How our poultry R&D facility in Vinh Long serves the needs of local markets
We have four different poultry research & development facilities worldwide, all strategically chosen. Those four research facilities aim to answer questions we receive from all the markets where we are an active player. By strategic planning of the R&D trials we aim to answer multiple questions within a short time frame. Thereby ensuring our practical impact for our sales organizations. One of the poultry R&D facilities is located in Vinh Long, Vietnam. The Asian poultry market has great potential and therefore is one of the key markets for De Heus. In this article we zoom in on the advantages of our facility in Vinh Long.
in Vinh Long, Vietnam
In our poultry R&D facilities, we mainly perform practical research based on questions from product managers, nutritionists, the sales department or even production. With a poultry R&D facility in Vietnam, specific questions from Asia are answered faster.
Serving the needs of local markets
Most regions in Asia (and other parts of the world) have different poultry housing systems compared to Europe and are situated in a tropical climate with extreme temperatures and humidity. In Vietnam we investigate questions related to the extreme climate conditions. For example: heat stress can be easily tested in our poultry R&D facility in Vietnam. The outcomes can be used for many regions with hot climates or even hot periods like summer in Europe.
Regional raw materials like rice and animal (by)products differ from other parts of the world due to availability and regulations. In our local poultry R&D facility, we perform small-scale research combining several nutritional questions in one trial under controlled conditions.
Global implementation after registration
Product registrations and the timespan of the registration process vary in different parts of the world. In Asia, some new products like phytases may be registered earlier than in Europe. These products can be tested in Vietnam and - in the case of positive outcomes - immediately implemented globally when a registration is completed. This ensures us of a constant flow of knowledge and innovations.
Multi-species testing
In Vietnam, we have a multiple-species farm in which we have a layer and broiler facility. The broiler site of the farm is flexible to keep other poultry species like meat ducks and rearing hens as well. In our R&D poultry facilities, new ideas and questions relating to various poultry species can be tested on a small scale and under highly monitored conditions.
Fitting feed formulation to the local markets
Specific Asian questions could be related to climate, poultry genetics, housing system, raw materials and more. As an example: In Asia, customers prefer tasty firm poultry meat from the local slow growing breeds. These slow growing breeds have different nutritional requirements from a well-known breed like Ross 308. Globally, most research is performed using these type of breeds. Our poultry R&D facility in Asia contributes to improve our knowledge about a wide range of genetics. Specific requirements are investigated in order to make a fitting feed formulation based on growth profile and body composition of this wide range of genetics.
Fundament: precision feeding
All the topics investigated on our worldwide poultry R&D facilities are contributing to our insight in precision feeding. Precision feeding is the fundament for optimizing either technical performance, economics, health, sustainability, welfare and feed and food safety. One of the specific aims of our poultry R&D facility in Vinh Long is to reduce the use of antibiotics in Asia.
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