COMPONENTS OF IA NUTRITION PROGRAM
IA Nutrition proposes the following steps to upgrade formulation accuracy and position for steady longterm improvements in diet efficiency:
- Provide client online access to formulation system
- Provide client access to expert advisory committee
- Provide client access to online nutrition database
- IA Nutrition to conduct ongoing literature search
- IA Nutrition to initiate routine laboratory analysis of competitor's feeds and raw materials
- IA Nutrition to conduct tank and pond trials in Malaysia
- IA Nutrition to Supervise Tank Trials in Mexico
- IA Nutrition to work with client on quarterly review and planning sessions
1. Provide client online access to formulation system
In order to assure that the client and IA Nutrition are continuously working with the same parameters in the formulation system, IA Nutrition will provide authorized access by the client to an internet based copy of the IA Nutrition formulation system. IA Nutrition will continually update the nutrient parameters in the raw materials and product specifications, while the client will be asked to continuously update costs and proximate composition of raw materials.
When new products are needed, IA Nutrition will work with the client's team to design the nutrient composition of the diet, raw material types and bounds, and processing parameters.
2. Establish expert advisory committee
The key to success of this company will be the technical staff. This team will be responsible for evaluating data and directing the program in the most productive directions. The diverse background of the team will assure that the program considers important developments in other sectors of animal nutrition, formulation, and growout technology.
IA Nutrition has formed a Technical Advisory Committee consisting of the following four outside experts with diverse backgrounds:
Dr. Ron Hardy
- Professor of Nutrition and Director of Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station of the University of Idaho. Extensive experience with nutritional evaluation of amino acid, fatty acid, and mineral requirements of trout and salmon. Knowledgeable about raw materials, especially vegetable proteins, marine proteins, and rendered animal proteins.
Dr. Michael Heitkamp
- Manager, Environmental Biotechnology, Savannah River Technology Center, Aiken, South Carolina. Formerly employed as research scientist at Monsanto. Extensive experience in practical biochemistry and microbiology. Developed several patents with relevance to aquaculture
Dr. Ray Washam
- Broad background including 40 years of experience in animal nutrition. Retired from Agribrands (formerly Ralston Purina International) as Vice President of Research and Technology. Developed ileal amino acid standards for swine, formulation techniques for local ingredient utilization, poultry feeding programs, pet food products and ready-to-eat cereal.
Mr. Steve Fountain
- Former employee of Format International. Intimately familiar with least cost formulation systems, their installation, and operation. Managed many software implementations into the feed, pet and fish food industries including implementation and training. One such project involved the implementation of software for approximately 70 factories serviced from 20 locations over 17 countries world wide. He provided skills for the configuration, installation and implementation of software and also personally trained many of the 300 users world wide.
In addition, the Technical Advisory Committee will include the following individuals from IA International:
Dr. George Chamberlain
- Nine years experience in shrimp feed R&D, as Aquaculture Director of Ralston Purina International
Mr. Chris Howell
- 30 years of experience in hatchery and pond management in Americas and Asia. Current Managing Director of Mega Prawns project in Malaysia
Dr. Kumaraguru
- In charge of nutrition database and feeding trials in Malaysia. Conducted his Ph.D. research on fishmeal replacement in diets for black tiger shrimp.
3. Establish online nutrition database
This portion of the program includes the following:
- Developed database with components for:
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- Nutritional requirements of target animals
- Nutrient composition of raw materials
- Composition of competitors feeds both in terms of nutrient composition and raw material inclusion levels
- Installed database on a server that provides access to authorized users as well as routine backups
- Developed forms for front end of database to facilitate data entry
- Developed reports to facilitate routine queries
4. Establish on-going literature search
A major effort is underway to assure that the project stays current with the latest advancements in published nutrition research. A variety of computer assisted searches are used to obtain nutrition references. Those titles and abstracts that look worthwhile are requested as full papers.
Dr. Ray Washam and Dr. Kumaraguru, highly qualified nutritionists, will extract key information and plug the data into the online nutrition database. In addition, other members of the IA Nutrition team will routinely enter data from published papers that they encounter.
Printed and electronic copies of papers will be kept on file for later referral if needed.
5. Initiate routine laboratory analysis of competitor's feeds and raw materials
Samples of competitor's feeds will be collected from the Americas and Asia. These will be analyzed for proximate composition, amino acid profile, fatty acid profile, macro minerals, trace minerals, and attractants. Microscopic analysis will also be performed to get an idea of the major raw materials being used. To assure consistent repeatable analytical results, reputable ISO 17025 labs will be used for these analyses.
All data will be input into the competitive analysis component of the nutrition database, where it can easily be accessed and summarized for use in product design and formulation.
6. Initiate tank and pond trials in Malaysia
Few feed companies are equipped to conduct shrimp feeding trials internally. Most companies contract testing to research groups such as Universities or Institutes. The disadvantages of this approach are loss of proprietary control, expense, and timing. Most trials conducted at outside facilities take weeks or months to coordinate, so few trials are possible during the course of the year. Also, university trials are generally limited to small indoor aquaria using artificial seawater, which are not representative of commercial conditions.
IA Nutrition conducts tank and pond trials in Malaysia where seawater, tanks, animals, and staff are available. When significant results are achieved in replicated tank trials, those treatments can be tested on a larger scale in 200-300 m2 outdoor tanks or 0.5 ha commercial ponds.
Facilities and experimental animals are available yearround for conducting feeding trials. These facilities will consist of:
- 42 round fiberglass tanks with exact dimensions of Oceanic Institute "Microcosm Tanks" which are designed to mimic conditions in an outdoor pond. The only modification to these tanks is the installation of self cleaning bottom drains, which automatically collect waste feed and other solids in a container outside the tank. The tanks are divided into seven modules of 6 tanks each, so trials can be rotated among modules to assure continuous dryout and disinfection
- Excellent water supply consisting of seawater that has been sedimented in a plastic-lined pond, pumped through two sand filters, chlorinated, and dechlorinated.
- Year-round supply of high-health juveniles for testing. Initially, only P. monodon will be used, but L. vannamei are expected to be approved for use by the Malaysian government later this year.
- Feed preparation room to house feed manufacturing equipment and raw materials
- Housing for technicians involved in feeding trials
- Access to 200-300 m2 concrete tanks for pilot testing of diets
- Access to 0.5 ha plastic-lined ponds for commercial testing of diets.
With these remarkable facilities, this project will be better equipped that most research facilities worldwide. Yet, the costs will be very reasonable, because most of the infrastructure is already in use for other purposes.
Supervise tank trials in Mexico
To assure consistency in experimental efforts and to interlink the Vimifos with the Integra Nutrition team, the tank and pond trials in Mexico also be coordinated by the Integra Nutrition team. The Malaysian system is outdoor and includes natural productivity. The Vimifos system is indoor with minimal natural productivity. The ability to compare results from these two systems will give important insights about the contribution of natural productivity.
Quarterly review and planning sessions
To assure that all viewpoints are included in the ongoing direction of this program, IA Nutrition will convene quarterly meetings to discuss current manufacturing status and needs, progress on each component of nutrition program including results from tank and pond trials, new product development needs, and plans for future trials. Priorities will be set on a consensus basis. The following individuals routinely participate:
- Dr. George Chamberlain, representing Mega Prawns
- Mr. Bernardo Costero, representing Vimifos
- Dr. Francisco Olbrich, representing Guabi
- Mr. Ron Hardy, representing Scientific Advisors
Licensing Agreement
Licensing agreements with non-competing feed manufacturers will be used to generate revenue to pay for ongoing costs of formulation, literature review, laboratory analysis, and tank and pond trials. To provide a built-in adjustment for annual changes in feed volume and pricing, the licensing fee will be structured as a royalty, based on gross sales.
Projected Benefits
The proposed project is a comprehensive and transparent nutrition program designed to extract and compile published nutritional data, competitive analysis, and internal research results in a online database which will be used to continually update an advanced formulation system. The direction of the program will be guided by the advice of a team of experts with well balanced skills.
One of the principle objectives will be to determine the nutritional factors responsible for extremely fast growth of shrimp at low density and to incorporate those factors into conventional dry diets.
This comprehensive program will result in steadily improving performance of shrimp feed, which will be essential for the continuing competitiveness of clients and their customers. Metrics of this improving performance will be
- Faster growth rates
- Bigger final size
- Higher survival rates
Maximum observed growth rates in low density ponds have been 10 g/week. Assuming that one third of this growth can be captured at conventional densities, there is scope for routine growth rates of 3 g/week. This is approximately 100% faster than current industry average. This project conservatively expects to achieve annual improvements in feed performance of 5%.
A secondary benefit of this nutrition program is its association with IA Health and IA Breeding, with Dr. Don Lightner as an equity partner. Feeds will be developed for animals which are intensively selected for improving growth rates. Probiotic additives will also be tested. These stocks will provide a sensitive and responsive barometer for ongoing nutrition trials.
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