Cactus Feeders, Novozymes & Universal Stabilization Technologies on Feed and the Microbiome

The organizers of the upcoming Animal AgTech Innovation Summit spoke to Ben Holland (Director of Research at Cactus Feeders), Martin Borchert (Director Animal Health and Microbes Applied Research at Novozymes) and Alexander Segal (Vice President at Universal Stabilization Technologies) on feed and microbial solutions.

 

What is the strapline for microbial solution use in animal agriculture? Why should the industry use them and aim for wider adoption and application?

The microbiome influences all aspects of animal production. In the rumen, for example, fermentation by bacteria allows the transformation of materials unusable by humans into excellent quality food products – meat and milk. At the same time, microbes contribute to causing disease in production animals and people. The interactions are complex, but the ability to manipulate the microbiome has promise. For wider adoption of microbial solutions, research and industry must be able to demonstrate that a product has real, persistent, and repeatable effects.

 

How are you seeing microbial discovery R&D make progress in relation to animal agriculture, now and in the future?

The world asks for alternatives to anti-microbial growth promoters and biological solutions, amongst them enzymes and probiotics, which are key to make that change happen. Comparative microbiome understanding at the interplay of agronomy, animal agriculture, microbiology, genetics, and bioinformatics is developing with fast pace. Through sound R&D in those fields and doing discoveries together, we can harvest an immense innovation potential, leading to products that are sustainable, safe and performing. I foresee that traditional microbial discovery work will change towards a more microbiome-based approach. Beyond the understanding of the mode of action of probiotics/enzymes in the microbiome, future research will discover new product combinations and smart consortia that support better animal health and sustainable agriculture for our planet.

 

Ensuring the efficacy, stability, and viability of microbial products in real world conditions is a big problem for animal agriculture, what technology and developments are going on in this space to bridge this gap?

Conventional technologies such as freeze drying and spray drying offer limited stability during storage and shipment, can be too damaging during processing, and are expensive to perform. The VitriLife® stabilization technology offers an alternative to lyophilization and is a proven enabling technology for preserving the potency and effectiveness of complex microbial and biological products at scale.

Hear more from our experts during the dedicated live feed and microbiome track at the virtual Animal AgTech Innovation Summit.