6 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE November 2024 The world population is increasing, and so is prosperity. This means that meat consumption worldwide will continue to increase, and that we need to intensify production. To feed the world, we need to produce safe, affordable and healthy food in an efficient way. At SFR, we have the knowledge and the expertise to support nutritionists all over the world to improve pig nutrition in their specific situation. A big advantage of SFR is that we provide independent advice: we do not sell premixes or additives, we have a load of research data available to provide solid background on the effects of feed composition on animal production, health parameters and the environment. I see room for improvement worldwide mainly in further development of feed evaluation, and the application of extensive data on raw material composition and processing effects. Nowadays, more than fifty percent of turnover in SFR products and services is attained outside of The Netherlands, and we expect that this share will increase further in the future. Especially our Asian market is developing fast. CHALLENGES IN SWINE PRODUCTION Nowadays, swine production faces many challenges. We need to increase production efficiency, reduce the use of antibiotics, improve animal health and welfare, and reduce the environmental impact of animal husbandry. Fortunately, here in The Netherlands we have a wealth of knowledge and experience on these subjects. This knowledge and expertise is very valuable for countries all over the world. More than fifty percent of our growing pigs in The Netherlands are fed on liquid diets containing wet and dry by-products from the food industry. In our country, we have a lot of data on a broad variety of feed ingredients, processing and feed quality. In the Western world, and especially in The Netherlands, ninety percent of the population is not actively involved in food production, five percent works in the agricultural sector (farmers, feed and food production) and the remaining five percent feels connected to NGO’s related to animal welfare and environmental issues. These NGO’s have better communication and lobbying skills than the agricultural sector and, therefore, have a strong influence on society and politics. The fact that political discussions are often based on model calculations and societal perceptions, and not on scientific facts and measurements is a threat to effective and sound government’s policy. As a consequence, it is hard for Dutch and European pig farmers to make management decisions for the future of their enterprise. Nevertheless, we do not foresee a bleak future for Dutch pig farmers, but it remains hard to preNUTRITIONAL CONSULTANCY, WORLDWIDE Jan Fledderus Product Manager Swine and Consultant Schothorst Feed Research (SFR) LEAD ARTICLE
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