Press release Official opening of the Feed Pilot at ILVO in Merelbeke-Melle (Belgium)
Flemish Minister of Agriculture Jo Brouns bags the very first test batch
On April 23, 2026, ILVO opened a new state-of-the-art research facility: the Feed Pilot. The machinery, silo complex, and network of measuring and analytical instruments in this facility make it possible to produce extremely precise experimental feeds in small batches, down to 1 gram accuracy. Test feeds are intended solely for use in feed trials or for testing in labs or upscaling.
Flemish Minister of Agriculture Jo Brouns was the first to start up a machine:
With the Feed Pilot, we are strengthening our expertise and strategic autonomy within the feed chain. This unique infrastructure enables us to convert locally available raw materials and residual streams into precision feed in an intelligent way. This benefits our farmers, the environment, and our bottom line. Innovation like the kind we see here at ILVO is essential to keeping our livestock sector future-oriented, sustainable, and competitive.
The construction of Feed Pilot cost over €6 million, two-thirds of which was funded by the Flemish government. The ERDF and ILVO’s own capital covered the remainder. ILVO also received valuable additional support from the Province of East Flanders and from the Victam Foundation (the umbrella organization for machinery manufacturers serving the compound feed industry).
A unique building, a unique concept
Livestock farming in the West is now expected to deliver greater circularity, improved animal health, increased profitability, and a reduced impact on the environment and climate. More accurate feed is often part of the solution. This is possible—and is already well underway—thanks to research and developments in the feed industry. To achieve the desired effects, efforts are focused on new raw materials or supplements, new processing methods, and the physical structure of the feed.
For Belgium and its neighbors, this new pilot plant for animal feed is one of a kind, not only because of its technological equipment and sensors, or because it produces minute quantities of highly precise, documented (certified) test feed in the desired variations for comparison purposes. An added benefit of the Feed Pilot is its integration into ILVO’s extensive knowledge ecosystem. ILVO’s animal research team includes experts in cattle, swine, and poultry farming; feed and digestion technology; (animal) emissions; nutritional analyses; sustainability assessments, and more.
Sam De Campeneere, Scientific Director of ILVO’s Animal Science Department:
The ecosystem surrounding the new Feed Pilot is already taking shape, with internal and external stakeholders coming to us with a wide range of challenges and opting for collective or individual (confidential) partnerships. Domestic and international companies from the feed sector, food processors with residual streams, academics, policymakers, developers, and feed technologists are welcome. Feed Pilot is a place where customized solutions and expertise are available for various technological and nutritional issues.’
Two lines; more than 30 machines; accuracy to 1 g; flexibility
The ILVO Feed Pilot features a large production line and a small experimental one. Test feeds can be produced in batches ranging from just a few dozen kilograms to several thousand kilograms. Feeds start with a base mixture and variations of a chosen parameter can be subsequently applied. Each feed variation is perfectly homogenized due to a double mixing process.
Annatachja De Grande, Feed Pilot coordinator:
“When selecting the equipment, we made a realistic choice within the available budget. In other words, we made sure that the feed mixers can realistically and feasibly implement the refined recipes and processes using the existing machinery.
Special points of attention were accuracy, flexibility, and reporting. To eliminate the risk of cross-contamination between successive production runs, ILVO invested in a tilting mixer that turns completely upside down and opens lengthwise. This patented machine was supplied by installation firm Digimatic.
Machinery list:
Forty-two silos for raw materials, dosing units, a hammer mill (grinding unit), a mixer, a double roller (crusher), a conditioner, two presses that can be used separately or in combination, a screening unit, a cooler, a crumbler, and a chain conveyor. The small (experimental) line also features a hammer mill, mixer, press, and cooler, as well as weighing equipment. There is also an expander capable of applying heat treatment via pressure pressing. The test feeds can be supplied either in bulk or in bags. Extensive bypass options between the units facilitate flexible processing sequences.
Annatachja De Grande:
“We’re not ruling out the possibility of further expanding our machinery. For example, we have already prepared the space for adding a vacuum coater.
Sensors & Analytics
The chemical composition and nutritional quality of both the individual raw materials and the mixtures being prepared are automatically characterized at every major processing stage using rapid NIRS (Near-Infrared Spectroscopy) technology.
Temperatures, pressures, cooling rates, and energy consumption are also recorded for each unit and included in a report for each of the test feeds.
Calculation of the cost-benefit balance early in the experiments are essential for anyone involved in a feed innovation project. ‘If a feed delivers only marginally better performance for the animals, while incurring significantly higher costs in terms of formulation or processing effort, its success immediately plummets. That makes the parameter data particularly useful.’
Research into (new) raw materials, micro-components, new residual streams, and feed technology
Like the food sector, the animal feed sector consists largely of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These companies benefit from centralized, collective support for their research and development. In many cases, new ideas emerge from companies’ day-to-day operations, customer interactions, and their expertise regarding the animals in which they specialize.
The path to a feed formulation with proven efficacy—for example, in terms of reducing methane or lowering ammonia emissions—is a long one. Many of us appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with ILVO on exploratory or confirmatory animal trials,” says Alex Van Malleghem of the animal feed company Franson.
At the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, we help companies produce high-quality molecules—such as proteins or fats—through microbial fermentation. Starting from the scale-up phase, by-products are generated. These need to be characterized in order to find a useful application for them. We lack the expertise to process them into animal feed. "We are already looking forward to collaborating with Feed Pilot," says Katrien Molders of BBEPP.
At ILVO, communication will be close between ILVO's Food Pilot, Feed Pilot, and Post Harvest Pilot. Multidisciplinarity and systems thinking are embedded in the ILVO's DNA. The Feed Pilot will therefore serve as a logical link in the overall knowledge support for the agri-food chain.
Conclusion:
The ILVO Feed Pilot is now up and running and includes a wide range of expertise. “At ILVO we do not view this new research building as a gift, but rather as essential to the mission of helping the sector, public policy, the economy, and society.”
Professionals can contact the ILVO Feed Pilot via feedpilot@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
Address: ILVO Feed Pilot, Heibos 8, 9090 Merelbeke - Melle | België
Contact us:
- Website: https://feedpilot.ilvo.be
- Newsletter (in Dutch): https://ilvo.vlaanderen.be/nl/feed-pilot-nieuwsbrief
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/showcase/ilvo-feed-pilot
