Testing stations for the agriculture of tomorrow
How can you improve animal welfare? Want to increase the technical performance of your livestock? This is something Proxani’s experts have been working on for some time. The tailored advice we give you is based on over 120 years of research and development, practical experience and up-to-date knowledge from the entire food value chain. Our in-house R&D department collaborates with leading research institutes and biochemical experts from around the world.
We are also helping to build the agriculture of tomorrow with our own testing stations, where we are constantly testing out our feeds in all possible conditions. The result: a range of innovative, extensively tested high-quality products for your livestock at every stage of their development.
Poppel dairy cow testing station
Our testing station in Poppel houses 110 cows with accompanying young cattle. For milking the cows, we use two milking robots equipped with a Herd Navigator and an automated body condition score camera, providing us with a wealth of reliable and accurate information. We use this data, among other things, when looking at the transition period. We are constantly testing new, innovative products and additives to help better guide your cows through this important period. We are also focused on improving protein efficiency on dairy farms. To that end, we have been trialling low-protein rations for a number of years. What’s more, we are also testing alternative protein sources to act as a replacement for soy.
Beef cattle testing stations in Sart-Saint-Laurent and Ath
At Proxani, we are passionate when it comes to the beef cattle industry. Therefore, we are fully committed to new and innovative developments that help improve beef cattle feed. With their years of experience, the beef cattle specialists within our nutrition team examine and evaluate various aspects of cow nutrition. To this end, we carry out trials at our own testing stations on a permanent basis, always keeping current market conditions in mind, as well as your needs as livestock owner, as Proxani prides itself on its close relationship with its end users.
At our testing station in Ath, we keep 250 bulls of the Belgian Blue breed per year. There is also room for another 160 bulls at the Brahy family’s testing station in Fosses-La-Ville, where we conduct beef cattle trials on both BWBs and French beef breeds such as Limousin. There, we monitor and manage livestock with individual weighing and measurement of dry matter intake in both dry and wet rations.
All our tests are conducted according to state-of-the-art methodologies, using the very latest diverse technologies. These generally revolve around feed efficiency or the use of high-protein raw materials from Europe. We are also testing more precise feeding by phasing protein and energy inputs, as well as alternative proteins and net protein efficiency.
Based on these results, Proxani is able to offer you, breeder and/or livestock trader, tailored solutions based on your own production objectives. Both yield price and gross margin on the feed are calculated and known. As a result, we are able to deliver highly cost-effective solutions that ensure only the highest level of economic performance, all while meeting sustainability and food efficiency criteria for the agriculture of tomorrow.
Pig testing station in Neerhespen
Our pig testing station is located in Neerhespen, set up so that feed trials can be conducted in the most accurate way possible.
Our five-week system lets us house 560 productive TN70 sows, divided into four groups of 140 sows. The weaning age of piglets is 28 days, with a weaning weight of about 7-8 kg. The terminal sire is the Delhaize Selekt (=PIC 408 pietrain).
Within the testing station, there are two farrowing sections of 70 sows which can be divided into three per section to conduct accurate feed trials. There are also two deck areas with 160 stalls. In the gestation sheds, we work with free-range stalls. Our piglet departments can accommodate 1800 piglets up to 25 kg. Each section consists of 10 pens, each of which can be fed individually per feeder, which again allows us to conduct extensive feed trials, with feed being accurately dosed per bowl.
For trials on finishing pigs, we have a partnership in place with the Trial and Training Centre for Agriculture in Bocholt, where animals are individually monitored. We work with 100 finishing pigs per department, who can also be accurately fed through feeders.
The reliable information provided by these tests gives us the required expertise to develop new and innovative products tailored to your business needs. The experience we gain from our testing stations ensures that we are on the same page, and that we can respond perfectly to your needs and expectations.