Developed, tested and approved
Animal feed is a continually-developing science. That is why the R&D department is at the heart of our business at VDS. At the same time, we also conclude successful partnerships to guarantee sufficient testing facilities. This ensures that the ingredients and promising additives or concepts are rigorously tested and validated. Our custom premixes and additives and the advice that we give to feed producers are based on in-depth research. Developing, testing and validating before we bring our products to market. Find out where and how our tests are performed.
A closer look at cattle feed
VDS has been working with a family-owned dairy farm in Vleteren for over four years for qualitative cattle testing. Rik Capoen, An Debergh and their son Cyriel have more than 200 Holstein-Frisian cows, which they milk with three milking robots. Each of these robots is fitted with an additive doser so that small quantities of additive can easily be added to the standard feed. The cows are divided into two groups, one of which receives the additive while the other serves as the control group.
As we want to determine the effect of the desired additive on milk production, all other parameters with an effect on milk production are eliminated. The lactation days and the lactation number are the same for both groups. All the cows live in the same barn and experience the same weather conditions. Thanks to this trial set-up and the detailed data generated by the milking robot, new additives and concepts can be tested rigorously.
The partnership between VDS and this dairy farm is a win-win for both partners. VDS gets to test all its promising additives on the farm, while the dairy farm gains a lot of insight into their performance thanks to tests and measurements. At the same time, our partner also has access to the latest know-how in terms of additives, which also benefits them.
Testing promising pig and piglet concepts
The closed pig farm of Marc and Tijs Dewulf (father and son) has been opening its doors to VDS for all kinds of trials for more than four years. Together, we invested in silos for feed storage, feed pipelines and weighing equipment for a state-of-the-art testing facility. As with the cattle tests, the pigs and piglets are split into two groups, which receive different feed treatments. Because these species have the same background, the tests are always accurate. These tests are a real success story for both partners. We test all our promising premixes and additives for pigs and piglets on the farm, while the pig farm can easily monitor the performance of their pigs in detail.
Aquaculture tests in our own testing facility
Besides successful partnerships, we also conduct all kinds of tests in-house at VDS. We are able to carefully examine dozens of innovative additives for aquaculture thanks to our own testing facility. The initial idea of a pilot project for a fish farm gave way to the well-equipped R&D unit, where we now conduct shrimp and fish tests. We work with a closed recirculation system, where the water is purified and pumped through specific filters. This impressive system consists of the following components:
- Test tanks
Eight test tanks can be used to rear shrimp or fish. Each tank has an inlet for water supply and a standpipe for water discharge. The water levels are maintained thanks to the height of the standpipe.
- Filter
A Trome DF30 drum filter with a very high processing capacity removes solid particles from the water. The protein skimmer and biofilter remove minute waste particles that are too small for the drum filter.
- Heat exchanger
The water in the test unit is kept at the desired temperature using a heat exchanger.
- Oxygen regulator
Each test tank is equipped with two airstones. Air is supplied through a central pipe connected to two air compressors.
- Pumps and water circulation
One of the tanks is used as a collecting tank. A submersible pump moves the water from the collection tank to the individual tanks through a central pipe. The storage tank is also connected to the heat exchanger. The water is pumped through the heat exchanger using an external circulation pump.
Aqua feed tests at VDS
We find it extremely important to test our products extensively in suitable installations. This is a must for us to be able to offer new additives and premixes. We test three experimental feeds and a control feed during each test. During the testing process, various water quality parameters, such as temperature, acidity and salinity, are monitored closely and adjusted to their perfect values. We collect data on weight and weight increase, as well as survival and feed formula for each treatment. Finally, we compare this against the right statistics to discover significant differences and develop new high-quality products.
Our flagship product: C-Force
Our well-equipped R&D department is a great investment, paving the way for the development of our flagship product: C-Force. C-Force is an additive that promotes digestion in shrimp and fish. Various aqua farms around the world have validated C-Force, which is a great reward for all our hard work.
