Dairy Diary: November business update

CIS Invests in new state-of-the-art laboratory

Over £4.7 million has been invested in creating a new 1,557 sqm laboratory for the Cattle Information Service (CIS), located at the new headquarters of Holstein UK Group in Telford. CIS is the number one farmer-owner provider of milk recording and health testing services for dairy farmers in Great Britain. The investment has seen all testing machines upgraded with dedicated areas for testing milk samples, blood tests and tissue samples.

Biogénesis Bagó reaches a new milestone against FMD

Biotechnology company Biogénesis Bagó has obtained EuFMD prequalification for its foot-and-mouth disease vaccine Bioaftogen, becoming the first company in the world to receive this certification granted by the European initiative that advocates for the control of foot-and-mouth disease in the continent.

dsm-firmenich releases latest World Mycotoxin Survey results

dsm-firmenich has released the latest results of the World Mycotoxin Survey from January to September 2023. Until September, 16,587 samples from 86 countries worldwide were collected. The results concluded that Fusarium mycotoxins fumonisins, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone are most frequently found, with the highest regions of mycotoxins found in North and Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, China and Taiwan. The survey also includes details on prevalence levels for each mycotoxin in each region, risks levels for each mycotoxin, and risk levels posed to each species.

Vivici partners with Ginkgo Bioworks on novel animal-free dairy proteins

Vivici, a B2B ingredients startup company using precision fermentation to make animal-free dairy proteins, and Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, have partnered. Through this collaboration, Vivici will leverage Ginkgo’s capabilities in strain engineering, optimisation and performance, to develop and commercialise a next generation of functional alternative protein.

Alltech ONE World Tour welcomes international agriculture leaders to Dubai

The Alltech ONE World Tour (ONE), a series of international events bringing the ideas and inspiration of the annual Alltech ONE Conference to the world, resumed in Dubai. ONE Dubai welcomed international attendees to explore collaborative solutions to the greatest challenges facing the agri-food industry in the Middle East, Africa and beyond. The event featured discussions led by local and international experts about the latest trends in sustainable agricultural, animal nutrition and business.

Novus appoints dairy technical services manager for Europe

Dr Edwin Westreicher has joined Novus as the company’s dairy technical services manager for Europe. He will work with compound and mineral feed manufacturers, nutritionists, and dairy farmers to determine the best management practices and nutritional solutions to support herd productivity and meet operational and financial goals. He also works as a link between the company’s R&D group and global strategic marketing team and provides training for the commercial teams. Growing up on a cattle farm, Dr. Westreicher has a lifetime of experience in the animal agriculture industry which includes serving as a senior researcher in ruminant nutrition at Schothorst Feed Research in the Netherlands. He has also consulted feed mill companies on feed formulations.

National Holstein Show Judge for 2024

Holstein UK has announced that Marcel Egli has been appointed as the judge of The National Holstein Show at UK Dairy Day 2024. Egli has judged many shows in his home country of Switzerland along with international shows in France, Germany and Ireland, and had the honour of joining the EHRC European Judges Panel in 2022.

UFAC-UK appoints new European development manager

UK nutritional supplement manufacturer and supplier to the animal feed industry UFAC-UK has appointed Dirk Van Kessel as its new European development manager. Operating from the UFAC-UK Newmarket headquarters in Suffolk, and from his home in Lithuania, Netherlands-born Dirk officially started the new role at the beginning of October 2023 after an education and extensive career in ruminant and monogastric nutrition.