Cargill''s animal nutrition business has developed a new programme to help manage the risk of Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) on its shrimp farms and improve profitability.
Cargill said that the SmartShield™ programme is a holistic approach combining specialised feed and technical services proven to combat the disease and increase production by an average of 30%.
"Disease is one of the major causes of low farm productivity and loss of revenue," said Ryan Lane, global aquaculture technology director. "Our experience has shown us that targeting only one aspect of production is not enough. A holistic approach – improved biosecurity, a specialised feeding program and customised technical services for ongoing disease prevention and management – is best for effectively reducing disease outbreaks on the farm."
EMS, technically known as Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND), is caused by certain strains of the bacteria Vibrio and has caused devastating production losses in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico. Outbreaks have caused mortality rates as high as 100%.
The new SmartShield™ programme comprises of on-farm risk assessment to include biosecurity and farm management recommendations, targeted feed solutions with advanced nutrition to boost shrimp immunity and a specialised technical support package including diagnostics in water quality and disease.
This programme is the result of two years of research at Cargill's Global Animal Nutrition Innovation Center in Minnesota, USA.
Field trials conducted with key customers in Mexico proved that the SmartShield™ programme can provide customers with a 59% higher production yield.
