Cargill Launches Animal Feed Technology Center in Turkey

Cargill has opened a new $2 million animal feed technology center, called the Technology Application Center (TAC), in Izmir, Turkey in order to better address the specific concerns of livestock producers in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.

"Severe climate and the availability of raw materials are significant challenges for dairy and poultry customers in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa," said Scott Ainslie, global strategic marketing and technology director for Cargill's animal nutrition business in a company statement. "This new TAC will enable Cargill Animal Nutrition R&D and applications teams to evaluate and test Cargill global technology under local conditions, such as heat stress.”

The new TAC, which was created in partnership with an existing 150-cow dairy farm owned by the Egesay Animal Agriculture Food Industry and Trade Company Ltd., will serve to strengthen Cargill’s presence in regional markets following the company’s 2015 acquisition of a majority stake in Turkey-based premix and feed additives company, Ekol Gida.

"The Egesay farm is a typical Turkish, family-owned farm representative of a large part of the Turkish market and ideal for performing practical field trials," said Guillaume Smeets, Middle East, Turkey and Africa regional director for Cargill's animal nutrition business. “Having access to the farm's 150 lactating cows will enable us to evaluate how to incorporate different, locally-produced raw materials into the rations of cows in different production phases, particularly as they relate to heat stress periods. Furthermore, silage and roughage can be of different qualities, so it's important to evaluate the nutrient value to animals of locally-produced ingredients."

Following the dairy center, a poultry center that will house 2,000 broilers and 2,000 layers is scheduled to be added and operational by the end of 2017 in order to develop solutions that will improve poultry gut health and production efficiencies through the use of local ingredients.

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