Sector Feed Production

Cattle farmers who produce their own feeds and entrepreneurs in the (compound) feed industry will find here an answer to “what can ILVO do for me?” You’ll get a brief overview of relevant expertise, analyses, infrastructure, and the professional approach that characterizes ILVO.

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What does ILVO do?

ILVO conducts experimental and practical research into the influence of crop management on feed crops such as grass and maize. This includes looking at the impact of variety selection, soil cultivation, fertilization, etc. on yield and quality but also on soil quality, emissions, carbon storage, leaching, and biodiversity. New cultivation systems, such as agroforestry and agroecology principles, are being tested in practice.

> Read also what ILVO does for arable farming
ILVO has years of research expertise in the optimal management of intensive and extensively-managed cutting fields and pastures. The focus is on higher yields and quality (e.g. digestibility) with maximum carbon storage and minimal environmental pressure. ILVO works on less-common grasses and grass mixtures with leguminous plants.
ILVO is responsible for the Belgian descriptive and recommended variety list for feed crops and cover crops. ILVO not only uses the Melle-Merelbeke site for this purpose but also external properties to install trials in other Flemish regions with a variety of soil textures.

> See the ILVO variety lists (NL)
ILVO has a long tradition of breeding grasses, clovers and recently soy. Both traditional and new breeding techniques are researched and applied. Special attention is paid to the development of robust crops, such as drought- and rust-tolerant grass varieties.

> Read also what ILVO does for arable farming
ILVO investigates the potential of new feed crops, such as field beans and other local protein sources, such as algae and insects, for Flemish farms. Researchers study yield, crop rotation, and profitability, as well as compatibility with Flemish feed rations, animal performance, and animal emissions. Processing of more local, protein-rich raw materials into rations in order to limit the amount of soy being imported is one of the spearheads of climate research at ILVO.

> More info about ILVO climate research: Center of Expertise for Agriculture and Climate
ILVO investigates the impact of ensilage on the preservation and quality of different roughages. ILVO provides advice on good ensilage practices, analyzes the ensilage quality parameters, and helps feed producers interpret this data.

> List of feed analyses
ILVO performs chemical and physical analyses of roughage, raw materials for concentrates, by-products, and compound feeds. ILVO also estimates the energy and protein value of cattle feeds on the basis of in vitro digestibility, chemical parameters, and NIRS.

> List of feed analyses
ILVO determines the energy (VEM) and protein value (DVE, OEB – as an approximation) of cattle feed and the biodegradability of feed nutrients by means of digestive trials on sheep as well as rumen and intestinal incubations in cows. ILVO also tests the rumen stability and intestinal availability of rumen-resistant products, and examines the effect of feed materials or additives on rumen fermentation. In addition, ILVO conducts feed trials with its own roughage and customized concentrates for dairy cattle under controlled practical conditions. Feed intake, milk production, and milk composition are measured, among other things. Last, ILVO performs emission trials on dairy cattle to determine the effect of rations on the N and P balance and the emission of greenhouse gases.

> Opportunities for co-creation regarding cattle
ILVO’s Diagnostic Center for Plants analyzes samples of soil, water, and plants for the presence of pests, mites, nematodes, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Moreover, by studying the biological cycle of these organisms, plant physicians look for sustainable control techniques. The emphasis is on prevention, crop technical measures, and biological control for application in integrated pest management (IPM).

> More info: Diagnostic Center for Plants
For roughage research as well, climate is an important theme. Both climate mitigation and climate adaptation are areas of focus. The researchers examine, among other things, how cultivation techniques can help mitigate the impact of climate change, how more climate-robust crops can be introduced, how to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, and how protein-rich feeds and raw materials can be locally grown.

> More info about ILVO climate research: Center of Expertise for Agriculture and Climate
ILVO has a licensed composting site and makes its expertise in farm composting available to test centers and individual businesses. ILVO also conducts research into the composition, the process, and the quality of the end products of composting and fermentation of organic waste streams, including animal manure.
ILVO is sinds 2021 partner van het FEED DESIGN LAB, dat vanaf 2014 operationeel is in het Nederlandse Wanssum. Dit centrum met pilootfabriek voert veevoederonderzoek uit, produceert proefvoeders en verzorgt opleidingen rond innovatie en verduurzaming van de diervoerindustrie. Feed & technologie bedrijven werken er internationaal samen in open netwerken, om een meer duurzame dierlijke productieketen te realiseren. Men werkt dagelijks aan onderzoek naar nieuwe grondstoffen en naar gezonde diervoeder en men ontwikkelt en evalueert verbeterde productietechnieken

> Meer info op: https://feeddesignlab.nl/

How does ILVO work?

ILVO aims to support all stakeholders in animal production and the (compound) feed industry with the above broad palette of expertise and a modern research infrastructure. Contemporary challenges are handled by experienced professionals. Together with the other parties involved in the chain, they work on customized solutions.

Your point of contact for roughage production: the Plant Living Lab

The Plant Living Lab at ILVO aims to respond to the needs and questions of the agro-food sector. They focus on sustainable, innovative technologies to optimize crop efficiency and at the same time, reduce the environmental impact. The extensive expertise and infrastructure and a wide stakeholder network make a high-quality, strong, multidisciplinary approach to this research possible.

Your point of contact for practical information: the Rundveeloket (Cattle Information Center)

The Rundveeloket is the ideal point of contact for all questions on dairy or beef farming. The answer is always objective, independent, and scientifically substantiated. The Rundveeloket keeps you informed of the latest research results by participating in study days and information sessions, as well as through publications in the trade press, an up-to-date online knowledge center, the Rundveeloket website, and a quarterly (free) newsletter.

Lastly, the Rundveeloket is happy to listen to your concerns in order to translate them into concrete research questions and bring the necessary partners to the table.

Your ILVO guarantee

Scientifically-based solutions
Individual and/or co-creative guidance for innovation trajectories
Confidential treatment of your question
Clear and easy-to-interpret results that are applicable to day-to-day operations
Technological support for various farm processes

Specialized research infrastructure

Experimental animal housing for in vivo digestion, feed and emissions trials
> 200 ha trial fields and an extensive range of rolling field trial machinery
6 ha of own organic fields
50 ha of organic fields at the trial platform for agro-ecology in Hansbeke, a joint project between ILVO, PHAE en RHEA
Vehicles and machinery for trials on location
Permanent outside services for comparative variety research
Modern farm machinery and infrastructure for precision agriculture
> 15.000m² greenhouse infrastructure and climate chambers for research, including for quarantine organisms
Compost site and compost reactors
'Rainout shelters' for research on drought stress in plants
An accredited lab for analysis of roughage, raw materials for the ration and compound feed
Belgian and EU reference labs for plant pests and pathogens: the Diagnostic Centre for Plants
An accredited lab for soil, substrate and plant analyses
An accredited lab for spray technology

All ILVO expertises at your service

ILVO works in an interdisciplinary fashion and has a network of living labs that work closely together. A problem or question is therefore examined from many different angles by ILVO experts from different disciplines. This is guaranteed by ILVO's broad and systematic approach, together with the typical openness of the ILVO culture.