Research centres

The Calf Research Centre is located in the Netherlands. Trials are conducted with approximately 500 veal calves and calves for pink meat production. Milk replacers are the key focus of the research. Further research is conducted on topics such as feed ingredients, feed efficiency, meat quality, animal health and animal welfare. The research centre has collaborative projects with research facilities in Mexico.

The Food Research Centre (FRC) in Spain is active in developing poultry meat processing technology, new product development, including ready-to-eat meals, and innovative packaging. Next to this, food safety is an important focus area of the FRC. The facilities include a pilot plant, a kitchen, a panel room for tasting trials and a microbiology laboratory. In addition, much research is done in cooperation with external scientific institutions.

The Nutreco Ingredient Research Centre (IRC) in the Netherlands became fully operational early in 2009. The IRC team assesses newly identified potential ingredients for feeds for pigs, poultry, ruminants and other species. They evaluate the nutritional and functional content of these ingredients and any bioactivity that can contribute to animal health and product quality. There is a dedicated portfolio of projects to support growth of the feed additives business as these products offer a potential to increase efficiency and sustainability in the use of feed raw materials. Further studies aim to strengthen the dossiers of existing ingredients and to develop feed technology. At MasterLab, the IRC has a dedicated laboratory for the screening of ingredients. Additionally, at the Research Feed Plant, the centre focuses on feed production technology.

Nutreco Canada Agresearch has a dedicated multispecies R&D centre of 325 ha. The centre has separate units for broilers, layers, turkeys, swine and dairy. Based near Burford Ontario, it is Canada’s largest corporate animal R&D facility and one of the largest in North America. Agresearch has been successfully inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada and the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). Nutreco Canada’s scientific team is located in the University of Guelph Research Park, which allows for collaborative research efforts that involve the best academic, government and industrial researchers to solve the nutritional, health and management issues faced by commercial livestock producers.

Canadian research focuses primarily on quantitative nutrition. This discipline includes the study of feedstuff nutritive value, diet formulation and feeding programme design, but the major emphasis is on dynamic simulation models used to understand and predict input-output relations in the production of meat and milk.

The Poultry and Rabbit Research Centre is located between Madrid and Toledo in Spain. It has the best facilities in Europe for research in broiler breeders, broilers, layers, turkeys and rabbits. There is a special unit for physiological and digestion studies and the research team is also active in optimising nutrition for animals in different housing systems. A feed pilot plant provides the various feeds needed for these research activities.

The Ruminant Research Centre in the Netherlands has a resident research herd of 140 dairy cows. It has an integrated research team with expertise in dairy, beef and small ruminant nutrition. At the research facility individual feed intakes are monitored, including the separate intake patterns of concentrates and roughage, both during the dry period and lactation. The research is crucial in the development of products, concepts and nutritional models that provide state-of-the-art nutritional solutions for our customers.

The Swine Research Centre in the Netherlands has modern housing facilities for a resident herd of sows, as well as for piglets and growing pigs. A special unit is equipped for physiological and digestion studies. Electronic pig identification and data collection systems are used to monitor individual feed intake behaviour, health and performance and to assess feeding regimes, from the piglet stage to finishing pigs.

The Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) in Norway has 21 research specialists representing nine nationalities. They work in fish nutrition, fish health, food safety & quality and feed production to support the ARC’s vision of “Tomorrow’s feed today”. Research at ARC is complemented by cooperation with universities and research centres around the world.

A pilot-scale Feed Technology Plant facilitates the optimisation of production equipment and processes. The plant’s novel extruder allows for R&D into production methods and new ingredients, and for better understanding of the extrusion processes. The plant also produces sample batches of experimental diets for trials. Feed trials take place at the nearby ARC Fish Trials Station, where all facilities are landbased, including seawater facilities. Land-based tanks offer greater ability to monitor and control conditions such as temperature and eliminate external threats such as attack by seals or infection by sea lice. It is an advanced technology for trials with larger fish in seawater. The station is used for growth and digestibility trials with fish in fresh and salt water, from fry to adult fish. Feed developments for freshwater trout are assessed at Skretting Italy’s Mozzecane trial station in northern Italy. Many aspects of research are supported in ARC’s internationally accredited aquaculture laboratory, specialising in analysis of raw materials for fish feed and finished feed as well as analyses of fish.