Innovation

ForFarmers provides sustainable feed and advice, which results in healthier livestock, greater efficiency and therefore a better return at the farm. Improvements in sustainability and animal welfare are important focus points here.

The importance ForFarmers attaches to these improvements has been made visible by the fact that our Nutrition and Innovation Centre (NIC) innovation managers on average conduct more than 40-50 research projects per year. We also make use of our extensive network, which many of Europe’s leading research institutes and universities form part of, in order to contribute to both research and the realisation of products and services for farmers.

NIC employs animal specific feed experts and innovation managers. They aren’t merely responsible for ForFarmers’ research and innovation programme, in place to create new feeds, but also for the supplied feed products’ technical performance.

All of ForFarmers’ feed is compiled with the help of a self-developed feed evaluation system. This system determines the suitability (digestibility) of each raw material for every type of animal. It also takes, for example, the animal’s age into account. The feed produced has the right nutritional value to ensure good growth and health. As genetics, health and management systems are constantly changing, our feed evaluation system changes along with this.
NIC also enjoys a close working relationship with our sector teams and with ForFarmers’ strategic partners, such as Nutreco, with whom we work on joint innovation projects.
You can read more about innovation in our annual report (and on the ForFarmers Group website).