NEWS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2025 107 At the Second Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation in Rome, held September 29 – October 1, 2025, Jeroen van Hooff, President & CEO of Royal Jaarbeurs and VNU Group, addressed an international audience and outlined the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of livestock production worldwide. Representing VIV Worldwide, the global portfolio of exhibitions dedicated to the animal protein value chain, van Hooff stressed that transformation is no longer about producing more, but rather about producing smarter, safer, and more sustainably. “Walking through our exhibition halls, you see first-hand how quickly innovation is moving from theory into practice,” van Hooff told delegated. “From insect protein and algae-based feeds to digital veterinary tools and precision farming systems, the industry is already reshaping itself around animal welfare, transparency, and climate resilience.” Discussions and business exchanges increasingly center on solutions that combine productivity with sustainability. In animal nutrition, new feed ingredients such as insect protein and algae are entering the mainstream, reducing reliance on antibiotics. In animal health, the push for digital diagnostics and AI-driven tools is accelerating faster disease prevention and better monitoring. On farms, precision technologies such as automated feeding, sensor systems, and smart ventilation are becoming everyday tools. Read more>> Future of livestock outlined at FAO conference Photo: VIV Worldwide High feed costs and a reliance on imported feed are everyday challenges for Hawaiʻi, US’s poultry farmers. However, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa may have found a promising locally grown alternative: Kalo (taro), a root vegetable. Assistant Extension Agents Yunuen Bustamante and Melelani Oshiro’s firsthand observations sparked interest in evaluating kalo as a viable feed. Bustamante raised poultry and small livestock at Kualoa Ranch before becoming a livestock agent for CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension arm. “When I joined the CTAHR team, a poultry farmer reached out to me asking, ‘Could my chickens eat kalo leaves and kalo corm?’ That was the first idea,” said Bustamante. “The second came from a kalo fest around the same time. I thought this was something that could be useful to our stakeholders.” Bustamante and Oshiro’s dive into existing literature indicated that kalo leaves offer a high protein content, essential vitamins, and are easily digested by poultry. “I think a lot of folks use kalo as feed for livestock because on your farm you’re going to use what you have, but I don’t believe there have been detailed studies about kalo as a food source for poultry here in Hawaiʻi,” remarked Oshiro. Read more>> Hawaiʻi poultry farmers turn to local plant to cut feed costs Photo: University of Hawaiʻi
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==