Thomas van der Poel is a professor in the subject area of Feed Formulation Sciences within the department of Animal Sciences at Wageningen University. During an 8-week programme consisting of theoretical classes, seminars, practicals and then a company visit, students acquire knowledge about and an insight into raw materials, additives and formulations for animal feed, as well as information about household pets and high-yield animals. The objective of this subject area is to determine, along with industry, the objectives that need to be attained, and for this reason quite a few guest lecturers from the industry are involved, including Adifo.

Recently, Karel Vervaet (BESTMIX development manager at Adifo) gave a guest lecture on the added value provided by formulation software to around 50 animal sciences students, 15 of which from other countries, at Wageningen University.

In addition to dealing with the essential aspects of linear programming for the composition of feed, the lecture dealt with the added value offered by a complete formulation package: links with the factory, how to take account of all production parameters, how to formulate realistic end products and how to draw up appropriate labels that comply with all legal requirements. In addition, the lecture looked at how Multiblend can be used to establish a purchasing position in the short and long term.

Dr. Ir. Thomas van der Poel explains: “Karel Vervaet gave a lively presentation to our students, who found the connection he made between theory and practice to be very instructive. For example, the formulation examples were presented through both an international and practical approach. Specifically, the talk about Multiblend really got everyone’s attention.”

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