Cargill celebrates 50th anniversary of its animal nutrition research centre in Elk River
06-10-08. Cargill celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Elk River research centre in Minnesota (United States), dedicated to developing products for all kinds of farm and domestic animals.
“We produce animal feed for nearly any species of animal you can think of”, comments Joaquín Peinado, Marketing Director of Cargill Animal Nutrition (CAN) in Spain, the country where the company has 11 factories dedicated to the animal nutrition business. “This means a total of thousands of products based on nutrients, which vary even according to regional preferences and those of our clients”.
Cargill has been changing and evolving, and with it its research initially focused on improving the average daily increase in weight of animals and currently focused on studying from fatty acids with omega 3 in milk and eggs, to lean pork, via achieving chickens and turkeys with bigger breasts to meet the demand of consumers.
“In reality, we feed animals to achieve the result required by the consumer, whether it is healthier milk or meat, we continue measuring the average increase in production and efficiency of the feed, which now is a top priority”.
In the Cargill Innovation campus in Elk River there is also a laboratory that studies the nutritional value of products derived from the ethanol industry. “They are available in large quantity and the feed industry is the only one that could be able to use them, therefore, we are obliged to find a way to use them. Making the most of an accessible ingredient is very important for us”, adds Joaquín.
The laboratory also uses the near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), which uses light to determine the nutritional content of different ingredients. It also has a factory that products feed for the experimental diets.
Work that is carried out by great specialists from chemists and all kinds of animal nutritionists to NIR, modelling and statistics experts. “Bring all these people together and you will achieve great things”, adds Joaquín Peinado.
But Cargill’s work does not end here: “In Spain, where all our plants are certified by CESFAC and SGS, we have set up Feed for Food, a revolutionary system that applies the concept of Food Safety and Quality at all stages of production, from the purchasing of ingredients and raw materials to the arrival of the animal at the abattoir and the final consumer. We are aware that the food eaten by animals forms the fundamental basis of what people will later eat and our clients know this and for this reason they are committed to this essential system to guarantee the quality of the meat to their clients”, concludes Joaquín Peinado.
Some of the successes achieved over the years
These are some of the successes achieved over the years at the Cargill Innovation Campus:
- Pioneers in the use of computers in animal agronomy. Cargill scientists used them in the 1960s to optimise the diets of animals and poultry. They currently continue to innovate with computers and recently have patented a process to develop tailor-made products.
- Development of the AutoCalc™ technology that automatically detects levels of energy, aminoacids and other kinds of nutrients in feed.
- Development of OptiCook™, patent-pending technology developed to guarantee the optimum preparation of Loyall™ feed for pets.