North East Scotland based animal feed manufacturer and specialists in animal nutrition, Norvite, is leading the way in sustainable feed alternatives as new legislation surrounding soya looms nearer.

The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) gave the following summary of the two acts, both of which affect a number of imported commodities including coffee, timber, beef and soya:

• EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) Businesses must undertake due diligence and evidence traceability for non-deforested product for sale on the EU market. (Due to come into force on 30 December 2024.)
• UK Forest Risk Commodity Regulation (UKFRC) Businesses must submit an annual compliance report for relevant products, such as soya. (Predicted to come into force February 2025)

The most significant impact on agriculture is likely to be caused to the soya supply chain due to the industry's reliance on soya as a dominant protein source. Most recent official statistics (AHDB) report that 882,000 metric tonnes were used by the feed sector in Great Britain between July 2023 and March 2024.

Norvite produces an innovative, sustainable alternative to soya, NEOpro, which is an energy and protein-rich livestock feed made only from locally-sourced and cold-pressed oilseed rape.

Norvite's NEOS crushing plant, one of the largest in the UK, utilises locally grown seed to produce both NEOpro – the protein fraction - and NEOflo – an extremely high-quality oil produced to human food grade for use in animal feed. The cold pressing process of oil produces no residues or waste.

Most notably, when compared to soya NEOpro is higher in bypass protein and over 15 per cent higher in energy, as well as being sustainably produced at Norvite's NEOS plant in Aberdeenshire.  

Edward Smith, Norvite's Managing Director, said:

"This impending legislation will be a concern for anyone who currently relies on soya. We are all very aware that importing soybean and palm oil is unsustainable and potentially unethical and so we are proud to be providing a Scottish-grown alternative for livestock farmers.

"Not only that, but we increased our sustainable credentials several years ago when we commissioned a solar array covering the entire roof of the NEOS plant, saving at least 44 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

"We know that our NEOS products (particularly NEOpro and NEOflo) can provide full nutrition and sustainability-based reassurance to farmers who choose to do the right thing by working with us and following our strategy of Feeding Better, Feeding Less."