There is increasing concern around the sustainability of the UK poultry feed supply chain, with a growing industry trend of moving away from soy as well as enhancing overall bird health & welfare. Insects have been demonstrated to be an excellent nutritional alternative, and are already a natural part of free-range poultry diets in the UK today. But insects cannot be cheaply and safely produced, stored and distributed as a commercial feed using existing engineering solutions and logistics infrastructure. Entomics' innovation enables insects to become a nutritious, sustainable feed ingredient for the UK poultry market, using a smart, modular insect production system. Overall, the project will expedite and de-risk system development, bringing it closer to commercial readiness whilst consolidating Entomics' position as an engineering leader in a global insect industry growing at 102.5% CAGR.

PROJECT TITLE: Improving the availability of UK sourced protein feed through new faba bean varieties, production and utilisation systems Summary: The shortfall in sustainable protein produced in the UK and the EU creates an opportunity to evaluate and improve an established crop with previously untapped potential. The high protein content and acceptability of faba beans by some, but not all, of the feed industry offers the opportunity of market expansion for home produced legumes through advanced feeding trials. Faba beans are self sufficient in nitrogen and leave residual N for following crops, so contributing to environmental sustainability. However, the yield potential, and thus protein yield, of faba beans is seldom maximised. This project will establish the effects of advanced agronomy on faba bean output, and address the issue of yield stability by genetic selection and improved breeding processes to generate new varieties of faba bean optimised for feed markets