For years, scientists felt that if they were able to map the genome, they would know significantly more about life sciences. However, after successfully mapping both the human genome and several domestic animals’, scientists are left with more questions and the realization that genetic expression is more about the environment than it is the genes themselves.

This study of genes and their interactions is what drove Dean Boyd, technical director for The Hanor Company, to leave the academy and take scholarship to the field. Rebelling against status quo, Boyd strives to provide scientific discoveries based in unbiased, field applied research. At Pork: The other white meat? symposium, during  The Alltech REBELation conference in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, he shared some of his findings in regards to genetic expression in pigs and their role in profitability.

When first entering the field, Boyd was taken aback by the high number of researchers functioning on personal biases. These biases lead them to publish skewed or limited findings that were ultimately costing the pork industry significant losses. To rectify the situation, Boyd sought to identify the key performance factors in gene expression and the impact of those expressions on profitability through empirical experiments and large amounts of data.

Gene expression in the field 

First and foremost, Boyd found that gene expression is very much modified by the environment, being mainly limited by immune stress and nutrition. However, it’s important to note that viability can only truly be tested under moderate to high immune stress conditions. To adequately analyze a genome, it must be challenged by a variety of field pathogens to understand how the animal is truly programmed. Because of this need for testing under challenging conditions, producers need data from not only the genetic nucleus (which is readily available), but also field data describing how the genes were expressed during challenging conditions (which is less often available).

Even with sufficient data and research, Boyd makes it clear that science will not always get things right, stating that Mother Nature is very complex. However, he clarifies that while all science has potential errors, it is essential to steer clear of ‘isolated science,’ or science that has singular focus. These types of experiments tend to be focused on only one aspect of production, and while they provide impressive figures for proposed outcomes (i.e. litter size), they also typically come with unexpected downsides in other areas (i.e. birth weight and viability). The give and take relationship within pork production can be easily overlooked when only one performance indicator is being tracked. As an example, pigs weaned at 12 days as opposed to 21 days reduced their days to 270lbs by 34 days. However, their mortality rate was also increased by 5.8 percentage points.

Boyd describes the give and take relationship as somewhat of a chain reaction.

• Increased litter size: Decreased birth weight
• Decreased birth weight: Increased mortality rate/reduced viability
• Increased mortality rate/reduced viability: Decreased lifetime full value of sow

To simply focus on litter size neglects other needed components including uterine capacity, the prevention of decline (or ideally an increase) in placenta mucus, milk output, nipple number, and nipple placement.  Boyd knew producers needed access to better science.

Five research platforms

In an effort to provide integrated, reliable, and thoughtful research to producers, Boyd has developed a financial analysis worksheet that is based on five research platforms.

1. Number of FVP full value pigs (FVP) weaned
2. Number of FVP delivered to plant
   1. Wean to plant viability
   2. Minimum cull and light sale pigs
3. Carcass weight (volume)
4. Carcass output/sow + annual + lifetime (cost dilution)
   1. This accounts for and addresses seasonal infertility, which for many producers is a larger threat to profitability than even disease.
5. Weaned pig and W-F cost
   1. Feed and non feed companies

Through these factors, Boyd and his colleagues have created a benchmarking system with which they are able to analyze pork production units’ profitability, finding that the most differentiating factor, in both profit and loss years, is viability. 

While viability is the most significant differentiator; there are many key profit drivers to consider including pig numbers to market, pig livability, heavy carcass weight, and production costs. At first glance, one might assume production costs most strongly influenced profits, but in fact, pig numbers to market does.

Conclusion

In addition to managing these key profit drivers, Boyd explained, it is essential to have integrated team functions. Veterinarians, nutritionists, and those in production need to have an open dialogue where they can actively and effectively work together. One of the largest challenges the industry is facing is a recent shift in consumer culture. Previously, science has been an influential driver in consumer decisions. However, due to some strategic moves and changes in technology, marketing has positioned itself as a more influential voice in consumers’ lives. A great example of this is the antibiotic free (ABF) debate. Regardless of what science may suggest (i.e. antibiotic free vs. antibiotic residue free), consumers are demanding ABF products, so producers must be prepared to deliver them. An integrated team is the best way to ensure pork producers are prepared to address these changing consumer demands.

All in all, it is important for producers to recognize that mapping the genes of pigs is one small step towards fully understanding those genes’ interactions with the environment around them. To potentially improve profitability, it is essential to acknowledge the interactions between all the various factors of production, focusing on the key profit drivers and working closely with an integrated team.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my pig herd.

Agronomist Dalynn Ramsay describes some of the recent remarkable results seen in crops treated with Alltech Crop Science.

Food Safety: Red Tractor’s Never-ending Pursuit

Where does your food really come from? From farm to processing plant, from supermarket to plate, it’s important to know that your food was handled in a safe and ethical manner at every step of the journey. This episode takes a look at Red Tractor, one of the most trusted food assurance programs. Alltech’s David Butler recently sat down with food industry leader Philip Wilkinson to better understand how Red Tractor provides peace of mind to the consumer. You can listen to the podcast in full or view the transcript below.

I'm David Butler and my guest today is Philip Wilkinson, Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group. Actually that's just one of many positions that Philip holds. He took some time to talk to us about food safety, traceability and Red Tractor, the United Kingdom's leading farm and quality food assurance program. Their motto is, "we trace it so you can trust it".

So, I’m Philip Wilkinson, Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group which is the largest poultry producer for broiler meat in Europe. I’m Vice President of AVEC, which is the European Poultry Association, a board member of the British Poultry Council, and on the Board of Assured Foods Standards in the UK.

That is a lot of hats to wear.

Yeah it is, but they are all interconnected so it works very well.

And a lot of what you do is related to messaging to the end consumer is that correct to say?

Yeah. The Assured Foods Standards brand, or mark, you would know as being a Red Tractor which is underpinned by the Union Jack, the Union flag of the UK. And, that is a mark that has been on the go now since the year 2000 when it was launched. In dollar terms the sales value in 2015 will be in the region of $22-23 billion US. So, it has come from zero to hero in that 15 years and would be the mark that the vast majority of citizens and consumers in the UK would recognize in terms of one of quality, traceability, assurance, and would give them trust.

They would know that that kind of symbolizes everything that’s important to them and their food.

We like to think so. But, it’s a little bit like painting a very large bridge. It’s never ending. You get to the end and you got to start at the beginning again. So it’s an evolutionary process. We didn’t put something in place back in the year 2000 and it stayed exactly the same in 2015. It moves with the times. We tweak it here, we tweak it there in order to keep up with what is considered to be important in the minds of consumers. At the time that this was launched, there was no carbon footprint message going around whereas we now know that is a major part of the sustainability debate. So, we are now looking at being true to that objective and G20 leaders have signed up to that agreement to hit benchmarks by 2020 and there are milestones in that process, so we have bought into that as part of our message and that will fall into our activities going forward across all meat proteins and crops, as well, because the Red Tractor does embrace all meat proteins together with combinable crops, so you know it’s a pretty big operation.

That does seem like a huge operation and it seems like it would be very difficult to create guidelines or best practices across so many different, very diverse industries. How do you do that?

Okay, and that’s a good question. Each sector is a stand-alone. So, each sector has its sector board, it has its own technical advisory committee, and what I need to share with you is that this is not an in-house initiative. This is something that is shared across the whole of the supply chain so that everyone buys into it. So, you’ve got the farming union representing the farmers. You’ve got the likes of the British Poultry Council representing the poultry processors, you’ve then got the British Retail Consortium representing the retailers. Food service representatives and also academics and independents.

And, what we do, is we have a set of standards that are compiled by those people. So they are independent. The technical advisory committees are chaired by independent people. People who have got a wealth of experience in the field but are not directly involved in the supply chain. So they may be university professors who talk about this sort of stuff and I think about ours, is a guy who was a lecturer, very very well respected, at Reading University. He has been the chairman of the technical advisory committee. So that when product, and it always does happen that there will be a food scare, there is always something that is going to happen in the food industry, no matter how hard you try, you can put an independent person to front that, because it gives far more credibility than somebody like me who is an industry person who the consumer would say, “Well, he would say that anyway.” So, it gives it and this technical advisory committee, is meeting on a bi-month basis to review the standards, review the adherence to standards, to then dole out penalties to those who don’t adhere to the standards, so that the standards have integrity. Without the integrity, the consumer wouldn’t trust them and there would be chaos.

Right, so you have input and knowledge and expertise that is coming from the people in the industry that worked in the industry for years and years and they’re contributing that, but you also have independent people on the boards.

Just to show how fair we actually are, we even have on the board of Assured Food Standards, a representative from Compassionate World Farming. It doesn’t get more open than that. These are people who would sometimes march on the Houses of Parliament or march into KFC or into McDonald’s or into Two Sisters Food Group and cry foul. So, this is how open we are and how transparent we are in embracing the thoughts and opinions of everyone before we arrive at a decision.

Wow, that’s pretty impressive. It seems a lot more genuine than, you know, a company that might create their own little kind of premium certified logo that is not backed up by anything in particular.

I think that most companies who do, do that and some decide they’re going to have their own offering underpinned by Red Tractor, but then, let’s say move slightly outside that to create a point of difference for them, they would always use the Red Tractor Assurance to underpin, but then they would also rather than it stay in house, they would also use independent bodies who audit their schemes as well. And, might even help in the compilation of those schemes.

Is there any talk of Red Tractor expanding beyond the United Kingdom?

The Red Tractor Standards are already accepted outside of the United Kingdom because companies such as ours, or some of the retailers, or food service organizations who stand by the Red Tractor mark to the consumer as their offering have product that comes in from other countries. So, even though we produce in the UK, 19 million chickens a week, we actually consume 27 million whole bird equivalents, so those birds come in from Brazil or Thailand or elsewhere in Europe and in order for it to be a level playing field, and in order for the on pack claims to be made, equivalents have to be agreed in those countries. So, if they’re not eligible to carry the Red Tractor and the Union Jack, because obviously the Union Jack is produced in the UK; however, they are audited to those standards in those relevant countries by auditors who have been checked out by the audit bodies and the competent authorities back in the UK. So, the brand doesn’t travel, but the equivalents of it, do and that is the only way we would take product in from those countries outside of the UK.

So that’s having a positive effect on the global food supply really.

Yep, and as I showed in the presentation both yesterday at the food REBELation and at the poultry REBELation, I have shown that other European countries have got their own marks and emblems and logos that are for their countries that may or may not be the same as ours. They may be slightly different, but this is something that has now gone European wide, that’s for sure. And, there’s been a lot of interest as I’ve talked in other countries all over the world either in my own capacity or doing talks for Alltech. There is a massive interest in Red Tractor and the Red Tractor, and I wouldn’t say this but I know that I’m right, the Red Tractor news has traveled globally more than I would say most of the others or any of the others that I’m aware of. The only one that would sort of be internationally recognized would be the RSPCA, the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals which obviously goes pretty global anyway. Particularly the commonwealth countries where there would be a connection anyway.

Right, that makes sense. So how is all of this activity funded?

The Red Tractor is funded through usage of the mark on pack, so it’s fractions and fractions of pennies on a pack.

So a licensing fee?

Yes, a licensing fee which then everyone in that supply chain pays a price for. So just to give you a feel. It won’t be an exact number and I’m going to try to convert to US dollars for you, but for a poultry farm, a broiler farm in the UK to be signed up Red Tractor, it would cost circa $75-$80 a year; well in the big picture that doesn’t really even cover the auditor traveling and coming to the farm to do the audit, but because it’s funded across the whole of the supply chain, and everybody can afford to be in. If you’re a big dairy company, that’s going out on milk bottles that sit on tables, well then that’s easy, but if you are the dairy farmer you have to pay the same sort of money as they have to pay, you would never sign up in the first place. The reason why it’s been so successful is that the farm to fork supply chain has bought into it and are all doing their bit and paying for it.

The cost is shared?

People stand shoulder to shoulder.

Yeah, yeah. It benefits everybody.

Sure it does.

One last question. I assume you don’t have full traceability for everything under Red Tractor yet? Do you? Traceability is so difficult.

Well, I cited this morning in the poultry session that this is an example. We have got a slaughterhouse for chickens close to a 24 hour TESCO store that also stocks our chicken. The Tesco technical team will maybe totally unannounced arrive at their store at 7:30 – 8:00 o’clock in the morning, and they will pick a whole bird off the shelf, they will pick a packet of wings off the shelf, and they will pick some breast meat off the shelf jump in their car, drive two miles up to the road to our factory, knock on the door, technical manager plunk those on his desk and say, “I want traceability, full traceability down the production line back to the breeder farm where the eggs came from and I want you to do that in 4 hours on all of those products” We normally turn it around in somewhere between 2.25 – 2.50 hours. So the answer to your question, yes we can and I can even take it one step further in terms of supply chain for the feed that goes into the birds, whether it be the wheat or the soya I can do all that as well. So, in the poultry sector, I can’t speak on behalf of the other sectors because I’m not as close, but I would imagine it’s pretty much the same there. I sit very very comfortably on traceability.

That’s impressive!

How about that?

That’s a lot of work that goes into that.

But, it’s a great story to tell. You know when you get a TV scare and people are talking about horse meat and stuff like that, we had a minister for Food get on the prime time television BBC news when we had these issues and he said, “Obviously you can’t guarantee it because in the horsemeat scandal there’s a criminal element involved and the law enforcement authorities are dealing with that right now, but when asked the question by the interviewer, much the same as you are now, the interviewer said, “What would you do in a situation like this right now if you were a consumer?” And, the minister said, “look for a Red Tractor on the pack and that’s as safe as it’s gonna get.” So there’s no better endorsement on the BBC News program with ten million plus viewers watching. I’ll tell you that anytime.

Yeah, and you’re not going to have, you know a government Minister going out on a limb very often if that’s not a pretty safe statement.

He’s gotta be pretty cool with what he’s saying, he’s gotta be comfortable with it.

Well, thank you very much Philip.

Pleasure.

I really appreciate it. I hope you’re enjoying your time here.

Always do, I’m delighted to be back here. Always enjoy it.

I want to thank Philip for spending some time with us. You can find out more about Red Tractor at redtractor.org.uk and you can find out more about Two Sisters Food Group at 2sfg.com.

Thanks so much for listening to the AgFuture podcast and thanks to our producer Robbie Gay. If you like the podcast please share it with your friends or give us a rating on iTunes. We'd love to hear from you too. Send your comments or suggestions to AgFuture@alltech.com.

This is a guest post from Ryan Goodman.  He blogs at Agriculture Proud.

Big ideas. We know the future of food systems, demand and supply continues to grow and evolve, but what are the tools that will get us there? Who are the people who will lead us there? What are the disruptive ideas that will fuel those ideas? Sometimes it takes a REBEL to be a LEADER.

During Alltech’s 2015 international symposium – REBELation, the theme was exploring how to be a leader, bring disruptive ideas to the table and taking advantage or opportunities to move us forward through innovation. Sometimes this innovative leadership is disruptive, but it often brings about fantastic results that make change.

REBELation brought forward a variety of leaders and innovators who all had unique experiences to share. Some of whom I don’t 100% agree with their business practices, which I’ll share more about later, yet they definitely provide great examples for taking advantage of opportunities for disruptive innovation that makes change.

If you’ve ever met Alltech’s Founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, or even heard him speak, you’ll identify him as a man with passion for what he does. He is an innovative businessman, forward thinker, challenger and a rebel. You never know what to expect he’ll say, sometimes you’ll wonder where he’s going with a point, yet his words often challenge you to think. I’ve attended several of Alltech’s meetings in the past, with trips to Lexington and France, and there’s always something new to take home.

During this year’s REBELation Opening Session, Dr. Lyons left us with a few words of advice that set the tone for our meetings ahead.

Don’t oversleep on your dreams. To be leaders, we must combine urgency and innovation to stay ahead of the curve.

Rebels innovate and are constantly seeking new products and ideas. In order to innovative and creative, you have to fall in love with doing things differently.

What’s your goal? How do you achieve it? Avoid energy vampires. Make sure your dream has purpose and passion. Don’t die with your music still in you, Do what makes your heart sing.

Dr. Lyons goes on to describe qualities of a rebel to include provocateur, firebrand, instigator, motivator, revolutionary. A leader of this type must remain calm and be kind, have a vision but at the same time, be demanding. Qualities which most definitely describe the actions of General Colin Powell, who spoke to the crowd.

I’ve never been one to follow many politics or our country’s war efforts closely, but most would definitely recognize General Powell from his time serving our country and working closely with international leaders. He is a man who has been recognized for his leadership and ability to lead his teams on several occasions, which definitely translated to some great advice as he shared his experiences with us.

A leader must…

• Be confident and have a sense of purpose. This translates to your team’s trust in your abilities.
• Understand what is expected of the leader. Leaders have to understand and convey this to those following.
• Inspire people. People who are inspired are self-motivated.
• Have optimism and confidence.
• Be relevant in today’s world, which often means keeping pace.
• Recognize performance when a job is done well.
• Know how to identify problems and fix them.
• Build bonds of trust in their organization.
• Look at opportunities in the future and know how to deal with risks when they arrive.
• Be selfless, not selfish.
• Execute the plan.

How does this apply to agriculture? As Dr. Pearse Lyons shared with the AgWired team in reference to awarding General Colin Powell with the Alltech Medal of Excellence award, “What is the number one thing missing from agriculture and business today? Leadership, and when I think of leadership, General Powell comes first to mind. He is decisive, courageous and a ‘force multiplier of perpetual optimism.”

Read more on Ryan's blog, Agriculture Proud.

Find out more about Ryan here.

Announcing new acquisitions in Norway (from left to right) are Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, Bjarne Ravnøy, Magne Kolstad, Leif Loe, Linda Dvergsdal Hauge all from Produs and Patrick Charlton, Alltech vice president for Europe. Produs and Produs Aqua are Alltech’s ninth and tenth acquisitions respectively, a development that will mean continued innovative, customised and quality products, programmes, services and on-farm consultation for customers in Norway, both on land and at sea.

Today we are proud to announce another acquisition in Europe. Currently Alltech has a presence across much of Europe, with Norway being a final frontier. This morning we announced an agreement to acquire Produs AS and Produs Aqua AS, Norway. Based in both Førde and Bergen, Norway, Produs has been in business for nearly 15 years, and during this time has worked closely with us. Produs is a very strong brand in Norway, and there is a great fit between the Alltech and the Produs brands. Produs has always been a strong ambassador for the Alltech brand in Norway and together we now offer a strengthened commitment to our customers, providing them with tailored solutions and local support.

Improving animal nutrition is a pressing need for the productivity of the world’s farmers and those involved in the food chain. Feed costs comprise the majority of livestock production costs. By improving nutrition, livestock and poultry producers are able to realise a significant increase in efficiencies and return on investment. Alltech’s continued commitment to tailoring nutrition and health programmes with a focus on natural ingredients, allows farmers to raise healthier animals through a process that is more beneficial for animals, consumers and the environment. 

We’re very excited to welcome the Produs team to Alltech, and we’ll have more to share about our integration in the coming months. In the meantime, read more about today’s news in our press release.

Something all poultry businesses have in common is that feed costs represent the biggest portion of production expenses. Integrators therefore spend a large part of their time looking at ways to cut dollars and cents out of their feed costs. In fact, the average million birds per week complex will save an estimated $313,500 per year by reducing feed costs by just $1 per ton. What many don’t know is that a lot of the wasted money is the result of undigested feed.

Many studies have found a direct relationship between feed efficiency (FE), and overall poultry health, performance, uniformity and quality. This is because FE impacts the microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of poultry. Proper FE has been shown to reduce the amount of undigested energy available to pathogenic bacteria in the lower gut. Further, enzymes that help break down indigestible feedstuffs have also been shown to have a prebiotic effect by producing oligosaccharides in the upper part of the GIT. Collectively these two health benefits can potentially save integrators money by improving the health and performance of their flocks.

The Agristats^® report for March 2015 reveals how even minor performance changes can have a major impact in poultry operations:

(Applicable to a 1 million birds per week complex)

1. Parent Breeding:
   • Change of 1% in rate of lay represents $173,000/year
   • Change of 1 chick produced/hen/year represents $265,000/year
2. Hatching:
   • Change of 1% in hatchability represents $33,000/year
   • Change of 1 cent/chick cost represents $543,000/year
3. Broiler Growing:
   • Change of 1% in mortality represents $241,000/year
   • Change of 0.25% in condemnation represents $267,000/year

Getting the most from your feed

Alltech^® True Check^™ is an example of an in vitro digestion system developed to evaluate diets and impacts of feed technology in monogastric animals. Utilizing samples of feed, Alltech True Check mimics the real-life conditions of the animal’s digestive system.

Alltech True Check has the ability to screen diets or individual feed components with and without feed technologies more rapidly and economically than costly animal trials.  After digestion is simulated, nutrient availability and digestibility values are obtained that can help integrators see potential cost savings. Ask your Alltech representative about True Check and unlock the hidden potential in your poultry feed.

“True Check is a game changer since it allows us to graphically show our clients how effective their feed is at releasing digestible nutrients,” said Paulo Rigolin, Alltech poultry director.

Question: What is the most exciting thing to you about Ridley joining the Alltech family?

Dr. Lyons: When I think of Ridley joining the Alltech family, I think of the opportunities to bring our technology to ranchers and farmers around the world. For 35 years, we have developed technologies that help meat, milk and egg producers. This has been done according to our ACE principle of being friendly to Animal, Consumer and the Environment. With Ridley being an Alltech company, we can now connect to more ranchers and farmers and bring them technologies that, based on the initial responses, they are eager to see.

Question: How do the cultures of both Ridley and Alltech compare?

Dr. Lyons: I’ve known Ridley for 30 years and, although they were recently a publicly-traded company, they’ve always retained a real family background. Hubbard certainly had a family background and Ridley coming from the Australian side also had a family background. That family-focused culture fits well with Alltech’s own history and is highly respected and appreciated by ranchers and farmers. 

The Ridley team also has the same intense curiosity that Alltech was built upon. The Ridley managers and technical teams that I’ve met all want to find and apply new solutions in a quick and efficient manner to help meat, milk and egg producers around the world.

Ultimately, this is a perfect cultural fit of Family, Curiosity and Speed.

Question: How are producers, farmers and ranchers going to benefit from Ridley being an Alltech company?

Dr. Lyons: The fact of the matter is that ranchers and farmers are under immense pressure. They’re under pressure to produce more from less. They’re under pressure to avoid pollution. They’re under pressure to have total transparency. They’re under pressure to get the latest technology. One solution to these problems is science, and Alltech has a primacy in science. For example, Danish farmers are using Alltech technology to get 36 pigs per sow per annum, much more than their U.S. counterparts who don’t use our technology. Additionally, we are helping cows on the West Coast produce much more milk than some Midwest cows. By combining Ridley and Alltech’s primacy in the application of science, we are going to give ranchers and farmers access to the solutions they want and need.

Question: How do the employees of Alltech and the employees of Ridley benefit?

Dr. Lyons: Back in 1980, my wife and I were the only two employees. Fast forward to 2015 and we now have 4,200 smart and ambitious team members. Alltech is a private company and is not for sale. We, therefore, have the ability to be able to put our profits back into the company.

If I had to identify one big benefit that relates to our 4,200 team members, it would be opportunity. If our employees have curiosity and want to make things happen, then this is the place to be. Alltech will provide them with a lifetime of opportunity. 

Question: What is your vision for Ridley?

Dr. Lyons: We have a primacy in science and technology that ranchers and farmers around the world need and want. With Ridley, we have the opportunity to support more ranchers and farmers, especially in North America. I believe our journey together will be characterized by excitement and curiosity and ultimately take us past the $4 billion mark I’ve set as a goal.

Question: Alltech has a revenue goal of $4 billion in the next few years and even as much as $10 billion beyond that. How does Ridley help us achieve that goal together?

Dr. Lyons: By having critical mass, you can move much faster toward your goals. $10 billion is just a number. Are we going to be disappointed if we don’t get there fast enough? Of course not. Are we going to be disappointed if we don’t try to get there? Of course we are. When you have 4,200 people with a common goal, it’s a lot easier to get things done. Colin Powell said it best – we’ll talk, we’ll debate, we’ll do all of these things, but when we walk out that door, we’re on the same team with the same objective. 

Question: Well, interestingly, we were going to ask you about one piece of advice you would have for Ridley employees? Is it Colin Powell’s piece of advice or would you add to that?

Dr. Lyons: The first piece of advice I would give is be open to change. Alltech is all about change, advancement and moving forward. The second point I would make is be curious. Curiosity is at the core of Alltech. The third piece is be ambitious. Be ambitious for yourself and your family. We are all now part of a great team that is committed to creating opportunity.

Question: Ridley is Alltech’s eighth acquisition since 2011. Alltech also has multiple divisions - Alltech Nutrition, Alltech Beverage, Alltech Crop Science and Alltech Life Sciences. What’s next for the Alltech family of companies?

Dr. Lyons: There are certainly going to be very exciting things happening in the area of algae. I was at the algae facility recently, and the team there has a sense of excitement about the reality of us being able to capitalize on some new opportunities in the near future.

One thing is for sure, the opportunities will come fast and furious. At Alltech, we’ve always embraced opportunity, and we will continue to be an exciting and dynamic company. We will continue to embody the spirit of our recent REBELation international conference. I’ve had people come to me saying, Wow, what a meeting. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Well quite frankly, “they ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Robert Walker, Alltech Crop Science 

Today more than 800 million people face hunger and malnutrition. As the population grows, food production will have to increase by approximately 60 percent by 2050. How do we feed, fuel and support the growing world population? 

Currently 33 percent of world soils are under severe pressure from human activities that degrade and sometimes eliminate essential soil functions. At Crop Science: Growing the Revolution symposium, Robert Walker, general manager of Alltech Crop Science, addressed the importance of soil.

“It takes 2,000 years for 10 centimetres of topsoil to form, and there are only 100 harvests left in UK soils,” said Walker, noting that a recent trial carried out in the UK found that city soils had 33 percent more carbon and 25 percent more nitrogen than their agriculture counterparts. Yet, he said, the agricultural soils produce more food.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils, and Alltech continues to highlight its importance in the food chain. Soil has a lot more to offer than just food production – soil microbes must be explored.

“We have only identified 2 percent of all microbes in the soil. We need to be looking at the other 98 percent,” added Walker, underscoring that it has been 30 years since the last antibiotic was brought to market. Recently scientists found 25 new antibiotics in the soil so the potential is out there.

“Microbes in soil make the plant more resistant to pathogens. By adding microbes to the soil, it can add a lot of money to your yield. It's a business that is going to double in value,” Walker said.

Crop science has huge growth potential. We need to ask ourselves why big companies like Syngenta, Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science are acquiring interests in or entering the bio market. There is so much more to soil than meets the eye.