A circular food system in practice

Globally, the importance of implementing a self-sustaining circular food system is becoming increasingly apparent. The climate-change emergency and an ever-growing population mean that only by minimising waste, using land efficiently and optimising outputs will we be able to feed future generations and protect the environment.

As our business is built on minimising food waste, circularity is a concept that’s always been at the core of Duynie Feed UK’s philosophy. It’s a simple concept that justifies the energy that goes into growing raw materials by using every drop of value they can offer somewhere in the cycle.
In practice, the circular food system in which Duynie participates works like this:
<ul>
<li>Livestock farmers produce meat, milk and eggs for consumers and supply manure to growers</li>
<li>Growers use the manure to fertilize their land, so they can grow crops for consumers and food manufacturers</li>
<li>Food manufacturers process the crops into foodstuffs for the consumer and supply leftover co-products to Duynie</li>
<li>Duynie transforms the co-products into animals feeds to supply the livestock farmer</li>
<li>The cycle starts again</li>
</ul>
This is a ‘closed-loop’ process, meaning each link connects securely to the next and the last stage feeds directly back to the first. If any single link drops out, the cycle collapses.
The benefits of circularity
Of course, for participants to stay in a circular food system, there have to be benefits. For livestock farmers who have a choice between commercial compound feeds and co-product feeds, these benefits include:
<ul>
<li>Reduced carbon footprint: co-product feeds have lower carbon footprints than equivalent compound feeds. This is because CO2 emissions resulting from the cultivation and processing of a crop are attributed to the main product into which that crop is processed. Compound feeds are the ‘main product’ of crops grown specifically for animal nutrition. Co-product feeds are the ‘secondary product’ of crops grown for the human food chain – the emissions generated during their processing are attributed to the ‘main product’, which may be beer, bread or chips, for example.     </li>
<li>Locality: to further reduce the environmental impact of our products, Duynie works with UK-based food producers who process crops grown in their vicinity. While many compound feeds include imported ingredients such as soya, we don’t import raw materials.</li>
<li>Sustainability: feeding products with a reduced carbon footprint, which are UK-sourced, is a practical way for farmers to prove their commitment to sustainable working. Customers – including supermarkets – increasingly require their suppliers to demonstrate how they meet stringent sustainability goals.   </li>
<li>Profitability: Duynie feeds are attractively priced and offer consistent, reliable nutrition. Our focus is upon complementing the resources our customers have on-farm, with the goal of helping maximise returns from home-grown products. That may be the feeding of home-grown forage or marketing home-grown cereals. The outcome is a nutritionally balanced, targeted feed regime that optimises returns.</li>
<li>Performance: co-product feeds from Duynie are scrupulously formulated and scientifically analysed to ensure their nutritional value is balanced and consistent. Palatable blends are readily consumed (minimising wastage), encourage forage intake and are highly digestible. Our nutritionist and sales managers are on hand to advise on the best approach for individual farms, taking into account goals such as an improved calving index or live-weight-gain targets.</li>
</ul>
Duynie’s place in the circular system
By connecting food producers directly back to farmers, Duynie completes the circle that maximises resource usage. We’ve worked with livestock farmers for over 50 years, demonstrating to them that co-products (which might not seem immediately obvious as animal feeds) are, in fact, highly effective.
Our moist blends are an excellent example of the versatility and effectiveness of co-products. They’re scientifically formulated to be balanced and utilise a spectrum of ingredients from across the food and drink industries, including:
<ul>
<li>Barley screenings</li>
<li>Bakery co-product</li>
<li>Brewers’ grains</li>
<li>Cooked potato chips</li>
<li>Distillers’ syrup</li>
<li>Potato cream</li>
<li>Rapeseed meal</li>
<li>Moist citrus pulp</li>
<li>Wheatfeed meal</li>
</ul>
By combining these products, we not only ensure nutrients are balanced, we also deliver reliable palatability. Our current moist blend portfolio is suitable for ruminants and we are currently looking into possibilities for the pig market.
Moist blends can be stored in a clamp and contain a permitted preservative that extends their on-farm shelf life. They can be conveniently fed alongside chopped forage, without the need for a mixer wagon. As the ingredients are abundantly available from food manufacturers, these products are available throughout the year and across the UK. 
The moist blends in our range deliver specific levels of fibre, energy and protein to livestock at every stage of their life cycle. Whether you’re finishing beef animals or aiming to maximise dairy output, there’s a moist blend to suit. Find out more below or contact us to find out how we can help.

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Globally, the importance of implementing a self-sustaining circular food system is becoming increasingly apparent. The climate-change emergency and an ever-growing population mean that only by minimising waste, using land efficiently and optimising outputs will we be able to feed future generations.

Duynie Feed IE | A circular food system in practice