Kanalle lähitoukkaa
Keywords:
Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, insect production, protein, self-sufficiencyAbstract
The need for animal-derived additional protein from one's own farm or nearby areas is significant due to the increased prices, usage restrictions, and availability difficulties of fishmeal and organic soybeans commonly used in poultry and pig feed. These challenges are particularly significant in organic production. Currently, insects cannot be certified as organic, but legislation enabling certification is being prepared. In addition to protein self-sufficiency, insect production can also improve fertilizer self-sufficiency, as the by-product of production, known as frass, is a first-rate fertilizer. Research indicates that the larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) are excellent for poultry feed. For example, the growth of young chickens can be improved by adding 3–10% Hermetia to their feed. In laying hens, soybeans have been entirely replaced by black soldier fly protein and fat, and in broiler feed, fishmeal has been replaced with black soldier fly up to 15% without compromising consumption and growth. Feed containing insects provides health benefits to animals. The abundant lauric acid in the black soldier fly's fat reduces enterobacteria in the intestine, such as coliform bacteria. Chitin and its breakdown products improve gut microbiota. The black soldier fly also contains bacteria-killing peptides, and its proteins and chitin enhance the animals' natural immune system. In experimental infections, a 3–10% insect addition has reduced morbidity and mortality. The immune-boosting and morbidity-reducing effect of insect feed may decrease the need for antibiotics and reduce the risk of developing new antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains in connection with livestock production. In organic production, where animals spend part of their time outdoors and antibiotics are not used, strengthening disease resistance is particularly necessary. The goal of the "Farm maggot for chicken" project is to improve protein self-sufficiency, security of supply, and resilience to crises on poultry and pig farms by replacing imported protein with insect protein. The project produces and pilots a farm-scale, scalable, and generalizable operational model for insect larvae and their protein concentrate production. The operational model includes information on equipment and methods for producing black soldier fly protein and generalizable calculation tools for preparing farm-specific profitability calculations for insect production. The project utilizes the farm's own vegetable by-products as feed for the larvae. Preliminary results indicate that the by-product of grain sorting is suitable as feed for Hermetia larvae. The project tests the best way to compose the growing mass, as the structure of the growing substrate is crucial for optimizing larval growth. The "Farm maggot for chicken" project is funded by the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland 2014–2020 as the European Innovation Partnerships -project (EIP). It is implemented by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Jamk University of Applied Sciences, and Kaistin Tila Oy.
