Research

Feed Innovation Services has much experience in performing animal feed research with poultry, piglets and dairy cows.

Our research is:

• Characterized by being independent, fast, flexible and practical
• Focused on effects of feed ingredients, feed additives and water additives
• Result driven; results can be used for product registration and scientific publications
• Based on experimental feed produced by a specialized company, Research Diet Services and
• Complete from Trial set-up, statistical analyses to reporting.

The following feed experiment team members are at your service

• Willem Smink, PhD
  – Supervisor piglet feed research
• Arjan van der Kolk, MSc
  – Supervisor poultry feed research
• Wouter Rijm, BSc
  – Feed formulation

The type of trials we conduct at our Dutch facilities are usually related to

• Poultry: Broiler and laying hen research – Technical performance and health, Digestibility research, Trials for product registration, feed effect on egg quality.
• Pigs: Technical performance, health and faeces consistency, Trials for product registration, fattening trials.
• Dairy cows: Trials on feed effects on Production parameters, Methane production, Udder health, Milk quality.
• In vitro systems: Feed Innovation Services can also test diets or diet ingredients in different in-vitro systems. These tests are mostly carried out in cooperation with one of the departments of the Wageningen University & Research. A few of the possibilities are fermentation characteristics, digestibility measurements, and immune stimulatory capacity of specific ingredients.

Feed Innovation Services assists companies in the development of new products. The main areas for product development are in feed additives and feed ingredients. We assist companies in (i) formula and new recipe development, (ii) technological treatments for enhancing the functional properties and (iii) testing the products in daily practice.

The results of Feed Innovation Services, as an independent research firm, can be published or otherwise used by the client for research or marketing communication purposes.

Feed Innovation Services can perform practical oriented on-site research at the location of the client or on a farm. We can have the (experimental) diets produced according to the wishes of the client. We set up a detailed protocol describing all handlings at the farm or at the location of the customer and can assist during data gathering.

When chemical analysis of specific samples is needed, we will have the different analyses conducted at one of the qualified laboratories within our network and will discuss the results with you. Analysis of data and reporting of results is done by one of Feed Innovation Services experts. Discussion about the best way to proceed and assistance in the next steps to be taken will help you to reach your goals. In this way different diets can be tested, but also different feeding strategies or management strategies can be tested and discussed for optimization of same.

In many cases product development starts with a thorough study of the scientifically published literature on a specific subject. Feed Innovation Services has broad experience in scientific literature studies.