Dr. Manfred Pietsch
Head of the Business Unit Animal Nutrition at JRS
Welcome to this interview with Dr. Manfred Pietsch, the head of the business unit Animal Nutrition at JRS, a global leader in functional additives for animal nutrition. With over 30 years of experience in the animal feed industry, Dr. Pietsch has extensive knowledge and expertise in developing innovative solutions for animal nutrition.
JRS has been providing natural and sustainable solutions for the animal feed industry for over 140 years. Their focus on research and development has allowed them to create high-quality and effective products that are trusted by customers around the world.
As the head of the Animal Nutrition business unit at JRS, Dr. Pietsch has been instrumental in developing innovative products and solutions that address the unique needs of the animal feed industry. In this interview, he will share his insights on the latest trends and challenges in animal nutrition and how JRS is addressing them with their cutting-edge solutions.
Let’s dive in and learn more about Dr. Manfred Pietsch and JRS Animal Nutrition.
- Can you tell us about JRS and its history in the animal feed industry?
JRS is a company with 14 business units. All business units are in natural organic fibers. We are almost in all applications market leader. We have around 4000 employees around the glow.
The business unit animal nutrition was a spin off from the business unit food in 2002. Means we have been celebrating 20 years anniversary last year.
- What are the latest trends and challenges in animal nutrition that you are seeing in the industry?
The challenges in our industry are the high raw material prices such as wheat and soy bean meal. However, we see this high raw material prices as a motivation for us to make the poultry nutrition with the help of our additive more efficient and help the customer to safe money.
- How is JRS addressing these trends and challenges with its innovative products and solutions?
We could show on University level that the functional, insoluble fiber ARBOCEL can significant safe protein as it improves the availability of the same. At the American University of Lebanon we could demonstrate that the essential amino acids are around 7 % better available. Rama Rao from Hyderabad used 0,7 % ARBOCEL and could take out 2,6 % of soy bean meal without and negative impact on the performance.
- Can you tell us about some of JRS’s most successful products in the animal nutrition sector and how they have helped customers achieve their goals?
Actually ARBOCEL is our mst successful product. It improves the intestinal health in all poultry species and in consequence in combination with the better protein availability it improves the performance. In a restricted fed animal like a broiler breeder the ARBOCEL promotes satiation with positive effects on flock uniformity, weight control and feather pecking/ cannibalism.
- Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the animal feed industry. How is JRS incorporating sustainability into its products and operations?
Our product is made of spruce tree. According to the German law we have to plant a new tree for each tree we cut. In conclusion by law we have to go the sustainability way.
- JRS has a strong focus on research and development. Can you tell us about any exciting projects or initiatives that JRS is currently working on in the animal nutrition sector?
We are sponsoring trails around the world on University level. Our main focus is poultry. In a recent layer trial at the La Trobe University in Australia we discovered that the ARBOCEL can stimulate the immune system. Have seen more T and B Lymphocytes as well as more payers patches. We want to understand this better and looking for more research in this direction
- What do you see as the future of the animal feed industry, and how is JRS positioned to lead in this space?
The future is antibiotic free. In Germany we have a lot of experience on antibiotic free growth promotion and promotion of intestinal health. We have shown that we can improve the intestinal health with our natural product ARBOCEL. We have been running lots of trials on this approach. In a trial on University level in Poland we could see a significant reduction of e coli and clostridia and at the same time we have seen more lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in ileum and caecum. Our aim is to bring this knowledge to India and let the Indian feed industry benefit from that
- What advice do you have for professionals who are just starting their careers in animal nutrition?
You should identify your strength. If you are more communicative you should go in sales (additives or feed) and if you are more technical you should work in a feed mill and do the feed formulations.
- Lastly, can you share with us something that most people may not know about JRS or yourself?
The Rettenmaier family has a lot of passion for animal nutrition. They still keep some layers and other farm animals on hobby level as well as dogs and cats.