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Feed

Based in Hamburg, our traditional wholesale feed business sells and distributes certified organic feed for animals of all sizes in Germany and beyond. Take a look at our product range for the feed trade.

Our selection of feeds

Rapeseed expeller / rape cake
Dry pellets
Sugar chips in pellet form
Molasses
Lucerne
Organic cane sugar molasses
Organic sugarbeet molasses
Organic feed sugar
Futterzucker

What is feed?

Feed refers to all processed and unprocessed food products used for keeping animals. This applies to agricultural animal husbandry, domestic pets, animal keeping in zoos as well as for sports. To ensure optimal nutrition for animals, depending on the species and how they are kept, feed varies in terms of ingredients and their function. For reasons of animal welfare, feed – just like food intended for human consumption – is subject to strict rules that are monitored by official and internal monitoring and inspection systems.

The most common form of feed, which is also primarily associated with the feed industry, is feed for livestock. These types of feed account for the vast majority of the feed trade. Livestock animals on German farms alone consume 73 million tonnes of feed per year (measured in grain units). Feed is assessed and categorised according to feed tables based on their ingredients. By following a corresponding feed plan, livestock keepers regulate the quantities of feed necessary based on the nutrients required. A rough distinction is made between individual feeds and mixed feeds, which consist of ten or more individual feeds on average.

© dusanpetkovic/iStock.com

About organic feeds available from ATCO

August Töpfer & Co. has been supplying the food and non-food sector since 1912 and has established itself as a comprehensive and reliable provider of high-quality feed. This also goes for our product range in wholesale feed in Germany. Our range includes certified and verified feed products for animals of all sizes in agricultural, business or domestic contexts. We distribute high-quality feed in Germany from the import and export market, and offer liquid and dried feed products as well as products produced in line with the best organic standard and with SGS certification.

Our feed product range

Liquid feed

Our product range in the feed trade encompasses healthy and carefully constituted liquid feed products based on sugarbeet molasses. We sell liquid mixed feed for dairy farms and bull fattening under the MilcMelpro brand. The ingredients used in our feeds demonstrably promote the health of animals and reduce medical costs. Thanks to their verified and balanced nutritional content, our liquid feed products also optimise the rationing of animal feed and lower feed costs. If you are interested in buying our feed products, they are available both loose and in IBCs/containers.

Organic cane sugar molasses

Our organic products made from cane sugar/sugarcane molasses are used predominantly in the feed industry as a pelleting aid and binding agent. Moreover, they are an ingredient of lick stones and mineral feeds and are highly nutritional, flavoursome feed components. Organic cane sugar molasses is a by-product created during the production of organic cane sugar and is distinguished by its syrupy, dark-brown to black quality. Besides its high overall sugar content, it contains other types of sugar such as sucrose, glucose and fructose as well as essential trace elements, minerals and amino acids. Our organic cane sugar molasses is a popular nutritional supplement and is also used in the production of fertilisers and in the propagation of yeast and effective microorganisms.

Organic sugarbeet chips

Our organic sugarbeet chips are a high-quality individual feed and are created as a by-product in the production of organic beet sugar. They primarily serve as effective sources of crude fibre and energy for the feed industry. Cleaned and cut into strips, the sugarbeet is mixed into a “mash” in 70 °C water. It its raw state, this is called wet pulp and can also be used as feed without further processing. The next processing stage is pressed pulp, in which the dry matter is increased by pressing out the water. After further drying and evaporating steps, dried chips are produced with a dry matter content of 88 to 90 percent which are then pelletised and granulated for distribution on the market. Unlike other countries, beet chips in Germany and Austria are mixed with molasses in order to control the sugar content and nutritional value. A distinction is made between non-molassed, lightly molassed and highly molassed dry pellets. The sugar content amounts to 8-10, 11-14 and 16-22 percent respectively.

Dry pellets

Dry pellets are made by drying, evaporating and pressing sugarbeet chips. Most sugarbeet chips are processed into dry pellets. This is mainly done by preserving fresh sugarbeet chips in evaporator stations. Gentle drying keeps the fibre structure intact, allowing the dried chips to be pelletised in a firm, non-brittle manner. Dry pellets are valuable as feed and have an excellent shelf life as well as fluidity. They can be easily ground or combined with individual feed as mixed feed.

Dried sugarbeet chips are especially good as feed for dairy cows and beef cattle, since their fibre content made from cellulose, hemicellulose and pectins are easily digestible sources of energy for ruminants. Dried chips are likewise beneficial as feed for pigs, since their swelling properties support the digestion of pregnant sows and prevent fatty degeneration. Mixed with molasses, dry pellets are also an additional source of energy for non-ruminant animals and a popular feed for horses.

Feed – statutory regulations

Feed in Germany is subject to strict controls and statutory regulations, just like food for human consumption. The Food and Feed Code as well as the Feed Regulation serve as regulatory frameworks in Germany, and as an instrument for implementing current EU regulations and directives. The controls and checks are carried out by authorities as well as through internal control mechanisms and bodies. The aim of the legal provisions is to ensure the supply of high-quality feed that ensures the health of animals and people, and to create national and international standards for feed companies and the feed industry. According to EU Regulation 178/2002, feed is defined as “substances or products, including additives, which are intended for oral animal feeding in processed, partially processed or unprocessed form.”

Categorisation of feed products

The law differentiates between individual and mixed feeds in accordance with Art. 3 (2g) and (2h) of EU Regulation 767/2009.

Individual feeds

Individual feeds have a plant or animal-based origin. In their natural state, fresh and rendered durable or in their industrially processed state, they are intended to cover the nutritional requirements of livestock and pets. This applies to both feed with and without feed additives. The following variants are considered individual feeds:

  • Farm-produced feeds: Animal feeds made from the farm’s own produce, such as grass and maize silage, hay, CCM, grain maize and cereals.
  • By-products from food production: By-products created in the production of food, such as brans, low-grade flours from flour mills, oil meals and cakes from oil mills, maize gluten, dried chips, whey products and spent grains.
  • Minerals and trace elements: Relevant and beneficial additives such as calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, phosphorous, magnesium or vitamin D.

Mixed feeds

According to EU Regulation 767/2009, mixed feeds are considered feeds comprising at least two individual feeds, both with and without feed additives. They can be used as a main feed or supplementary feed. The following examples belong to the category of mixed feeds.

  • Complete feeds: These cover the nutritional requirements of animals to the greatest extent possible, depending on the species and how they are kept. They are predominantly used as feed for poultry (laying hens and broilers), pigs and pets.
  • Supplementary feeds: These are intended as supplements for a balanced diet and are used for laying hens and as mineral feed for pigs, for example. In particular, they complement individual feeds in nutrition. Supplementary feeds are especially important in the case of the pasturage of cattle and all-year grass feeding in stalls.
  • Special feeds: These feeds have specific functions, for example as dietary feed to support kidney or heart function. Other special feeds include organic feeds and supplementary protein concentrates with high amounts of crude protein and minerals.
  • Additives: These guarantee a complete supply of nutrients by supplementing amino acids, minerals, trace elements and vitamins.

Types of feed

Feeds are classified according to the following three categories:

1.
Ingredients: The main ingredients used in the German feed industry are: protein, green feed, oil, starch and other subsequent products such as brans, sileage, pomace, beet chips and molasses.

2.
Function: Depending on their intended application, a distinction is made between complete feed, individual feed, supplementary feed, mixed feed and special feed. Furthermore, additives fulfil the function of balanced and optimal nutrition, such as with amino acids, minerals and vitamins.

3.
Properties: The properties of feed are primarily assessed externally. A differentiation is made between green feed, molasses feed, pellets, roughage, coarse fodder and seed fodder.

Our feed is certified:

Analysis of feeds

Feeds are tested and checked according to the results of feed analysis. Various analysis methods are used to determine the nutritional value or the content of harmful substances and to assess or adjust the feed accordingly. A common analysis method is called “Weend feed analysis”. Here, the dry matter is examined for ingredients such as organic matter, crude fibre, crude fat, crude protein, crude water, nitrogen-free extractives and pure dry matter. In order to investigate the structural or non-structural carbohydrates in addition to the dry mass, supplementary “van Soest fibre analysis” is conducted. Near-infrared spectroscopy is used to determine the protein, fat, crude fibre and moisture content. The aim of this analysis and the statutory regulations is to ensure the presence of a beneficial amount of nutrients in feed and prevent the inclusion of harmful substances.

Your contact persons

Joachim Karstens

Email: joachim.karstens@atco.de
Telephone: +49 40 30376237

Oliver Brehm

Email: oliver.brehm@atco.de
Telephone: +49 40 32003 368

Manfred Winter

Email: manfred.winter@atco.de
Telephone: +49 30376231

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    August Töpfer & Co. (GmbH & Co.) KG
    Raboisen 58
    20095 Hamburg

    Tel: +49 (0)40 3 20 03-0
    Email: contact@atco.de