Dr. Oviedo: We are here at ISEP 2022 with Dr. Vanessa Lagos who specializes in Monogastric Nutrition research. We want to thank you Dr. Vanessa for joining us today at NutriNews International, and we would like to start off by knowing a little more about the type of research that you are carrying out at your center?
Dr. Vanessa Lagos: Thank you for having me Dr. Oviedo. Well, I have been working at Schothorst for a little more than a year now. We are an independent research center located in Lelystad, Netherlands. We provide different services, amongst which we offer the advanced feed package. We have signed contracts with feed mills in the Netherlands as well as other countries, through which we offer them access to our feed ingredient tables, as well as nutrient requirements for poultry, dairy cattle, and swine. We have a consultancy department that is in charge of providing our advanced feed package to our clients, and then we also have an R&D department. It is within this latter department where I carry out my activities as researcher in monogastric nutrition. Here I work within the swine team mainly on grow finishing trials, and I also work with the poultry team mainly with broilers. In our trials we try different feed additives, or feed ingredients, evaluating their effects on performance and other aspects of this sort. Therefore, in the R&D department we carry out trials in our animal facilities to update out tables, but we take on different trials for third party research. We have different feed additive companies that come to us, to perform different kinds of trials like> performance trials, commercial trials as well as registration trials. Finally, we also offer training services, through webinars, seminars, and other academic methods focusing on animal nutrition in the species that I have mentioned.
Dr. Oviedo: Thank you, Vanessa. I wanted to ask you the following question. In regards to the different topics presented here at ISEP, what concepts have you found be most relevant and suitable for you to apply within your own research? We have seen interesting presentations on direct evaluation of metabolism, the use of indirect calorimetry, the application of molecular biology to assess how animals use nutrients, and so forth. In your case, where you are working with practical applications what new developments or research have you found to be the most useful for your current?
Dr. Lagos: I believe this meeting has had a big focus on reducing the negative impacts of heat stress, as well as methane reduction in dairy cows for example. As well as focusing on nitrogen (N) retention in the case of swine and poultry, which is a very important topic. For example, right now in the Netherlands the government is pressuring farmers to reduce the levels of nitrogen excretion in their productive systems. Therefore, this type of research is really significant for us to be able to help Dutch farmers reduce N excretion from our area of expertise which is nutrition. For such reasons I have found this very interesting. Although some of these definitions may be somewhat general, I think it is important to understand the mode of action of different reduction strategies and evaluate how these can be applied in Dutch farms. Aiming to eventually extrapolate these solutions on to a global scale.
Dr. Oviedo: Okay. That sounds great Vanessa. We heard today some talks on new feed ingredients and new processing methods. As a feed researcher, do you see any potential applications for these developments on your current projects?
Dr. Lagos: Yes, of course. Besides nitrogen reduction we have great demands regarding sustainability and circular economy approaches on production. Therefore the reduction of ingredients such as soybean meal, and the search for alternative ingredients are one of our main areas of research. Hence, some of the presentations we saw today where they addressed the possibility of feeding avocado seeds for example are important for us to keep and open mind regarding the different alternatives that we can have. For example, with zinc oxide, it was not a matter of finding a direct replacement, but it was a more about finding a combination of alternatives and looking at this matter form a more holistic approach. Understanding the benefits offered by different ingredients and how these can be synergistically combined to benefit animal performance. We hope that we can take this information and put it on the table for our customers at Schothorst to benefit from it.
Dr. Oviedo: Thank you Vanessa for joining us, and we hope to have you back for future podcasts and webinars here at NutriNews International. Thank you all for your attendance!