source: Farm and Food Report
A new study funded by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Agriculture Development Fund confirms that alfalfa dehydration plants can cut back on their use of ethoxyquin by as much as 30 per cent and still maintain acceptable levels of Vitamin A in pellets.
Ethoxyquin is an antioxidant that is applied in the pelleting process and prevents vitamin A oxidation during storage months.
Dale Pulkinen is a researcher with Kapt Al Services Ltd., the agency that conducted the study.
“Typically, 150 parts per million (ppm) of ethoxyquin have been applied in the past to maintain the old 125,000 Internal Units Per Pound (IUPP) export standard for Vitamin A,” Pulkinen says. “With the new 50,000 IUPP, we wanted to make sure we could reduce ethoxyquin application rates without affecting the quantity of Vitamin A that is lost during storage.”
Usually, there is a loss of 4,000 to 5,000 IUPP of Vitamin A per month during storage periods, depending on conditions.
“If we provide a buffer of 20,000 IUPP, we can still maintain acceptable Vitamin A levels for four to five months. Keep in mind that depletion occurs only during summer months, as the cold of winter prevents most Vitamin A losses.”
In concrete terms, this means producers can let their alfalfa dry in the fields a little longer before they have to resort to artificial dehydration, which will allow production facilities to save substantially on natural gas and ethoxyquin application costs.
“Pellet production costs can be brought down as a result,” explains Pulkinen. “We can plan for 70,000 IUPP of Vitamin A and still allow 20,000 IUPP to be lost in storage, while meeting the 50,000 IUPP of the Japanese market. It means we can save up to 30 cents a tonne on ethoxyquin alone, plus substantially more on natural gas. It may not seem like much, but when you multiply that by our 120,000 tonne annual production in Saskatchewan, it translates into savings of $36,000 just there.”
When these are added to savings on natural gas for dehydration, the picture becomes significantly more attractive, which is good news for the dehy sector.
For more information, contact:
Dale Pulkinen
Kapt Al Services Ltd.
(306) 873-4760
A new study funded by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Agriculture Development Fund confirms that alfalfa dehydration plants can cut back on their use of ethoxyquin by as much as 30 per cent and still maintain acceptable levels of Vitamin A in pellets.
Ethoxyquin is an antioxidant that is applied in the pelleting process and prevents vitamin A oxidation during storage months.
Dale Pulkinen is a researcher with Kapt Al Services Ltd., the agency that conducted the study.
“Typically, 150 parts per million (ppm) of ethoxyquin have been applied in the past to maintain the old 125,000 Internal Units Per Pound (IUPP) export standard for Vitamin A,” Pulkinen says. “With the new 50,000 IUPP, we wanted to make sure we could reduce ethoxyquin application rates without affecting the quantity of Vitamin A that is lost during storage.”
Usually, there is a loss of 4,000 to 5,000 IUPP of Vitamin A per month during storage periods, depending on conditions.
“If we provide a buffer of 20,000 IUPP, we can still maintain acceptable Vitamin A levels for four to five months. Keep in mind that depletion occurs only during summer months, as the cold of winter prevents most Vitamin A losses.”
In concrete terms, this means producers can let their alfalfa dry in the fields a little longer before they have to resort to artificial dehydration, which will allow production facilities to save substantially on natural gas and ethoxyquin application costs.
“Pellet production costs can be brought down as a result,” explains Pulkinen. “We can plan for 70,000 IUPP of Vitamin A and still allow 20,000 IUPP to be lost in storage, while meeting the 50,000 IUPP of the Japanese market. It means we can save up to 30 cents a tonne on ethoxyquin alone, plus substantially more on natural gas. It may not seem like much, but when you multiply that by our 120,000 tonne annual production in Saskatchewan, it translates into savings of $36,000 just there.”
When these are added to savings on natural gas for dehydration, the picture becomes significantly more attractive, which is good news for the dehy sector.
For more information, contact:
Dale Pulkinen
Kapt Al Services Ltd.
(306) 873-4760
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