Reuters reported on Thursday that the Dutch animal feed company ForFarmers said it planned to use food waste and other raw materials to make new feeds to meet consumer demand for more sustainable farming practises.
The group, which makes feed for ruminants, pigs, and chickens, changed its 2025 strategy because market trends were changing faster than expected. The new strategy was first announced in 2020.
ForFarmers will set up a new organisation, which will include its organic feed division Reudink, to develop and market new feed concepts. This will help the company narrow its focus and address societal concerns about things like climate change and animal welfare, among other things.
“This is where we will start in the Netherlands. Ideas that use different raw materials or include more moist co-products and waste from the food industry are some examples “said in a statement from Farmers.
The group said that the European Union’s plan to decarbonize its economy by 2050, higher raw material and energy costs, farm consolidation and faster herd reduction, and a tightening labour market had all led to an overcapacity in feed production, which was putting pressure on its results.
The Netherlands, which is one of the world’s biggest exporters of agricultural products because it raises cattle and pigs intensively, wants to cut its nitrogen emissions in half by 2030. This has led to protests from farmers who are upset that the plans may force them to use less fertiliser and have fewer animals.
ForFarmers works in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland, and Britain. By 2025, based on underlying operating profit, the company wants to have a consolidated return on average capital employed of at least 10%.
It didn’t give a forecast for this year because markets are changing and there are geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
The hot summer, outbreaks of animal diseases, and rising energy costs, which the group couldn’t fully pass on in the supply chain, caused the group’s core profit for the third quarter to drop by 17%. This news came earlier this month.
