24h in the R&D laboratory for Animal Nutrition in CMI Roullier

With two artificial rumens and two digesters, the “nutritional efficiency” laboratory opened during the summer of 2016 is responsible for testing different formulations in controlled conditions. At the centre of innovation in Animal Nutrition with Dr Anca Lucia Laza Knoerr, R&D centre, and her team.

8:30 AM – Final preparations

Like every week, the team has been working to implement the trial of the day in the “nutritional efficiency” laboratory at the CMI Roullier in St Malo. While waiting for the delivery of the fresh rumen juices from the first cow stomach, mandatory for the effective operation of the two artificial rumens, Anca takes stock with her teams.

10 AM – Trial launch

The juices arrive as expected. The team puts them to react with the different preparations to be tested. “Everyone knows what they have to do; the rumen juice is a fresh and fragile product, so everything must be ready for its arrival”, Anca emphasises. “We all prepare the device carefully the day before.  Furthermore, to be able to analyse the influence of a food formulation on the efficiency of nutrition, we must perform the same tests several times and we must be prepared to make the best use of the two artificial rumens.”

11 AM – Examining new requests

Anca and her team are in a phone meeting with an Animal Nutrition Product Manager, about a new formulation to test. “We are organised as service providers for the Group’s subsidiaries. We deal with each request as if it were from a client for whom we would carry out a project as a partner”. "On each project, I appoint a referent, who is the unique point of contact on the programme,” the manager explains.

2 PM– Supporting the increase

After her lunch break, Anca goes into a meeting with another member of her team to review the test protocols of the two new artificial digesters intended for the study of the digestion of monogastric species, i.e. those with one stomach, pork and poultry in particular. At 3pm, back to the office to study some job applications received that morning. Two CVs stand out for her. Tomorrow she will show them to the rest of the team.

4 PM – First samples

It has already been 6 hours since the first fermentation trials were launched. Anca goes to see her team to check the results. “We measure the quantities of fibers digested in particular. It is a major criterion for farmers. It determines part of the digestion yield by the cow and so the potential economic gain for the breeder,” says Anca. At the same time, the rumens are connected and release the volumes of gas produced in real time, live via WiFi on the central computer of the main artificial rumen. It is also a very important indicator to measure the environmental impact of a formula via the emission of greenhouse gases. 5 p.m. Anca dives into a synthesis of the results of a campaign of trials that her team has just finished.