By keeping your dairy herd healthy and preventing disease, it will reduce CO2 emissions and increase revenue. According to professor Søren Østergaard, research project manager, many farmers underestimate the consequences of disease in their herd, thereby losing the value of preventing ailments such as mastitis and hoof disorders. 

The rising world population inevitably leads to an increasing demand for protein in the food system. Milk and milk products play an important part in the diet for people across countries. Therefore, when dairy farmers are not realizing the full potential of their production, we have a problem. On one hand, the associated carbon dioxide emissions per litre of milk produced increases. On the other hand, the farmer could make bigger profits with the same herd. 

Mastitis, hoof, and metabolism disorders are the three most significant disease complexes—and they are preventable. But in as much as 50% of the cases, the farmer misjudges the advantages of investing in measures to ensure the health of cows before they get sick. This leads to poorer animal welfare, less feed efficiency and milk yield, and ultimately, shorter lifespans of the animals. All factors that can be directly connected to economic losses and higher climate impact. 

Healthy animals live longer, absorb more nutrients from their feed, and give higher milk yields

Tools that quantify disease prevention

In the KlimaKS project, the aim is to develop a surveillance tool—Surveil—to find causes of and preventive measures to diseases. By using herd data combined with veterinarian’s observations and milk samples, the tool will alert of health problems which then can be confirmed with blood samples. 

The farmer can watch the output from Surveil in the KlimaKS Dashboard. The dashboard will make it easy to prioritise and optimise disease prevention. With the dashboard overview of climate impact, economy, and disease occurrence, the days of complex calculations of cost vs. benefit should be over. Farmers can rely on the tools to do the calculating work for them and choose which of the concrete solution plans to implement. 

Healthier cows mean less climate impact

An added benefit to the tools is the effect it will have on carbon dioxide emissions from the whole production chain. Healthy animals live longer, absorb more nutrients from their feed, and give higher milk yields. In combination, it will reduce the emissions per litre of milk produced, and make animal welfare higher, too. 

With increasing consumer demand for sustainable, plant-based and protein-rich food, the Danish food-tech company Aliga Microalgae has succeeded in developing a nutritious white chlorophyll-free and flavour-neutral Chlorella algae as an alternative ingredient with large potential in the future plant-based food markets.

Algae is one of the most nutritional plants that can be consumed and in recent years more and more food and beverage manufacturers have started to explore the usage of algae as a vegan, sustainable, plant-based and protein-rich alternative. Yet, its high content of chlorophyll and strong flavour has so far prevented a wider use of it.

the company developed an algae ingredient with neutral flavour and colour to utilise the full nutritional properties of algae without affecting the sensory of the finished food.

From green outsider to sought-after ingredient

There are only six types of algae that are EFSA approved for human consumption today, Chlorella being one of them. Although Chlorella algae has been consumed in Europe as a dietary supplement since the 1950’s due to its rich nutritional profile, it has not gained attraction within the food ingredient markets because of its green colour and algae off-taste.

Aliga Microalgae is about to change this with its proprietary white Chlorella ingredient. From the beginning of their establishment, the goal was to bring algae from a niche supplement product to a core food ingredient in vegan, plant-based and hybrid food formulations. To do so, the company developed an algae ingredient with neutral flavour and colour whose improved organoleptic properties enables food manufacturers to utilise the full nutritional properties of algae without affecting the sensory of the finished food.

Clean label versatile superfood

Aliga Microalgae’s innovative ingredient is a clean-label superfood that only consists of fermented and dried Chlorella algae which naturally contains vitamins, minerals, fibres and protein amino acids. It can be applied in most plant-based and hybrid recipes, from analogue meat-, fish and seafood formulations to bakery-, savoury- and vegan cheese products as well as protein bars and granola.

The European plant-based market has increased rapidly over recent years and is expected to continue growing even faster pointing forward. Aliga Microalgae is today producing its Chlorella ingredients at its production facilities in Denmark and the Netherlands to meet the growing market demands for its algae-based ingredients.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that every year, about 25 percent of food produced globally is destroyed due to Mycotoxin contamination. This has raised the demand for decontamination of crops to which iGrain offers a solution called TOXI-SCRUB^® Processing Line that increases both food safety and trade revenue amongst its users.

Mycotoxins appear in the food chain resulting from fungal infections of crops before and after harvest. Mycotoxins-producing fungi grow on a variety of crops and numerous food products including cereals, nuts, spices, coffee, cocoa, beans, and lentils. They thrive in warm and humid conditions and can penetrate deep into the seeds. When crops are not dried properly and stored safely, the chances of contamination with fungi and their Mycotoxin metabolites are very high. Exposure to Mycotoxins can occur directly by eating infected food or indirectly through animals that have been fed contaminated feed. Thereby, mycotoxins can pose serious challenges to human and animal health all while presenting significant economic challenges as well for both farmers and the industry.

Using ozonation to ensure high-quality food and feed

To overcome the problems posed by crops contaminated with Mycotoxins, iGrain has developed a processing line that overcomes this exact challenge as well as removing other biological organisms such as bacteria, mites, and insects from crops. The TOXI-SCRUB^® technology uses an ozonation process to reduce Mycotoxin levels safely below the accepted threshold for humans and animals. Ozonation is the process in which a commodity is exposed to Ozone, during which Mycotoxin molecules are oxidised. This method is efficient because it oxidises the double bonds in the “energy-rich” molecules and, in this way, breaks the molecular structure and creates new non-toxic molecules. This technique can be used pre-storage to ensure safe long-term storage or pre-processing to ensure high-quality feed or food. The TOXI-SCRUB^® solution is a green technology that is friendly to humans, animals, and the environment, and it does not leave any residuals in the detoxified crop. Ozonation is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the United States Food and Drug Administration and it can even be used in the supply chain of organic food.

The processing line can be manufactured to process from 2 to 40 tonnes of grain per hour, turning contaminated crops into detoxified crops

Efficient eradication of harmful Mycotoxins

iGrain has developed an application range for TOXI-SCRUB^® covering general grain storage, flour mills, maize flour mills, feed mills, and nut processing. The processing line can be manufactured to process from 2 to 40 tonnes of crops per hour, turning contaminated crops into detoxified crops. With a treatment cost of only USD 3.0-5.0 per tonne, the feasibility is excellent. Also, more than 100 scientific articles have confirmed the efficiency of Ozone in eradicating most of the harmful Mycotoxins significant to the food supply chain for food and feed processing.

In 2023, Scandinavia’s first commercial insect farm will open the doors for their new 24,000 square meter plant. Danish company Sealing-System has been pivotal in designing a one-of-a-kind logistics system for the plant, which is their first time working with live biomaterial.

The worldwide demand for protein is on the rise. Meanwhile the industry still has obstacles with gathering enough feed that meets the requirements of both origin and sustainability. Danish supplier of automated end-of-line solutions Sealing System and ENORM Biofactory has initiated a development cooperation in order to develop an optimal logistics solution in insect production. The insect production will match the requirements and the future need for protein in animal feed.

A complex environment requires complex deliveries

Due to the very complex environment, it is necessary that the processes are fully under control. Sealing System has contributed to develop the logistics system with data tracking of all the incoming data to control of logistics, ventilation and data collection and an ongoing optimization. All based on the development of the pilot plant, which has also upscaled around four times as much as before. The logistics system in such a large-scale project is essential for handling the amounts of biomass that grows explosively in a very short time.

When the 24,000-square-meter insect factory is ready, it will be able to produce 100 tons of Live larvae a day, equivalent to 11,000 tons of insect meal a year

New sustainable business area

The production consists of the species: Black Soldier Fly, that lays 700-1200 eggs at a time, which in a few weeks are turned into larvaes and then converted into protein powder. The larvaes feeds of residual or by-product from agriculture or food productions, which makes it a part of a circular value chain, where all elements from the insect production are used and nothing is wasted.

It is truly a zero-waste product that is both sustainable and energy saving. There are good future prospects for the collaboration between Sealing System and ENORM biofactory. When the 24,000-square-meter insect factory is ready, it will be able to produce 100 tons of larvae a day, equivalent to 11,000 tons of insect meal a year.

The Danish biotech company Fermentationexperts is specialising in scalable technologies used for lactic acid fermentation of food and feed. The unique process is called solid-state-fermentation and uses less water and energy and produces little waste compared to other fermentation technologies. As the carbon footprint is lower, and the price is competitive, fermented foods are a great alternative to other plant-based and meat-based products.

Have you ever read the declaration on the back of plant proteins? If so, you might know that many meat alternatives have a long ingredient list. In addition, some of the plants used in the production of meat replacements are grown on entirely different continents. Yet, Fermentationexperts has made it possible to mix nearly every plant or protein source to create almost any amino acid profile. At the same time, the carbon footprint is minimised by processing the protein less – often in a wet form which can be directly involved in the process, thereby, reducing the drying process.

Natural, tasty, and nutritious plant proteins

Fermentationsexperts aims to alleviate the downsides of plant protein by providing consumers with local, textured, tasty, sustainable, and naturally conserved healthy plant protein. This can be done at a reasonable price, without any additives or E-numbers, and with a short-listed label with natural ingredients. Another benefit is that the production of lactic acid bacteria is very scalable and that the facilities can be set up locally to provide protein to local markets. After testing the fermentation process on plant protein and making application tests, the company is now planning its first pilot plant for fermenting plant protein for human consumption.

The fermentation process increases the nutritional value of the plant protein as it breaks down fibers and proteins in the plants

Fermentation fights poor food quality

Fermentationexperts uses lactic acid bacteria for the fermentation process, reducing the pH of the plant protein to a level where unwanted bacteria cannot survive. This means that the product is naturally conserved without using any conservation additives. Furthermore, the fermentation process increases the nutritional value of the plant protein as it breaks down fibers and proteins in the plants. As a result, up to 15% more plant protein and additional minerals are released.

Fermentation decreases many toxins and bitter-tasting components in crops. This includes glucosinolates in rapeseed meal, saponins in different plants and beans, as well as glycoalkaloids in potatoes. Glutamic acid, known for its meaty umami flavour, is also produced. Some plant proteins contain antinutritional factors, which can cause allergic reactions. When fermenting, these compounds are reduced, allowing more people to enjoy different sources of plant protein.

Decisions in a livestock production based on gut feelings, experience or even worse tradition cannot compete with the possibilities and results the farmer achieves, when decisions are based on facts and data. By doing so every change in the production is evidence based and it is easier to implement workflows and input from research farms, advisers, veterinarians or other farmers that performs well. In addition to that, decisions are not made to accommodate the average animal, but can take in consideration both high and low performers as well as the middle group. Every change is monitored, and the results are accessible even several months from now.

Accessible data in real-time

There are several factors to consider when trying to optimize an animal production. Farmers need to consider production time, feed amounts and monitoring the animal’s health and well-being as well as minimizing feed waste and lower the water and electricity consumption.

The Danish company Agrisys has created the IoT platform Consys to lever up the production of the future. By using AG-Tech ConSys IoT control platform, farmers can collect big data 24/7 generated from sensors registering that the animals are healthy, that the feed is sufficient, or it can be to sort animals out for slaughter or sale at the optimal weight. The data contributes to the farmer who can develop and innovate solutions to improve efficiency while reducing environmental footprint and improving animal welfare.

Data based feeding can save up till 8 days of production time and give up till 10 % less feed in e.g., a weaner production

Agrisys uses Consys as a tool to optimise livestock production and creates value for livestock production, the environment and economy where resources are utilised and less is wasted resulting in a more sustainable production. When such data is processed and presented to the farmer via the platform, it enables him to make the best decisions regarding welfare, economy and sustainability. The data can be accessed 24/7 and managed on computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Monitoring ensures animal welfare and sustainability

With activity data, the farmers get an indication if the animals are healthy and/or if they are ready for insemination. If increased activity is shown amongst finishers, this can be a sign of health problems as e.g., oncoming diarrhea so that the farmer can react quickly and treat only the animal with an unusual activity pattern or possibly remove the sick animal to avoid spreading. This minimizes the use of medication which again is a benefit for both animals, the farmer and the environment.

In addition, the data will also provide insight into e.g. changes in feed type or quantity so that the animals get the optimal feed, the farmer can optimize his costs by using the correct feed type and quantity and minimize feed waste.

Freezing food is one of the oldest and most used methods for food preservation. Choosing the right freezing technology can minimise production costs, increase food quality, and reduce energy consumption.

A Mid-West American poultry processing plant faced the challenge of using an old technology spiral freezer that required a high amount of maintenance and negatively affected food quality and food safety. The poultry processing plant was freezing marinated chicken fillets and bone-in chicken products and was experiencing reduced efficiency due to snow building up inside the freezer, reducing flow and throughput. Resulting in large amounts of bacteria growth, moisture product loss and reduced product yield.

The strength of all freezing technologies

The Danish company DSI Dantech is the only worldwide supplier of all freezing technologies, and the company cover the full range of IQF mechanical, cryogenic, and plate technology within industrial freezing, cooling, and heat treatment of food. They offer customized, sustainable, and profitable solutions for all industries including meat and poultry, further processing, fish & seafood to fruit, vegetables, and ready meals.

The new freezer technology has ensured consistency throughout the product, and resulted in 25% reduction in energy consumption

The US poultry processing plant chose DSI Dantech as their new partner, with focus on optimizing production costs, food safety and quality. The Ultraflow Impingement Freezer was installed which features a specially designed high-velocity airflow over the product and forms a streamline coating at more than 30 meter/sec. It is designed to quickly crust freeze the product in less than 2 minutes which helps retain moisture after injection and run along operating time without defrosting.

Extremely quick freezing ensures improved quality

Due to the implementation of the DSI Dantech freezing technology, the US poultry processing plant have reduced moisture loss and improved product yield. The quick freezing has increased product flow and throughput resulting in reduced production time and a total increase of 2,800 more pounds chicken produced and frozen every day.

In addition, food loss has been reduced as unevenly frozen products and bad appearance due to belt marks has been improved. Furthermore, the new freezer design has ensured consistency throughout the product, resulted in 25% reduction in energy consumption compared to other impingement freezers and improved the overall product quality.

With the possibility to increase biodiversity, remove phosphorus and nitrogen, the Danish company Blå Biomasse (Blue Biomass) shows great potential with mussel farms located in the Danish Limfjord. The breeding of mussels has the possibility to ensure more sustainable food and animal feed.

The inland Danish waters are facing many challenges. The European Union has set a goal to achieve good ecological status for Europe’s to protect all forms of waters and restore ecosystems in and around water bodies. Today, only five out of 119 Danish water areas are rated in good ecological status, which is why we must find solutions that facilitate nature’s natural resources, while securing a better marine environment.

Nature’s own resources have multiple functionalities in the ocean

Mussels are part of the solution and act as a marine tool to achieve better environmental status in waters.  Blå Biomasse was established in 2016 and has since then developed an efficient and sustainable production of mussels extracting the potential of nature’s natural resources. The Danish Limfjord is a shallow sound in Denmark that separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula, which has many natural amenities. Here, Blå Biomasse harvests mussels that are served at the dinner table. The surplus mussels that are too small for consumption are used for research with the goal to transform the mussels into mussel meal, which is a source of protein in demand within the feed industry.

The mussels play an important role in the ocean and act as filters in the inland waters and are in no need for any feed or antibiotics to grow. Instead, they feed from microalgae that floats in the waters. The mussels breeding can thus ensure healthy and tasty foods in a sustainable manner with a low CO2 footprint.

8,000 tons mussels are harvested every year in Denmark removing 5.7-13 tons of phosphorus and 104-137 tons of nitrogen

Small mussels with large impact

Today, Blå Biomasse has 100 hectares to breed mussels distributed in six areas in Limfjorden. One big mussel can filter 5-7 liters of water from microalgae per hour, increasing water visibility up to four meters. Today, the plant harvests approximately 8,000 tons mussels every year in Denmark, which can remove 5.7-13 tons of phosphorus and 104-137 tons of nitrogen. In the future, they see a potential for 300,000 tons of mussel farming in Denmark. The mussel farms have increased biodiversity and new species arise on the seafloor. Today, the area around the mussel plant is rated as being in a highly good ecological status.

By 2050 the world’s population will need twice as much food as it does today. But our resources, especially water, will be increasingly constrained. Furthermore, biodiversity serves as a crucial element to sustainable development, but is also declining.

Worldwide, more than 6,000 plant species have been cultivated for food, but today, only 9 of them account for 66% of total crop production. Safeguarding natural resources and biodiversity is thus critical to people’s health and planetary wealth.

We need a shift towards a greener economy as a major element of the transition to a net-zero emissions society, and it requires action on all fronts. Regarding food production, we need to take steps in a more environmentally friendly direction and reverse trends that lead to biodiversity loss.

Innovative tools enable Precision Growing

According to a 2020 study^*, high-tech greenhouses have the biggest positive impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals compared to all other growing systems and score highest within water and nutrient efficiency. Additional research shows that the use of stone wool Precision Growing media in a greenhouse rather than soil to grow vegetables can produce higher yields with significantly less water**. Experiments have resulted in water savings of more than 95 percent in tomato growing using stone wool***.  The key is precision. In soil, not all the water reaches the root zone where it is needed, and this can quickly lead to excessive irrigation. The essence of Precision Growing is the use of less soil, less water, less fertiliser, lower CO₂ emissions, and gaining a higher yield.

Grodan is the global leader in supplying innovative, sustainable stone wool growing media solutions for the professional horticulture industry. Based on Precision Growing principles these solutions are used to cultivate a variety of crops among others tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, eggplants.

Grodan’s innovative growing solutions facilitate the sustainable production of healthy, safe, and fresh food produce. Furthermore, it creates the possibility to use biocontrol and reduce or even eliminate the use and risk of chemical plant protection products.

Less land for growing. More for biodiversity.

With Grodan growing media, the growers are able to increase yield significantly – up to 6 times higher than conventional in-soil horticulture, year-round independent of soil quality. The harvest season is prolonged to 48 weeks and greenhouses can be placed in arid climates without any negative impact on food quality, nutrition and yield.

At the same time, stone wool does not buffer water. The closed system and re-use of drain water results in no surface water pollution, less use of water and fertiliser and less use of pesticides. The water savings amount to +50% and 100% purification of water is possible. Grodan stone wool growing media enables innovative irrigation and recycling of drain water.

Substrate growing does not require fertile land, and less land is needed because of the high yield per square meter. Precision horticulture and the use of Grodan growing media reduce land requirements for vegetables by 75% or more.

* Source: Evaluating Greenhouse Production Systems based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Dianfan Zhou, Ep Heuvelink, Leo F.M. Marcelis, Wageningen, 2020. Nutrient efficiency is the reuse of the nutrient solution (recirculation) and herewith minimising its loss. It is made possible in high-tech soilless cultivation systems with stone wool

** Source:  Passion for a better future, Grodan, 2016. The facts presented in this booklet are a summary of a scientific review of dr. ir. Ep Heuvelink and prof. dr. ir. Leo Marcelis from Wageningen University and Research

*** Source: Evaluation of water saving technologies at Estidamah research center in Saudi Arabia, J.B. Campen, K. Al Assaf, A. Al Harbi, M.Y. Sharaf, F. de Zwart, W. Voogt, K. Scheffers, I. Tsafaras, O.M. Babiker, M. Qaryouti, 2018

Through scientifically based monitoring, a Danish tech start-up is using intelligent data analysis to accurately estimate the growth of pigs. This opens up ground-breaking opportunities for pig producers to optimise feeding and delivery strategies – an area that greatly impacts climate efficiency and the pig producer’s economy.

To ensure efficiency in pig production, it is important to have control over management, genetic potential, stable systems and not least the feed, which is the largest cost component in pig production. Traditionally, daily gain in pigs is calculated only four times a year, which makes fluctuations difficult to detect and react upon.  By monitoring the pigs via daily dynamic data, it is possible to assess the pigs’ daily growth and feed efficiency closely.

Using big data analysis to increase production efficiency

With a technologically innovative solution that can deliver dynamic data on pigs’ daily growth and feed efficiency, the slaughterhouse Danish Crown and the agricultural company DLG has joined forces to give their joint owners measurable results on key production figures.

IQinAbox, the supplier, is a Danish tech start-up specialising in real-time monitoring and big data analysis in pig production. By providing very accurate estimates of the growth of pigs through scientifically based monitoring, IQinAbox can supply crucial data for everyone in the value chain. This significantly improves sustainability, production efficiency and animal welfare.

BY Providing accurate estimates of the growth of pigs, iqinabox brings value to everyone in the value chain

Using advanced algorithms and data analysis, IQinaBox has developed a solution called Dynamic Gain in collaboration with Danish Crown. With Dynamic Gain, farmers can monitor the daily gain of individual pigs every time they are delivered to the abattoir and weekly changes in daily gain are observable, providing an opportunity to react much faster than before.

Optimisation of feeding and delivery strategies

The collected data, along with data retrieved from farms and public registers, are sent to both Danish Crown and the individual farmer’s app. This provides the farmers with comprehensive insight into pig growth, number of days in the housing unit, and slaughter weight, as well as providing insight into the quality and homogeneity of the finisher pigs provided by the pig suppliers. Dynamic Gain can thus help farmers, feed suppliers and meat producers unlock the full potential of their data and optimise their production.