With feed accounting for more than 70% of both the cost and carbon footprint for broiler production and an increasing customer awareness of environmental issues, producers are under pressure to make the most of inputs and reduce their impact on the planet.
In today’s Industry Perspectives, we discuss these issues with Dr Alain Riggi, Global Poultry Manager for Phileo by Lesaffre. The company has recently commissioned a Life Cycle Assessment of its postbiotic, Safmannan®, looking at its environmental impact from the initial stages of feed crop cultivation to the farm gate.
Dr Riggi speaks about the assessment’s findings, including the product’s impact on the carbon footprint of broiler production, water consumption, feed conversion ratio and how these factors combine to allow a reduction in land use per kilogram of broiler produced. He also discusses achieving these results on-farm and the return on investment for producers.
[Feedinfo] You have recently carried out some Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) work on broilers. Before we look at this in depth, can you give an overview of the reasoning behind this, and how you carried out the work?
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[Alain Riggi] Over the past decades, global meat production has been steadily increasing to meet the growing consumer demand for animal protein. Poultry production has been leading this growth, becoming the largest portion of global meat production since 2016. In 2021, poultry production reached about 137.8 million tonnes, making up 39% of global meat production. |
Dr Alain Riggi, Global Poultry Manager, Phileo by Lesaffre |
Meanwhile, poultry producers are increasingly required by their customers to supply data on resource utilisation and environmental impact. This is due to a growing environmental awareness among consumers, who are concerned about the ecological footprint of the products they buy. The environmental footprint of broiler production covers a number of areas, and, taking US broiler production as an example, feed production accounts for 74% of the carbon footprint.
To improve the sustainability of broiler farming, there is a need to adopt innovative solutions, particularly through advanced feed strategies. Enhancing feed efficiency through innovative practices optimises feed use, reduces environmental impact, and boosts economic sustainability.
Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are widely recognised as the most comprehensive and multi-criteria approach for evaluating the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life cycle, starting from raw material extraction, production, use, and until disposal. Phileo recently conducted a LCA on Safmannan® and its effects on broiler production, assessing environmental impact from the initial stages of feed crop cultivation up to farm gate (functional unit : 1kg of liveweight broiler).
This LCA was based on meta-analysis of six trials under biotic stress (Clostridium perfringens) and abiotic stress (heat stress), performed by an external consulting company.
[Feedinfo] It would also be useful to know more about Safmannan®, the product you focussed this work around – what is it, what does it achieve and how can it help in broiler production?
[Alain Riggi] Safmannan® is a premium quality yeast postbiotic. Postbiotics constitute an emerging category in the field of animal nutrition science. Postbiotics are defined as ‘preparations of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confer health benefits on the host’.
Postbiotics are particularly suitable for inclusion in feed formulations that undergo high-temperature processing. Safmannan® is derived from a proprietary Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, with high levels of mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) and ß-glucans.
Safmannan® positively impacts multiple areas of broiler performance, helping to reduce pathogen pressure, balance gut microbiota, improve gut morphology and function, and enhance the natural defences of broilers. It can bind pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, so can help reduce foodborne disease in humans with a better food safety (-2.3 Log CFU Salmonella on farm in a large field trial done in the USA recently). Safmannan® is as well proven to have high binding capacity of Clostridium perfringens, which can help reduce the risk of bacterial enteritis in broilers.
Its components can also interact with receptors of immune cells. This leads to a better functioning of the immune system and then a better resilience to disease for birds. By promoting beneficial bacteria in the gut, Safmannan® helps balance microbiota in the gut of broilers.
This innovative feed solution aligns with the One Health framework by enhancing poultry resilience, supporting environmental sustainability, and contributing to public health.
[Feedinfo] What were the main findings from the LCA work, and what impact will this have?
[Alain Riggi] One of the most pressing environmental challenges in broiler production is the substantial carbon footprint. LCA findings indicate that supplementing broiler diets with Safmannan® contributes to a significant reduction of 8.4% in the carbon footprint per kilogram of broiler liveweight.
Furthermore, the assessment reveals a reduction of 7.7% in water consumption, an essential factor given the current context of scarcity of water resources.
By enhancing feed conversion ratio and overall broiler production performance, Safmannan® additionally promotes the reduction in land use per kilogram of broiler liveweight by 8.7%. As less land area is needed for crop cultivation, this result denotes an alleviation in the pressure on natural ecosystems.
[Feedinfo] Is this result something which can be easily replicated on-farm? How can producers do this practically, and what difference will it make?
[Alain Riggi] Yes, this result can be easily replicated on farm. Each bird represents an important investment for the producer, both in terms of finance and resource. Meanwhile, birds are facing different challenges on daily basis, which induce decreased feed efficiency, growth and even mortality, thus increased carbon footprint.
More than 100 trials have been done across the globe to confirm Safmannan®’s efficacy in broiler production. It has been proven to be efficient in managing both biotic and abiotic stress, which are occurring every day on the farms. Furthermore, by adding Safmannan to broiler feed, as confirmed by our customers from the field, poultry producers can get long-term benefits, cycle after cycle.
Feedback from our customers in the US, Europe, LATAM and Asia all indicate the most constant benefit for producers is reduced FCR and better survival rate. This means producers will need less resource to produce 1kg liveweight.
As demonstrated by the recent LCA study, the improved feed efficiency, survival rate and overall productivity that Safmannan® achieved under different conditions and in different areas in the world can help poultry producers achieve more profitable and sustainable production.
[Feedinfo] With producers increasingly being asked to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their sustainability, where and how do you believe they can make the biggest difference?
[Alain Riggi] Taking US broiler production as example, as 74% of the environmental impact in poultry production comes from feed production. Consequently, all interventions that can improve birds’ gut health, decrease pathogen pressure and therefore improve feed efficiency will be beneficial for producers and will have a great impact in their carbon footprint.
In addition, each bird that we can save from biotic (pathogenic) or abiotic stress will save the feed that producers have invested in. The meta-analysis of the trials involved in the LCA study showed that Safmannan® helps reduce FCR on average by -7.2%. Then more water will be saved (-7.7% water usage) and less resource will be needed for feed production (-8.7% of land use), as mentioned above. I think this is the biggest difference.
But we should not forget the economic advantage: feed represents more than 70% of the production cost of broilers. Then producers will win on both sides, environmental and economic: a reduction of their carbon footprint and higher margin.
[Feedinfo] For producers, what is the Return on Investment (ROI) of this approach?
[Alain Riggi] As said above, Safmannan® supports the profitability of poultry producers through improved bird resilience and overall production performance, even under stress challenges, contributing to reduce feed costs, decrease morbidity and increase final body weight. This improvement translates into a positive return on investment (ROI) of up to 6:1. This means better profits for producers.
[Feedinfo] On a global basis, what environmental and financial benefits could we see if all broiler producers adopted this?
[Alain Riggi] On top of better profit for producers, the two other benefits will be:
For the planet: Safmannan® promotes environmental sustainability by contributing to a 8.4% reduction in the carbon footprint, 7.7% water usage and 8.7% of land use. This reduction in carbon footprint is equivalent to removing 55 cars from the EU’s roads each year, taking a typical European broiler farm as an example. With Safmannan®, broiler producers can achieve more efficient resource utilisation, reducing the environmental impact of their operations.
And for people: Safmannan® contributes to global food safety, benefiting people on a broader scale. By lowering the risk of Salmonella prevalence in poultry, it helps deliver safer poultry products to consumers. Furthermore, by supporting efficient meat production through improved feed conversion, allowing increased meat production with the same amount of feed, Safmannan® helps to meet global nutritional needs and promote a healthier population worldwide.