Livestock

Illustration of a horizontal cross-section of the solar powered aquaponics greenhouse. (Image source: WorldFish – Egypt)

WorldFish in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy has launched a revolutionary solar-powered aquaponics greenhouse in Egypt, demonstrating a move towards a sustainable integrated agriculture-aquaculture- (IAA) system

A demonstration aquaponics greenhouse was established at WorldFish's facility in Abbassa, Abu-Hammad, Sharqia. This milestone was achieved through the Centre for Renewable Energy in Aquaculture (CeREA), a four-year project funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Cairo.

This cutting-edge system comprises two fish tanks and two deep water culture units, with each fish tank stocked with genetically improved Nile tilapia. To ensure optimal conditions for the fish, the system is equipped with two submersible pumps, two air blowers and mechanical and biological filters. This design facilitates the efficient conversion of ammonia waste to nitrate nitrogen, thereby maintaining a harmonious aquatic-environment. To ensure optimal conditions for the fish, the system is equipped with two submersible pumps, two air blowers and mechanical and biological filters. This design facilitates the efficient conversion of ammonia waste to nitrate nitrogen, thereby maintaining a harmonious aquatic-environment.

Being the largest in the Africa, Egypt's aquaculture industry produces 2 million tons of fish annually with a production value of US$1.3bn. The waste produced by the fish provides nutrients required for the plants, while the plants filter the water for the fish, creating a harmonious cycle. By adding solar panels, a sustainable and energy-efficient farming system can be created and sustained.

"The integration of solar panels in aquaponics systems offers several key benefits. First and foremost, it reduces the reliance on traditional energy sources, thus lowering the carbon footprint of the farm, said country director of WorldFish, Egypt, Ahmed Nasr-Allah. "By harnessing the power of the sun, aquaponic farms can operate off-grid, making them ideal for remote or rural areas where access to electricity may be limited.”

All the project proposals are required to justify how they are bringing significative sustainable solutions to overcome challenges of the swine or poultry industry. (Image source: Adisseo)

Building on the success of the previous edition, this Grant will allocate US$1mn over the next three years to fund research projects addressing key challenges in animal nutrition

Through this initiative, Adisseo aims to foster international collaboration among leading laboratories and drive innovaton in the industry. The selection process of this research grant will be overseen by a prestigious Scientific Committee with numerous academic professors present. 

In order to ensure that the selected projects align wih the grant objectives, the committee will rigorously evaluate proposals to confirm their potential to address complex industry challenges. For the third edition, the grant will support projects investigating nutritional approaches for monogastric (swine and poultry). 

This year, the pre-proposal application period is open from 2 September. The pre-proposal research projects will be announced on 21 October and the full dossier submission deadline is 29 November. 

For more information and to apply, visit: https://www.adisseo.com/en/adisseo-research-grant-2024/ or contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Collaboration of Eurofins Agro Testing and trinamiX. (Image source: trinamiX)

Renowned laboratory, Eurofins Agro Testing Wageningen has announced its collaboration with trinamiX to enable the optimisation of forage analyses without sending samples to a laboratory

The partnership brings together Eurofins Agro Testing’s expertise in state-of-the-art analysis, their global network of laboratories and extensive knowledge of the agri-food industry with trinamiX’s technology to offer on-the-spot analytics in a fraction of the time it takes for a traditional sample to be analysed. 

The collaboration is set to revolutionise the way feed suppliers, nutritionists, and farmers capture feed data to enable more accurate nutrition management. Bringing trinamiX’s technology and Eurofins Agro Testing’s analysis together in this partnership is set to provide high quality analysis with the flexibility to provide data and insight anywhere in the world.

Hans Martin, managing director of Eurofins Agro Testing Wageningen, emphasises that its customers rely on best-in-class laboratory services to run their businesses profitably and sustainably. Combining this analytical data with trinamiX’s technology is the best way for the industry to improve livestock health and productivity.

Further details of the partnership will be will be revealed at EuroTier 2024 taking place from 12-15 November in Hannover.

Analysis of these three cattle trials showed that cattle produced less methane and gained more weight each day, on average, when fed Rumin8’s development stage methane reducing feed additive. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Rumin8 announced interesting results from cattle trials of its investigational methane reducing feed additive involving 92 head of cattle, which recorded reductions of methane intensity of up to 86%, along with weight gains ranging 8.4-12.5% higher than control groups that were fed the same base ration

Studies mostly comprised a combination of feedlot and grazing productions systems. In the first study, 24 animals underwent three treatments for a duration of 12 weeks. Liveweights were measured weekly and animals were group housed, but fed individually. The second study comprised 20 animals that were subjected to four treatments for a duration of 77 days, while the third study comprised 48 animals that were subjected to three treatments in a grazing system for a duration of 130 days.

Analysis of these three cattle trials showed that cattle produced less methane and gained more weight each day, on average, when fed Rumin8’s development stage methane reducing feed additive. These recent results were released at the Breakthrough Energy 2024 Summit in London. In its quest to use a pharmaceutical approach to creating affordable feed and water supplements that reduce methane emissions from livestock and improve productivity, Breakthrough Energy Ventures has been a cornerstone investor in Rumin8. 

“Weight gains are pivotal for the commercial adoption of methane reducing feed and water additives in the cattle industry,” said Rumin8 CEO, David Messina. “At the very least those weight gains have the potential to offset some of the cost of these additives, all while helping the planet. While our number one focus remains on reducing methane production to address the critical climate risk that this gas presents, we are particularly interested in these initial weight gain figures, because productivity improvements are of high interest to farmers.”