeding Indicator is the industry standard for optimising cattle breeding efficiency and economics which has been tested in a multitude of university studies by researchers.
Dinnissen Process Technology, a system integrator specialising in process technology for powders, granules, and bulk goods, announces the opening of yet another branch: Dinnissen Pacific
This marks the company’s sixth branch, in addition to its two locations in the Netherlands, one in Germany, one in Indonesia, and the recently opened office in the UK. Dinnissen Pacific will be headquartered in Auckland and daily management will be led by Fons Kuijpers, a seasoned Dinnissen process expert with over 15 years of experience.
Dinnissen has a large installed base in both New Zealand and Australia. The key difference now is that customer contact will be handled by a local expert, in combination with experts in the Netherlands. This ensures a stronger understanding of local culture, conditions and regulations.
The company's mission is to enable producers worldwide to efficiently and reliably produce high-quality food/chemicals for people, pets and livestock, both now and in the future. As part of this commitment, the company has steadily expanded its international presence to better serve customers in key regions.
With the addition of branches in Germany, Indonesia, the UK, and now New Zealand, Dinnissen strengthens its global footprint while staying true to its core values.
“We open new branches with the clear goal of enhancing our local presence and being more responsive to the needs of our customers," explained technical & commercial director, Frans Bakker. "The ability to provide fast service and support locally makes our systems even more reliable. That reliability is at the heart of our mission to create a bigger economic footprint and ensure a stable global food supply.”
VIV Africa 2024 has officially concluded after three days of connecting agricultural, poultry, and dairy professionals from across the continent
Featuring 40 specialised sessions, practical workshops and networking opportunities, VIV Africa which was hosted at the Kigali Convention Centre from 2-3 October successfully concluded after seeing a record-breaking attendance and engagement.
The event which underscored its growing significance as a key platform for advancing the future of African animal protein production, brought together industry professionals, thought leaders, local youth and innovators to exchange knowledge, build partnerships, and showcase the latest trends and developments in animal husbandry and agricultural scene.
The Leadership Conference which preceded on 1 October was a major highlight of this year’s programme, featuring presentations from over 50 thought leaders and facilitated important discussions on issues such as global expertise and local practice, investment opportunities, and sustainable solutions in future trends.
Keynote speakers which included international experts, from organisations such as the Traide Foundation and the World Poultry Science Association, among others, provided crucial insights into both the current state and future outlook of the African agricultural landscape, helping set strategic directions for industry attendees.
Innovation was at the heart of VIV Africa 2024, with a special spotlight on new technologies and startup ecosystems designed to address the unique challenges facing African farmers. Youth engagement in the poultry sector was strongly reinforced as well, with a session discussing how to overcome challenges and unlock opportunities as well as how to obtain technical skills and ultimately secure success in the industry. The session was followed by a guided tour along the entire industry value chain within the exhibition and concluded with a networking lunch.
An impressive 80% of exhibitors already confirmed their interest in participating at the next edition of VIV Africa in 2026, highlighting the confidence in the event’s ability to drive the industry in the region and generate opportunities for growth.
Plans for VIV Africa 2026 are already underway, as it is set to take place in Kigali, 7-8 October 2026, with the promise of even greater engagement and further opportunities in the agricultural business and beyond.
The Bologna event aims to support operators in their business activities and to offer a global panorama of supply and demand for new technologies
EIMA is a formidable agricultural technologies exhibition, where all the new products and prototypes and the most technologically advanced solutions to meet the production needs of every agricultural model are promoted. These are the credentials of the international exhibition organised by FederUnacoma during the conference held at the headquarters of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) in Rome.
The 2024 event – which will be held at the Bologna Exhibition Centre from 6-10 November – will feature participation by 1,700 industries, who will exhibit latest-generation machinery and cutting-edge technological solutions. In addition to being a boundless showcase of innovations, EIMA is a system designed to support the business of companies, and match supply and demand on a global level. Economic operators, agricultural entrepreneurs and agro-mechanical technicians are able to find computer support in five languages, interpretation services and contractual assistance at EIMA.
The themes that will be addressed over the five days of the event in topic-specific meetings are also international in scope, including those relating to the global crisis of water resources, the cultivation of marginal territories and extreme areas of the planet, and the creation of the free trade area on the African continent, for which an important Forum has been dedicated.
Overall, EIMA 2024 will host no fewer than 150 conventions, conferences and workshops, to offer updates on technologies and policies for agriculture and agro-mechanics, divided by product sector and organised partly within the five thematic EIMA Salons: 'Components', 'Energy', 'Green', 'Hydrotech' and 'Digital'.
“Among the thematic areas, EIMA Campus will have particular importance this year dedicated to universities, research and training, which includes a programme of initiatives coordinated by the Italian Association of Agricultural Engineering (AIIA) with the presence of 11 universities,” said the director of FederUnacoma, Simona Rapastella. “Within this context, a space dedicated to the AFI Academy is planned the advanced training school established by FederUnacoma, which will begin its activity in January 2025 and also offer courses in trade fair management.”
Although all estrus cycles are not the same for individual females within a herd, it is one of the most important indicators of whether a cow or heifer will be successfully bred
Animal reproduction professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, Ronaldo Cerri, PhD is carrying out research work to improve cattle fertility by identifying which cows and heifers are the best candidates to breed using tactics like artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET), with estrus intensity as the deciding factor.
Cattle have typical baseline activity when they aren’t in estrus. When they start to enter estrus, their activity rises as the intensity of the estrus increases. Pinpointing when estrus is about to peak is crucial to a successful pregnancy.
After analysing extensive data from estrus detection sensors, Cerri and other researchers have pinpointed patterns based on what’s occurring during estrus. Cows exhibiting low estrus intensity tend to have lower concentrations of progesterone during the growth of the ovulatory follicle and fail to ovulate more often than those with high estrus intensity. Similarly, ET recipients that show high estrus intensity have more consistent pregnancy results.
“The patterns are very consistent in many of the studies we do,” said Cerri. “Cows with lower estrus intensity always display less physical activity, but they also have lower pregnancy rates. On the flip side, cows with high estrus intensity display more activity and have higher pregnancy rates.”
Evaluating estrus intensity
Using heat detection tools to evaluate estrus intensity can help to pick and choose which cows are the best candidates to breed at a particular time. While implementing a mass breeding protocol, offers the option to use estrus intensity to direct choices on what type of genetics to use.
With breeding indicator patches, estrus can be monitored by looking for patches that have 50% or more of the surface ink rubbed off as being in high estrus intensity and are ready to breed. Females with less than 50% of the surface ink rubbed off are in low estrus intensity and could be bred with lower-cost genetics or bred later when they have reached high estrus intensity.
With millions of units sold around the world, the ESTROTECT Breeding Indicator is the industry standard for optimising cattle breeding efficiency and economics which has been tested in a multitude of university studies by researchers.
Launched in 2014 with US$69.2mn in funding from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)'s concessional window, the African Development Fund project has supported 14 localities across Benin’s Ouémé, Zou, and Atlantique districts
The project aims to promote rice and maize cultivation and market gardening by enhancing hydro-agricultural facilities to secure production and building storage and marketing infrastructure to ensure better integration of value chains.
The results were found to be impressive, with rice growers experiencing a remarkable increase in their average annual revenue. By the end of the project in December 2023, additional food crop production (rice, maize) had increased from 70,100 tonnes to 90,300 tonnes in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 growing seasons.
The project’s success demonstrates the transformative power of the Bank’s targeted agricultural investment in rural African communities, improving livelihoods and food security while promoting sustainable economic growth.
“We have increased our productivity thanks to the project, allowing us to enroll our children in school and even to university level," said Enock Koumagnon, a farmer in Sèmè-Podji. "As a simple farmer, I never imagined this would be possible.”
An emerging company, TransIberian Foods (TIF) has chosen the flexibility, efficiency and quality offered by TOMRA Food and installed the KATO 260 precision grading system powered by LUCAi Artificial Intelligence technology, and two CURO filling stations
The company has chosen TOMRA Food’s advanced blueberry grading and filling solutionsfor its blueberry packing line. With the TOMRA KATO 260 advanced, industry-leading precision grading system with LUCAi Artificial Intelligence technology and two TOMRA CURO filling stations, it achieves the extreme flexibility needed to meet the varied and demanding requirements of its international customers.
TransIberian Foods has 20,000 sq m of refrigerated space with 14 docks and is currently expanding its operations with the development of a new project focused on the refrigeration, ripening, and packaging of avocados and other tropical fruits, both locally produced and imported.
Manager of TransIberian Foods, Jesús Cruz explained that due to the diversity in the origin of the blueberries, they were looking for a packaging line that was extremely flexible, capable of handling all the commercial formats required by European supermarkets for our clients. "This meant having the ability to quickly adapt to different sizes and types of packaging, from small trays for individual portions to larger containers for wholesale. TOMRA has enabled us to offer a wide range of options to our clients, companies that distribute to European supermarkets, adapting to their needs and market demands,” added Cruz.
TOMRA Food expressed that they were pleased with the Translberian Foods project, highlighting that Translberian Foods were looking for advanced technology solutions to address this challenge. The implementation of advanced technology allowed the company to optimise their fruit selection, grading and packaging processes, ensuring that each product meets the highest international standards. This precision and efficiency is not only essential for maintaining the integrity, but also the quality of the final product, from reception to delivery.
The packaging process at TransIberian Foods begins with the fruit being fed into the KATO 260 sorter, optimising its performance. The fruit is gently loaded into the KATO 260, ensuring a continuous supply and uniform distribution in the sorter. Next, the KATO 260 exclusive rolling conveyor system inspects the fruit’s surface from all angles. Cameras capture multiple images of each piece of fruit, and the machine's software can identify defects as small as 0.2 mm at high speed for precise grading.
A valuable optional enhancement for the KATO 260 is the LUCAi software and hardware package, which uses AI to achieve unparalleled accuracy in fruit sorting and grading. After each piece of fruit moves along the sorting line, it is photographed by multiple cameras. LUCAi identifies and indicates how each blueberry should be graded. Capable of processing up to 2,400 images per second, LUCAi can also view the fruit in wavelengths not visible to the human eye, detecting subtle defects such as dehydration, bruising, and early anthracnose.
At the end of the line, the fruit is processed by a packing system featuring two CURO16 units, each with 16 filling stations. These units boost productivity by reducing human handling errors and fruit loss. They weigh with precision, and can simultaneously pack for different markets. This system is the fastest weight-based filling solution on the market, capable of handling up to 200 packs of 125 g of fruit per minute. Moreover, TOMRA Food’s equipment also offers exceptional packing flexibility.
"With TOMRA Food’s solution, we can quickly adapt to market demands and efficiently manage demand spikes during peak seasons," concluded Cruz. "We are extremely satisfied with the advanced sorting technology, as it enables us to handle fruit from various sources effectively and ensures we deliver high-quality products.”