Cargill Nutrition System Helps Poultry Producers Tackle Performance Challenges

Atlanta, GA /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill's recent launch of its proprietary nutrient formulating platform, the Cargill Nutrition System (CNS), has already delivered transformative solutions to global poultry customers. The most advanced, accurate and practical nutrition system in the world, CNS' combination of real-time nutrient analysis, nutrient application research and ingredient sourcing provides poultry producers with clear data and applicable solutions to help ensure animals perform more profitably, efficiently and sustainably.

While poultry producers around the globe have the same species expertise, everything else in their operation is unique: producers deal with a distinct climate, business goals, nutrient requirements and cost considerations. A focus for Cargill's animal nutrition business this week at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), provides precision nutrition that helps animals improve performance and producers improve profitability.

Recently, this was the case in Indonesia. "In some cases, the prevalent mindset is 'more is more' when it comes to nutrients," said Henk Enting, global poultry technology director for Cargill's animal nutrition business. "That's what we found in Indonesia, specifically regarding crude protein in poultry feed. Overfeeding crude protein can result in a host of issues for a producer, including poor animal performance, excess wet litter and overspending."

With CNS, Cargill was able to demonstrate the science behind feed formulation, challenging Indonesian producers' deep-rooted belief that more nutrients equaled better results. Once customers received feed with adjusted nutrient levels, they saw a reduction in wet litter problems.

"Decreasing crude protein levels and adjusting amino acid levels in poultry feed had already been applied in other parts of the world, and leveraging knowledge from the global CNS system was the key to solving this issue for our Indonesian producers," continued Enting. "As our customers' trusted advisor, it is our responsibility to provide them with relevant information and, from that data, propose solutions. CNS was vital in initiating this cultural shift in thinking."

CNS was also instrumental in a recent trial in Switzerland, where a reduction in calcium and phosphorus levels and an increase in phytase in broiler feeds led to better feed costs per unit of production and easier compliance with local environmental legislation.

"The power of CNS lies in its vast number of nutrient samples, along with the knowledge and experience of the entire Cargill Animal Nutrition team," said Dominique Descloux, Cargill's poultry product manager in Switzerland. "Leveraging this combination in our latest trial, we are able to reduce the phosphorus declared on the feed label by at least 10 percent, which means our customers can increase their production in proportion and more easily comply with Swiss environmental legislation which requests a balanced nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) input/ output in order for farms to receive direct payments from the government.

CNS is accessible globally, which allowed producers all over the world to leverage the new Swiss trial data.

"The real power behind CNS is that it provides a platform to compile and use relevant nutritional data from around the world and quickly apply that information on a local basis to provide just the right feed formulation for our customers," said Jason Shelton, global technology director for Cargill's animal nutrition business . "CNS is the engine that allows us to drive and deliver precision in nutrition formulation at a faster rate. As a result, customers can maximize their profits by feeding their more animals accurately and at the right cost, as we've seen recently with many of our poultry producers."

About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 143,000 employees in 67 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

Cargill Animal Nutrition
Cargill's animal nutrition business has more than 17,000 employees at more than 250 facilities in 37 countries offering a range of products and services to feed manufacturers, animal producers, and feed retailers around the world. In 2011, Cargill completed the acquisition of Provimi, a global leader in premix and animal nutrition solutions, adding to Cargill's portfolio of animal nutrition offerings. Today, Cargill's animal nutrition business offers a range of compound feed, premixes, feed additives, supply chain and risk management solutions, software tools and animal nutrition expertise that is unmatched in the industry. For more information about Cargill Animal Nutrition, visit: http://www.cargill.com/feed.