Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Model development and use at Cargill
Animal Nutrition, Danisco and Nutreco
fixed and variable costs and selling prices of
products. The model is calibrated with data
from the companies themselves, increasing
its adherence and reliability. Analysis of
client production database is very import-
ant to define the so-called current scenario,
which will then be subject to optimization.
The model takes into account impacts of
any changes in the composition of the diets
on carcass, cuts and condemnations in abat-
toirs. Due to the high number of variables
(more than 200) and relationships among
them (nearly two million relations) involved,
the model uses a powerful mathematical
solver able to compute complex linear and
non-linear problems.
Danisco Animal Nutrition service con-
sists of laboratory analyses of various ingre-
dients to directly determine substrates, and
their levels and types for feed enzymes ac-
tion. This step is followed by employing
various software models such as Avicheck ®
Corn , Avicheck ® , Phycheck ® , Porcheck ®
and DuPont Optimize Feed ™ to take advan-
tage of the ingredient substrate information
but also by including inputs specific to a cus-
tomer's situation. The variables will vary de-
pending on the enzyme, for example, phytate
for phytase, viscosity for xylanase/beta-
glucanase in wheat/barley, starch digestion
for carbohydrases in corn. The outcomes of
the models provide poultry and swine feed
producers with a tailored recommendation of
how much the energy, phosphorus, calcium
and amino acid specifications of specific
feeds can be reduced according to the quality
and quantity of ingredients used in the feed
formulation. It can also recommend feed en-
zyme levels to be used in specific feeds.
In Nutreco, there are currently two
models used for poultry. The first one is
Nutri-Opt , which simulates/predicts the
growth response of commercial broilers to
energy and amino acids (Nutri-Opt version 2
to be available later in 2014). This model is
used by nutritionists and clients to decide
the adequate energy and amino acid levels,
depending upon the client's performance
objective and feed cost. This model is re-
lated to the work of Eits et al . (2002a,b,
2003, 2005). The second model is a dynamic
turkey model called Darwin , a derivate of
Large grain, feed and feed additive providers,
such as Cargill Animal Nutrition ( www.cargill.
com/feed ) , Danisco Animal Nutrition, Dupont
Industrial Biosciences ( www.biosciences.
dupont.com/industries/animal- nutrition )
and Nutreco ( www.nutreco.com/ ) , have de-
veloped their own mathematical models
and use them as either internal tools or as
an aid in service for their clients. These
companies either shared information or
agreed to allow the author to make a few
comments about the details of their soft-
ware so as to inform the public that in real-
ity their modelling programs are useful
tools for decision making in nutrition.
Cargill has a strong modelling platform
called MAX ® for swine, dairy and beef that
is currently being used, and which is being
further developed for wider applications.
Cargill's MAX ® software enables distinctive
nutrition solutions for an animal producer.
The software enables better nutrition deci-
sions by providing access to Cargill nutri-
tion know-how, fitting to the local market
and enabling value-based nutrition for pro-
ducers of meat, milk and eggs. The system
provides a practical way to connect nutrient
supply, nutrient demand and projected ani-
mal performance for practical decisions on
diet or ration formulation, so that nutrition
decisions can be defined based on cost or
profitability. The system was architected on
intake-based and performance-based nutri-
tion for the best local value. The current
system is available in various languages to
support dairy cattle, beef cattle, pork and
chicken broiler producers worldwide. The
system has evolved since 1986 where it is
currently supported by US and EU patents.
Additionally, Cargill has the Panorama
Service Model , originally developed by
PROVIMI. Panorama is a model based on
an empirical approach to maximize the eco-
nomic return of a poultry company in a
period of 1 year. Therefore, in addition to
optimizing diets' energy and ideal protein
levels, the model represents the entire pro-
duction environment of typical broiler
integration, and a complete description of
 
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