ForFarmers makes extensive use of co-products, residual flows from, for example, the food industry which we then process into animal feed. Raw materials that are not suitable for human consumption are often suitable for animal feed. In this way, we are able, via livestock, to upgrade these raw materials to high-quality protein. And we can make maximum use of raw materials that are already being processed for human consumption. Many people are not yet familiar with the major role played by livestock farming in this upgrading of residual flows, which fits perfectly into ‘closed loop’ agriculture. For example, FAO has indicated that globally 86% of materials fed to livestock are non-human edible.
Some of the residual flows we process come from the food industry. For example, whey from milk processing, biscuits, chocolate and bread that ends up as a by-product, or parts of grain that remain after the production of beer. By using raw materials in a circular manner, we contribute to reducing the CO₂ footprint.
In addition to using co-products from the food industry, we also process residual flows from the sugar processing and starch processing industry, arable farming, and also the energy industry (biofuel).