dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health offers the feed and animal agriculture industry a true end-to-end portfolio. This includes essential products that are fundamental for the production of healthy, sustainable animal protein. Performance solutions, that create additional value and desire beyond the essentials. And data-driven precision services that make the invisible visible by providing targeted insights to improve sustainability and animal health.
As a global powerhouse with an extensive customer base, the company had a full plate ensuring a food-safe and sustainable future for all. With a long-track record of leading innovation in mycotoxin risk management, the company was looking for new ways to help their customers identify, predict and manage mycotoxin contamination of crops and other ingredients used in animal feed.
Mycotoxin contamination is not to be taken lightly as it poses a significant threat to grain quality and safety, compromising the health of humans and animals alike. Produced by certain fungi, the toxic compounds can contaminate grains such as corn (maize), wheat and rye during the growth, harvest, or storage cycle. This can lead to illness, impaired performance and even death in livestock while tainting food products for human consumption. The economic impact of mycotoxin contamination may be substantial—affected grains may need to be discarded, resulting in significant losses for farmers and the agriculture industry as a whole.
The use of weather forecast data is one way of tackling mycotoxin contamination in crops. The firm turned to IBM® Environmental Intelligence Suite for reliable weather data that could accurately forecast temperature, humidity and moisture patterns. Early warnings of weather conditions conducive to fungal growth could for example help farmers take timely and proactive measures like using fungicides, adjusting irrigation schedules and harvesting crops at optimal times. Advanced weather forecasting systems would also detect extreme weather events, such as droughts or floods, which weaken the plant and increase the risk of fungal growth. With IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite, dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health could stay ahead of the weather and ensure agricultural commodities were protected and safe.
Researchers at dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health used IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite to transform their mycotoxin management strategy. They leveraged the advanced analytics, geospatial analytics and global weather data through API services to develop a series of tools to combat the mycotoxin threat. These tools now enable real-time mycotoxin contamination prediction and prevention.
The mycotoxin prediction models forecast mycotoxin levels in upcoming harvests by analyzing weather conditions during critical growing stages and their impact on mycotoxin development. Sophisticated algorithms combine multiple factors influencing mycotoxin development, including the biochemistry of mycotoxin production, fungal type and life cycle stage, crop type and growth stage, global mycotoxin occurrence data and hourly global weather data. The algorithm considers the relationship between weather conditions during different growing stages and their impact on mycotoxin development in wheat and corn—crops where the impact of weather on mycotoxins is significant and well-established. The mycotoxin prediction models make use of actual hourly weather data—as well as accurate weather forecasts for up to 8 months—from 61,000 different points around the globe, thanks to the IBM® Environmental Intelligence Suite.
dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health also offers a comprehensive mycotoxin detection service and periodic regular reports for customers called the dsm-firmenich World Mycotoxin Survey which analyzes the occurrence of mycotoxins in crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans all over the world to provide valuable insights into the prevalence and levels of mycotoxins in different regions and commodities. The survey's findings are used to inform and refine prediction models. They also support the development of effective mycotoxin mitigation strategies such as the use of mycotoxin binders or enzymatic biotransformation, depending on what might be the best course of action.
dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health has a long-standing R&D legacy in mycotoxin research, which has led to the development of industry-standard mycotoxin detection and mitigation strategies. The company has significantly advanced the knowledge of mycotoxin occurrence and toxicity and improved its analytical methods. This has enabled feed producers to make informed decisions on mycotoxin risk management to ultimately produce safe and high-quality feed.
Beyond providing regional mycotoxin risk predictions weighted by corn and wheat production, the company's approach also considered individual farm factors, such as weather, crop type, location, development timing, soil tillage, previous crops and others. This was done after thorough validation of actual survey results to then provide farmers and growers with tailored predictions for individual fields, so they can make data-driven decisions. For example, farmers can now make informed decisions about whether to conduct earlier testing or additional testing for yield from high-risk areas. If contamination is confirmed, they can consider earlier harvesting to ensure that the contamination in the yield is within the regulatory limits to minimize associated risks and ensure compliance.
The reliable weather data and geospatial analysis capabilities from the IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite enabled dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health and its partners to pinpoint high-risk areas and target monitoring and mitigation efforts. They are now also able to predict the kinds of mycotoxins that certain areas and individual farms are prone to and recommend mitigation strategies tailored to the threat. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that mycotoxins impact 25% of the world's crops annually, resulting in the loss of approximately 1 billion metric tons of food and food products each year1. Additionally, the cost of mycotoxin contamination for the European Union was estimated to be between EUR 1.2 billion and EUR 3 billion per year2. With accurate and location-specific forecasts, farmers and growers can reduce crop losses by a significant amount, resulting in cost savings for the agricultural industry. Additionally, the method also promotes sustainable farming practices by reducing chemical intervention, minimizing environmental impact and supporting a more sustainable, food-secure future. Finally, with the mycotoxin prediction service, dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health can support its partners exclusively to make the right decisions and supply safe feed to animal growers.
1Data sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0041010123002131#cebib00102.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408398.2019.1658570
2Data sources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00655-z#MOESM3
https://www.dairyglobal.net/specials/professor-rudolf-krska-challenges-need-to-be-faced-with-cutting-edge-research/
As innovators in nutrition, health, and beauty industry, dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health (link resides outside of ibm.com) reinvents, manufactures and combines vital nutrients, flavors and fragrances for the world’s growing population to thrive. With their comprehensive range of solutions that use natural and renewable ingredients and renowned science and technology capabilities, the company works to create what is essential for life, desirable for consumers and more sustainable for the planet. dsm-firmenich is a Swiss-Dutch company, listed on the Euronext Amsterdam, with operations in almost 60 countries and revenues of more than EUR 12 billion. With a diverse, worldwide team of nearly 30,000 employees, dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health brings progress to life every day, everywhere, for billions of people.
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