February 23, 2023
ADM's Martin Kropp: Leveraging scale for sustainability
ADM endeavors to become a potent catalyst of sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Tethered to this ambition are two driving factors: an extensive portfolio of science-backed nutrition solutions and vertical integration within the supply chain.
At last year's EuroTier show in Germany, Martin Kropp, president of ADM Animal Nutrition (Europe, Middle East and Africa), shares with eFeedLink about how the company is scaling up its sustainability efforts.
He reflects on ADM's legacy that boasts "decades of optimising animal health and well-being." In this course of time, solutions have been made for livestock in the poultry, swine, ruminant and aquaculture segments, and customised based on "the needs of each species in various regions, seasons and life stages."
Martin Kropp, president of ADM Animal Nutrition (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
"Our XTRACT feed additive is an innovative combination of micro-encapsulated active substances found in aromatic plants and spices with demonstrated physiological effects on livestock," Kropp introduces one product.
He also lists other products: CitriStim (for livestock) and AquaTrax (for aquaculture), both of which "leverage a novel yeast, Pichia guilliermondii, to support enhanced animal robustness."
The issues that livestock productions face today — sustainability, feed cost management and reduction of antibiotic use — present challenges, to which ADM's "vast animal nutrition portfolio is optimised" to address, Kropp says.
"Our innovative, science-backed solutions are upheld by our global priorities of optimising animal efficiency, enhancing animal resilience and supporting environmental sustainability throughout the food chain, from feed to fork," he states.
The XTRACT feed additives, for instance, can not only improve feed conversion ratio and carcass yield and breast weight in poultry birds but also enhance efficiencies in raw material use, thus helping farmers to "produce more with less," which may support environmental efforts.
Kropp adds: "Our nutrition solutions help producers achieve cost optimisation while solving global nutrition challenges to meet protein demand growth."
Many companies, One ADM
Taking a leading position in the feed additives market requires a combined expertise of valuable assets. Sometimes, gaining such assets comes by acquiring companies with beneficial and sui generis resources and tools.
In that context, ADM's subsidiaries enable R&D and market research to be "shared across" the corporation, Kropp notes.
One turning point for ADM in its recent history was its acquisition of French animal nutrition company Neovia.
"In the past, our involvement in the animal nutrition industry was driven by products like lysine, as it is related to corn processing," Kropp says. "With Neovia, we are now present in animal nutrition markets all over the globe."
"ADM leverages the expertise of all its subsidiaries, whether that's Protexin or Deerland," Kropp adds. By doing so, the corporation and its subsidiaries work in synergy as ‘One ADM.'"
"With our international scope, we are able to test and adapt animal nutrition solutions to meet the needs of specific regions," Kropp says. "Additionally, our premix range is a growing business around the world. Our premix solutions have expanded in Eastern Canada, China, Philippines and Nigeria."
A strong position of influence in sustainable agriculture
An extensive market reach accentuates the importance of corporations like ADM to drive the progress of sustainable agriculture with innovative solutions.
And like other reputed organisations, ADM commits to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals "in alignment with our business objectives," Kropp highlights. Furthermore, it has established three strategic pillars pivotal to its mission: food security, health and well-being for both humans and animals, and sustainability.
"The number one topic in our industry is sustainability, and the issue is two-fold," he says. "First of all, consumers want traceability and transparency on what they eat. Additionally, it is legislation that is playing a significant role in sustainability in Europe, and the whole industry has to manage this (change)."
Secondly, having a major stake in stewarding a sustainable world means vertical integration within value chains, from the farm to the dinner table, and this is the case for ADM.
"We are present in North America and South America, both major producers of soybean meal and corn," Kropp reveals. "As we are part of the supply chain, we can trace (raw materials) and have certain control of production."
Being a part of the supply chain "at every step" is ADM's "differentiating factor in the marketplace," and would be key to its development "in the next decade to come," Kropp says.
"We have the opportunity to influence the supply chain in a way by which values inputted for that final kilo of meat could be different in terms of environmental impact."
The corporation is also now focusing on tools like life cycle assessments (LCAs).
"[Concerning LCAs], we have created a broiler performance product, the whole methodology of which is certified, verified and validated by a third party," Kropp says.
He adds that a retailer "might need to sell meat with information of its source and carbon footprint." To access this information, "the product needs to go through an LCA, beginning from the farm that produces the soybeans up to slaughterhouse, then to the meatpacker, the butcher, then finally, the dinner table," he explains.
By utilising LCAs, ADM gains insights to factors that affect the carbon footprint of food production. This information can guide where to target improvements.
The corporation also created a programme, known as Strive 35, in which ADM aims to meet the goals of reducing "absolute" greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, energy use by 15% and water use by 10% — as well as achieving a 90% landfill diversion rate —"all by 2035," Kropp points out.
"When you talk about sustainability, you have to generate more ideas, gain more advantage over the competition, as well as achieve cost and feed efficiency," Kropp remarks. He reminds that such initiatives are crucial given the rising prices of raw materials and grains.
"Sustainability is related to cost too. By being deeply vertically integrated into the value chain, you can enjoy a better advantage over the competition in terms of absorbing additional costs," Kropp says.
Being a major player in modern agriculture calls for ADM to "play an important role in bringing food and feed to places of need," he affirms. "Our network has access to areas where there's a surplus, and, hence, it is our responsibility to connect areas of surplus with areas of deficiency."
Kropp reiterates that sustainability is a strategic component for ADM and, from this angle, becomes a guiding force for most of the corporation's activities.
"This is a commitment, that as a company, we are going to do something for good," Kropp says.
"Every business unit at ADM— including ADM Animal Nutrition — is contributing to our overarching strategic pillars."
- Terry Tan and Nicholas Yong, eFeedLink
