Chr. Hansen Sponsors Symposium on Forage Conservation

Sharing of knowledge and exchange of experiences are the key words on the 12th International Symposium on Forage Conservation which takes place in the Czech Republic in April 2006. Chr. Hansen is the main sponsor of the event and participates with a high profile speaker.

When the 12th International Symposium on Forage Conservation takes place in BRNO, Czech Republic, April 3 - 5 2006, Chr. Hansen will both sponsor the event and have a speaker on the rostrum.

"Ensilage is the biggest fermentation in the world. By sponsoring this symposium, Chr. Hansen aims to support the organizers to attract the best experts worldwide so they can share knowledge and exchange experiences on the development of silage production and management," says Dr. David Seale, Chr. Hansen's silage expert.

The symposium will present scientific knowledge from the spheres of forage and silage production, including silage fermentation, technology of forage conservation, silage feeding and the nutritional benefits of silage.

"Chr. Hansen's silage inoculants play a more and more important role in modern silage management due to their beneficial effect on nutrient preservation. By using lactic acid bacteria the nutritive value of silages can be effectively safe-guarded and the economics of milk production improved. Updates on the achievements of silage science are therefore of key interest to all stakeholders interested in the nutrition of dairy cows," says Dr. Seale.

Chr. Hansen has a speaker on the rostrum

Apart from being a sponsor of the event, Chr. Hansen also has a speaker on the rostrum - Dr. Fergal Patrick Rattray - who will speak about Chr. Hansens High-Through-Put Laboratory, which is a powerful research tool when selecting the most effective and efficient lactic cultures for use as silage additives.

In many of the experimental tasks performed today at Chr. Hansen, including screening for new silage cultures, very large sample numbers are encountered. Clearly, traditional manual screening approaches are inadequate for the evaluation of such large sample numbers, and therefore automation and High-Through-Put screening are required.

High-Through-Put Laboratory

"Chr. Hansen's High-Through-Put laboratory constitutes a unique system whereby new silage cultures can be isolated, identified and characterized. This can be performed with a high sample throughput, low cost per sample and high degree of reproducibility by exploiting the flexibility and power of robotics. By using such a high performance tool the development of new products can be substantially accelerated," explains Dr. Rattray.