Thise advances soya stop in feed

A unanimous member circle in Thise, a Danish co-operative dairy, has decided to advance a full soya stop in the feed for cows, young animals and calves with one year following very positive pilot project results.

32 out of Thise’s 75 members have been frontrunners in a pilot project which began in 2020 about cessation of soya and transition to Danish produced feed with effect from October 2023.

In collaboration with feeding and plant breeding consultants, they have participated in so-called barn schools to reduce or completely stop using soy in the feed. Here, the experiences from the individual farms have generally been positive, thus Thise decided to advance the soya stop with effect from October 1st, 2022.

“There is an urgent need to reduce Danish agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, and at Thise we are happy to take our share of the responsibility. Therefore, we are proud that our members, after a concentrated effort, have been able to move the transition to soya-free feed a year ahead. It shows their strong commitment to the dairy’s sustainability strategy,” says Poul Pedersen, CEO of Thise, to the Danish Dairy Board.

Depending on calculation method it is estimated that the climate impact from the imported soya corresponds to one third of Danish agriculture’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Now, Thise is taking responsibility for their share of the challenge.

The member circle of Thise further decided that the feed that may be purchased does not necessarily have to be Danish, but of European origin.

Facts about soya bean culture

Soya is grown predominantly on areas where there used to be rainforest or other natural ecosystems, and the increasing global demand for soya is contributing to more forest and nature being cut and cleared than ever before. In that way impacting both biodiversity and climate negatively.

Source: Thise (in Danish)