Droughts are growing in frequency and severity as global temperatures rise. For farmers, the impact on crop yields can be devastating, with knock-on consequences for feed and food supplies.

Today, farmers around the world look to Danish seed company DLF for a solution. Specialised in breeding seeds for temperate climate zones, DLF has a reputation for staying ahead. So, when climate change hit the global agenda, long-rooted plant varieties were already in the product portfolio.

A strategic investment in the world’s largest and most advanced root-screening facility – RadiMax – has helped accelerate the development of new climate-resilient plant varieties. Initiated by DLF in partnership with Danish universities and other breeders, the facility enables researchers to follow plant root growth under increasing drought stress.

New forage varieties have 30 percent deeper root biomass, higher drought tolerance and increased nitrogen uptake

Other climate benefits include a natural ability to bind carbon in the soil and minimise nitrogen leaching. The clover varieties among DLF’s solutions reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers due to nitrogen fixation from the air.

All varieties produce high-quality feed that is easy to digest and improves the milk yield of dairy cattle, for example.

Drought, flooding and disease are continuously changing factors in crop production. Through dedicated plant breeding, DLF’s breeders are on a mission to deliver solutions for sustainable land use with high yields.

More than 90 percent of GHG emissions in the meat production business comes from the farms. As one of the world’s largest pork exporters and a top-five beef producer in Europe, Danish Crown has implemented data tracking in order to set reduction targets.

To help farmers on the way towards their carbon reduction targets, the global food company has established the Climate Track sustainability programme.

Farmers on the Climate Track cooperate with Danish Crown in four major areas – climate, animal welfare, social responsibility and biodiversity. Parameters vary depending on the country and animal breed.

In return for sharing livestock production data and sustainability information, farmers receive individual feedback on their sustainability performance against a Danish Crown national average. This includes a mapping of where their GHG emissions come from and suggestions for reduction initiatives. Danish pig farmers who report on feed use and daily weight gain also receive a reporting premium.

data enables Danish Crown to implement group-level emission reduction targets.  

The collection of individual farm-level data enables Danish Crown to implement group- level emission reduction targets. The data is also used in lifecycle assessments that calculate carbon footprint per kilo of selected products, providing clear documentation of the carbon footprint for customers and consumers.

Innovative approaches are constantly working on increasing the intensity and effectiveness of utilization of the whole fish – from head to tail – and finding new ways to add more value and generate new products. For Biomega® Denmark, that means applying sustainable biotechnology in the production of value-added ingredients from food-grade salmon off-cuts. 

Biomega® Denmark produces high quality ingredients for human and pet nutrition. In its modern biorefinery, they turn food-grade fresh raw materials into premium ingredients such as salmon oil, pure salmon peptides and collagen suitable for human nutrition.  

The company uses a patented continuous enzymatic hydrolysis process to carefully separate the nutritional components. It is this gentle technology that produces Biomega® SalMe Peptides. 

Neutral in taste and smell, the peptides, which are presented in a powder form, consist of more than 90% highly digestible salmon proteins

That makes them a high value, natural protein source for dietary supplements and many other nutritional food concepts. The peptides are 100% water soluble and are absorbed by the body faster than intact native protein, which maximises nutrient delivery to muscle tissues. 

Biomega® has a zero-waste approach to its production process. The remaining side-streams are used to produce petfood.

Today, Denmark is one of the global leaders in fish meal and fish oil products and the leading producer in Europe. The Danish fish meal and fish oil producers are committed to sustainable usage of natural resources based on biological advice.

By utilizing small, bony fish with no market for direct human consumption as well as by-products and trimmings from the filleting industry, Denmark has become a global leader in rich feed ingredients that are used in modern, nutritious feed around the world. Two of the largest Danish companies within this field are TripleNine and FF Skagen.

The primary raw materials for both companies are either small, short-lived fish with little or no potential for use in direct food production or upcycled trimmings from fish processing. Used in the production of fishmeal and fish oil, these valuable resources deliver essential nutrients to the fast-growing global aquaculture sector and the livestock sector.

The final product is a rich ingredient that makes positive, sustainable impacts in aquaculture and livestock production

The ingredients are rich in protein and nutrition and obey the highest safety and quality standards in the business. The valuable feed ingredients are used in feed and pet food industries all over the world.

The innovative ingredients from TripleNine and FF Skagen are an example of the Danish food approach where one man’s waste can be another man’s treasure. The usage of trimmings thereby contributes to a circular economy and ensures full resource utilization of fish from the sea.

Consumers all over the world are getting a taste for the delicious and versatile zander or pike perch. In Denmark, the fish farming company AquaPri has invested in a successful solution – sustainable zander production in a land-based RAS system. 

Having farmed zander since 2005, AquaPri is experienced in controlling the production chain from egg to dispatch of the fully grown fish.

The RAS system uses the latest technologies to produce 700 tons of the fish a year. Full control and traceability ensure food safety is of the highest standard

One of the only companies in the world to have developed a method to make zander spawn four times a year, AquaPri is able to deliver high-quality fresh fish all year round. This makes it possible for customers to plan campaigns and other marketing activities ahead. The fish are typically ready for dispatch just six hours after they are taken out of the basin. 

The zander has an incredibly delicate meat structure and is highly appreciated all over Europe. The tasty, white fish meat is firm in texture and tender when cooked. In addition, it has a high natural content of protein. 

Farmed zander is on the World Wildlife Fund’s green list for sustainable seafood. Due to the rearing environment, the RAS facility ensures the fish are free of parasites and do not need to be frozen. This is what makes zander from AquaPri suitable as fresh sushi and sashimi.   

Bacteria control in lightly preserved and ready-to-eat seafood is no longer a global challenge following a long collaboration between the seafood company Royal Greenland and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Together, they have produced and tested a refined mathematical model for predicting the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and guaranteeing food safety right through shelf life. 

Researchers at DTU began developing the model in the early 2000s by taking measurements from smoked salmon and Greenland halibut samples. This included investigating the effect of 12 environmental factors on listeria growth, such as storage temperature, pH, salt, organic acids and smoke content.  

Royal Greenland has subsequently tested the model continuously, implementing the findings in daily operations in the smokehouse and other production units that produce prawns in brine and other ready-to-eat seafood.  

Software based on the model now makes new product development faster and easier, eliminating the need for lengthy trials. When environmental data is tapped into the software program, the impact on food safety parameters is evaluated in an instant. 

In addition to predicting bacteria growth, the research has shown that, when harmless organic acids are added to lower the pH of a product, listeria is unable to grow.

In addition to predicting bacteria growth, the research has shown that, when harmless organic acids are added to lower the ph of a product, listeria is unable to grow 

Today the software growth models are available as open source tools and are also verified for use in the global meat and dairy industries. 

The project received funding from the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and the Green Development and Demonstration Programme.  

Unintentional bycatches can be critical for fish stocks and marine wildlife, and in fisheries also for business, where it reduces the value of the catch.  

In the fishery for Norway pout an innovative project led by the Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation (DPPO) has resulted in the development of a new safe and selective gear that not only minimises the risk of accidental bycatches of other fish and marine wildlife, but also provides for a much safer working conditions on deck, lower CO2 emissions and not least secures higher catches of the Norway pout fishers are targeting.  

Known as the Excluder, the advanced trawl insert comprises an outer net and an inner selection tube, with an escape panel that allows fish and other unintentional catches to swim out of the trawl unharmed.  

Excluder minimizes risk of accidental bycatches, reduces fishing effort, impact on marine environment and CO2 emissions

Tests are now underway in other pelagic and demersal fisheries, and several scientific projects have been initiated to further develop the technology and tailor to the challenges faced in those fisheries. These include minimizing the risk of accidental bycatches of marine mammals. 

The Excluder is the outcome of a collaboration between DPPO, scientists at the Technical University of Denmark, trawl makers at Egersund Tor-MoTrawl and the crew of fishing vessel Themis S144. Denmark’s Green Development and Demonstration Programme funded the project. 

Aquaculture has huge potential to feed the world’s growing population. The challenge is to grow aquaculture production sustainably without compromising on the environment. 

A Danish collaborative project – Inno-Tek – came up with two practical treatment technologies aimed at decoupling the growth of land-based fish farms from environmental impact caused by nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter emissions. The project ran from 2021-23.

The first solution was the use of flocculating bacteria to reduce nitrogen levels in end-of-pipe water, fast and efficiently. Using this technology, the nitrogen removal process can be reduced from 17 hours to just four. 

Secondly, the project developed a solution that draws on biodegradable flocculants and lignocellulose components to produce a much drier waste product. This makes waste streams easier and less expensive to transport and more suitable for reuse in energy production or as a fertiliser. 

Together, the cleaning solutions allowed the reactor used for nitrogen removal to be significantly reduced in size, while the dry matter content of waste was increased from five percent to 50 percent.  

The Inno-Tek project received funding from the Danish marine and fisheries development program, which supports the EU goals of intelligent, sustainable and inclusive growth. The partners were DTU Aqua, Alumichem, Alpha Aqua, Dansk Akvakultur, Danforel and AquaCircle.

Fish quotas and regulations on bycatch give fishers many good reasons for wanting to know more about the fish they are catching in the trawl. By moving from a blind operation to precision fishing, they can improve their ability to catch only the desired species and size and reduce their environmental impact as well as CO2 emissions. 

Research at the Technical University of Denmark’s AQUA department (DTU Aqua) has developed new technology to help them on the way.

 

Based on this innovation, fishing with trawl no longer has to be a blind process. Fishers are kept informed about the commercial viability and sustainability of the fish in each fishing ground   

 

The first revolutionary step was the development of the first ever sediment dampening system, consisting of a sheet of tarpaulin mounted at the front of the trawl. This simple and effective system reduces the sediment swirled up by the trawl’s movement to allow a clear camera view for monitoring, measuring and recording the catch. 

Attracting great international interest, the sediment dampener has initiated further development of catch monitoring systems. In cooperation with the Danish company Atlas Maridan, DTU Aqua has designed a cable-based trawl camera system which shows the catch in real time.  

Now, for the first time, it has become possible to follow the species entering the fishing gear and keep track of where they were caught. 

Danish company Landia was the first-choice supplier when an integrated waste management facility (IWMF) on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis needed a strong solution for handling salmon waste. 

Creed IWMF had seen an opportunity in a logistical challenge – the remote location of aquaculture production sites all over the Scottish highlands and islands. Due to the difficulties in collecting and treating the fish waste, all of it went to landfill. Now they wanted to use it in an anaerobic digestion plant for biogas production.  

But first they needed the right equipment – an ensiling tank for pre-treating the waste and a pasteuriser to meet local animal by-product regulations, which require the waste to be treated for at least one hour at 70°C. It all needed to fit into a very tight space. 

Landia was able to deliver. With almost 90 years of experience in tailoring energy-efficient machinery, the company had all the right credentials to supply an ensiling tank to blend the salmon waste into a smooth puree and a pasteuriser that met local regulations. 

The Landia solution is now processing 7 tons of salmon trimmings per shift at the facility   

The pasteurised fish waste – a 7 cubic ton batch per shift – is now integrated with household food waste and garden waste for Creed’s anaerobic digestion process, making a positive environmental and economic impact by not sending it to landfill or having it transported off the island. And it is contributing to the renewable power supply for the island community.

Between 2017 and 2022 835.66 tonnes of salmon waste for the biogas plant was processed.