One of the newest innovations to hit the sector, insect farming is becoming a viable option for feeding poultry. By Michael Barker
This article first appeared in the Poultry Business Innovation supplement
Insect farming could become a valuable part of the poultry feed supply chain in future, experts have claimed. A young industry, there is growing enthusiasm within the agricultural sector for moving into insect production as a way of taking greater control of the supply chain.
Beta Bugs is a company founded in 2017 by Thomas Farrugia that focuses on developing and distributing black soldier fly breeds to the insect farming sector. Speaking at the Pig & Poultry Fair earlier this year, Farrugia said there are growing numbers of agricultural operators diversifying into the insect farming space, adding that there were numerous benefits for producers to do so.
“You can turn waste into value, as you can grow the bugs on low-value materials such as food waste and then upcycle it into a protein source,” he explained. “This protein source has a low-carbon footprint, which has a sustainability element to it.”
It can also be fed directly to animals, he added, with the caveat that there are still certain legislative issues being ironed out around this Farrugia described insect farming as like farming two animals – the bugs that eat the food, which then turn into flies that lay eggs. “Like with any other animals, it’s about having a consistent environment and good husbandry,” he added. “If you are looking at supplying feed manufacturers, this is key.”
For farmers looking to dip a toe into the sector and see if it’s for them, Bega Bugs offers Just-Fly,
which gives market entrants the chance to develop an understanding of black soldier
fly husbandry and stockmanship without having to worry about fly rearing.
Once they feel more confident, Hiper-Fly is a breed aimed at increasing producer yield and is pitched at operators looking for higher gains from facilities and processes that have already been developed and optimised.
Meanwhile Simon Lague, business development manager at Inno+ – a part of the Big Dutchman Group – outlined
the company’s accelerating work in insect production. Big Dutchman has created an entity called Better Insect Solutions, which is working with a Danish company called Enorm to test system designs, site layouts, feed formulas and piloting those with the intention of producing full-scale production systems. Enorm has built a 3,000 sq m trial site capable of producing 1.5t of larvae per day. The first full production site is currently being constructed with the aim of delivering up to 100t of larvae per day.
Insect farming comes with some issues that farmers need to consider, Lague pointed out. Climate and humidity management is crucial, while the farms require quite some energy, and emissions have to be dealt with. Better Insect Solutions has developed scaled-down production systems in the shape of a Growbox and Feedbox.
At current costs, Lague suggested farmers would need a minimum scale of insect production to make it viable. “This is still in its infancy but it is very much happening now,” he concluded. “We are talking to around 60
companies, including farmers. I think we’ll see in the future more of what we are doing out in the market.”