From Soil to Society: Nutrients for Health

Devenish Lunchtime Symposium

Tuesday 31 October 2017

World Dairy Summit 2017

From Soil to Society: Nutrients for HealthWith a growing world population to reach 9 billion people by 2050, sustainable food production is very important. As such, the Devenish strategy, ‘One Health, From Soil to Society’, focuses on the importance of optimising nutrient utilisation in soil, plant, animal, environmental and human health, as key and interlinked components of the value chain.

The value chain begins with soil and all levels in the chain must be sustainable. The Devenish 3-step Soil Improvement Programme, delivered in partnership with Thompson & Joseph, optimises nutrient availability from soil, to grow more forage and higher quality forage. The key nutrients in the soil are then passed to the animal, via feed, which ultimately impacts positively on animal and consumer health.

Turning to food nutrients and using the example of omega-3’s, only 20% of the world’s population is adequately supplied. These essential fats help to maintain normal heart, brain and vision function and must be provided by diet. People with adequate levels of omega-3 are 50% less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

Food nutrients promote good health and prevent ill health. Prevention is always better than cure, allowing scarce resources to be applied to healthcare when ill health occurs. A marriage of agriculture and health therefore seems logical.

The farmer is central to delivering health promoting nutrients in food products, produced directly from the soil, for example fruit, vegetables, grass and grain, through to milk and meat products, right through to society that is the consumer.

We must improve soil, plant, animal, human and environmental health, to develop sustainable operating models for the future of farming, food production and consumer health. This session looks at work being done, both by Devenish and externally in a joined up approach, rather than considering the elements individually.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank the speakers and Chair for taking the time to participate in this symposium.

Session Chair:Professor Nigel Scollan

Nigel Scollan is Director of The Institute for Global Food Security and Professor of Animal Science at Queens University, Belfast. The Institute addresses key challenges around (1) Farms of the Future: developing paradigm shifts in agricultural practices to enhance profitability and sustainability without compromising biodiversity and ecological function; (2) Global Food Integrity: use of state-of-the-art approaches (analytical, molecular, computational) to improve the safety of global food supply chains and prevent fraud and (3) Nutritional challenges of the twenty-first century: better understanding of how human diet impacts a range of health outcomes and development of intervention strategies to maximise wellbeing.

Professor Scollan conducted his PhD at The University of Edinburgh, followed by a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada before joining Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth in 1993 and subsequently Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) Aberystwyth University in 2008. He held a numbers of posts at IBERS including Waitrose Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Professor of Public Engagement with Science at Aberystwyth University, group leader Animal Systems and Director of Enterprise.

Professor Scollan’s research is primarily related to designing improved systems for ruminant livestock, through the use of improved nutrition and genetics to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of the production systems. Improving nutritional quality is an important aspect of the research. Professor Scollan works closely with producers and other key stakeholders across value chains.

Nigel is a Past President of the British Society of Animal Science and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society in the UK and a Director of the Oxford Farming Conference.

One Health: An Overview Paper presented by Professor Alan Reilly

The concept of One Health recognises that the health of people is intrinsically connected to the health of animals and that of the environment. One Health is about the realisation that what happens in one segment of the food production chain can influence outcomes in another part. For instance, increasing levels of production of food of animal origin can lead to negative impacts on the environment if measures are not taken to reduce the pollution potential of animal manures.

Anaerobically digesting pig slurry and composting of chicken litter are established techniques for improving the fertilizer value, leading to enhancing soil flora and structure, and more productive soils. Aerobically composting slurry using a biological additive, Digest-it®, has been proven to reduce the biological oxygen demand and improve the fertiliser nutrient value of the slurry, resulting in higher grass yields.

Intensive production of pork and poultry has led to increased risks of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria transmitted via the food chain. Sourcing and developing alternatives to antibiotics is currently a major research focus worldwide. Improving the nutritional quality of animal feeds, selecting for disease resistant traits and improving on-farm biosecurity all result in healthier animals and reduced reliance on antimicrobials. Improving nutritional quality of animal feeds has also led to the availability of nutritionally enriched foods for human consumption. The use of omega-3 enriched feeds in poultry production has resulted in the availability of naturally enriched omega-3 chicken and consequential benefits for human health.

Within the context of One Health, the food and feed sectors must meet exacting standards for safety and quality, animal health and welfare, sustainability and environmental impact. One Health in action requires multidisciplinary, inter-agency, inter-sectoral cooperation at all levels in society, whether working locally, nationally or globally, to achieve the best possible health outcomes for people, animals and the environment.

Professor Alan Reilly worked at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) for sixteen years where he was responsible for setting up and managing this national food regulatory authority. Has was Chief Executive of the Authority from 2008 to 2015. Under his leadership, the FSAI became one of the most successful and effective food safety authorities responsible for inter-agency coordination of Irish national food control programme from production to consumption.

Before joining the FSAI in 1999, he worked in the Food Safety Programme of the World Health Organization in Geneva. He has also worked at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich, UK, and as a visiting associate professor at the College of Fisheries, University of the Philippines. He has worked for over 40 years in a senior capacity the area of food safety and official food control.

A graduate of University College, Dublin and of Brunel University (UK), he is an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin; and also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Dublin Institute of Technology. He is a former member of the Advisory Forum of the European Food Safety Authority and a former Board Member of the Irish National Accreditation Board. He is the chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Food Information Council (EUFIC).

He acts as an adviser to national and international food safety organisations such as the World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the WHO/FAO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN). He is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology of Ireland.

Soil Health and Soil Improvement Plan

“One Health: From Soil to Society”Paper presented by Dr. Morgan Sheehy

In the British Isles, maximising milk production from forage is a key economic driver of dairy cow profitability. Teagasc have shown that increasing grass utilisation by 1 tonne (t) dry matter (DM)/ha increases net farm profitability by €173/ha. On average, Irish dairy farms utilise 7 t DM/ha of grass, whereas the top 10% of producers utilise 16.5 t DM/ha. Only 11% of dairy farms have optimal soil pH, phosphorus, and potassium levels for plant growth.

Another major cause of poor productivity is soil compaction, which is caused by intense rainfall, machinery, pounding by animals, excess slurry application and by mineral imbalances. Up to 70% of British soils are compacted and as a result, crop yields can be reduced by up to 40%. The earthworm is used as an indicator of the soil health status.

Devenish, in conjunction with Thomson and Joseph have launched a 3-step Soil Improvement Plan. The 3-steps are:

• Physical: aerate the soil• Chemical: correct nutrient and mineral balance• Biological: compost the slurry. Trials have shown that a product called Digest-it® has been extremely • effective in reducing ammonia concentration and odours, improving the fertiliser value, improving soil fertility

and has significant environmental benefit.

The 3-step Soil Improvement Plan has yielded 1 to 2t increases in forage DM yield/ha and can play a significant role in improving soil health and animal health.

Step 1 - Physical

Aerate soils spring and autumn to break up surface compaction to:

Step 2 - Chemical

Analyse soils to provide information on:

Step 3 - Biological

Aerobically compost slurry using ‘Digest-it’, a microbial liquid additive to:

Beforeadding Digest-It®

After adding Digest-It®

Soil Improvement Programme

Healthy Soils Healthy Forage Healthy Animals Healthy Environment

Environmental health: from planetary boundaries to planetary bountiesPaper presented by Professor Rogier Schulte @RogierSchulte

Global agriculture, and specifically dairy farming, finds itself at a historic crossroads: while population growth and rising affluence are leading to an increasing demand for food, agriculture is using land, energy and resources at rates that exceed the planetary boundaries and can thus not be sustained indefinitely. In response, we are witnessing multiple genuine initiatives that recognise this challenge, and that aim to reduce the environmental footprint of food. These include initiatives from governments, industry and NGOs, with varying degrees of ambition.

While many of these initiatives have resulted in tangible successes, small and large, global trends in resources usage have proven to be very stubborn, as successes in efficiency are offset by increased volumes. More transformative changes are required if we are to deliver on the many Sustainable Development Goals that refer to agriculture. This transformation requires the design of new future farming systems that meet the five objectives for a range of soils, climates, cultures and local conditions.

However, decision makers (e.g. farmers, policy makers) encounter numerous obstacles to implementation, known as the ‘think-do gap’. Examples include issues relating to land fragmentation, taxation structures, gender inequality or poor local infrastructure. Whilst these obstacles may appear to relate only indirectly to the topic of sustainability, they can lead farmers to conclude, perfectly rationally, that sustainable systems are out of reach within their unique farming contexts. Therefore, there is little point in simply ‘trying to convince the farmers’.

For this reason, we are developing a mosaic of solutions, or customised farming systems for contrasting environments, climates, farmers and cultures, which we refer to as ‘lighthouse farms’. Actual Lighthouse farms are existing farms in the real world that are positive deviants and are “already in 2050” in terms of providing sustainably produced food and ecosystem services. These farms demonstrate what can be achieved within the bio-physical and socio-economic solution spaces. This involves both the agro-ecological-technical redesign of farming systems, and development of trajectories for farmers to bridge the think-do gap between design and implementation.

We are creating a global classroom and laboratory on sustainable food security, by establishing an international network of lighthouse farms. We are carefully selecting a small number of lighthouse farms (on different continents) that are exemplars of specific aspects of sustainable production, and that can serve as real-life experimental farms to advance our scientific understanding of the principles and practices of sustainable production in contrasting environments. Examples of our growing network include:

• Symbiosis in Finland: creating a local circular economy with the ambition to become net exporters of both food and energy

• Syntropic farming in Brazil: regenerative agro-forestry on previously degraded soils in the Amazon region • The Devenish Lands at Dowth in Ireland: linking healthy and sustainable ruminant production on the historic

UNESCO World Heritage site of Dowth, by developing a healthy ecosystem from soil to grass to animal. Led by Devenish, this project has engaged with WUR in the Heartland proposal

Together, these farms represent a positive narrative of ‘planetary bounties’, in which the natural capital is an engine – as opposed to a constraint – for the production of sustainable and healthy food for all.

Prof Rogier Schulte has 20 years of experience translating the science on sustainable food security into advice to policy makers and farmers. He manages the European Horizon 2020 project LANDMARK (LAND Management: Assessment, Research, and Knowledge base), and works with the European Commission and Advisory Services on policies and practices for sustainable land management.

For 20 years, Rogier led the Translational Research on Sustainable Food Production at Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority. He worked closely with ministries and the advisory services to turn sustainability from a constraint into a driver of agricultural growth.

Since February 2017, Rogier leads the Farming Systems Ecology (FSE) group of Wageningen University and Research, focusing on the analysis and design of sustainable farming systems and foodscapes, that deliver multiple benefits to humankind, using natural processes as our building blocks. FSE combines a strong platform of simulation models with hands-on, empirical assessments of outstanding examples of sustainable farms and landscapes in all continents.

Animal Health

“One Health: From Soil to Society”Paper presented by Dr. Morgan Sheehy

Over the last 20 years grass forage mineral balance has deteriorated and is challenging animal health. Grassland in the British Isles has 3 significant challenges for animal health, namely:

Potassium - Grass potassium level has increased by 50% over the last 20 years. At parturition, this elevated Potassium increases the incidence of Cation Anion Balance (CAB) of the cow’s diet and increases the incidence of hypocalcaemia. An amazing 80% of the health challenges a cow faces over her reproductive cycle occur during the parturition period. Hypocalcaemia is often called the ‘gateway disease’ and is a direct health challenge to the cow when her immune system is at its natural low point. Dietary manipulation and the use of anionic feed products offer solutions, but correcting soil and plant nutrition is the first choice in obtaining a solution.

Iron - Iron has increased by 200% in grassland over the last 20 years. Elevated iron in forages depresses the animal’s immune status.

Molybdenum- Molybdenum has increased by 35% over the last 20 years. Molybdenum is a major antagonist to copper in the animal. In some situations, it caused molybdenum toxicity but in many cases causes secondary copper deficiency. Both of these issues are complex and often result in suboptimal cow fertility and animal health.

Increasing awareness and the use of modern science and technologies can minimise the negative impacts of high Potassium, Iron and Molybdenum. Correction of these issues has the potential to improve animal health and welfare, and overall productivity, with obvious financial benefits.

Dr. Morgan Sheehy is the Director of the Ruminant Division at Devenish

Dr. Morgan Sheehy has worked in the animal nutrition industry for over 30 years following his graduation from University College Dublin (UCD). Morgan has a Masters in digestibility of feed ingredients and his PhD is on transition cow nutrition and health; he has worked with Devenish for over 20 years.

Morgan spent time in Saudi Arabia during his degree at UCD, travelling across multiple dairy units, trouble shooting problems and also has considerable experience of the US ruminant industry.

Morgan has been the key note speaker on cow fertility, feeding and managing the transition cow at international conferences across UK, Ireland and USA.

Morgan has introduced a number of innovative products, feeding programmes and management practices to maximise financial returns to all involved and led significant sales growth in the ruminant business both in the UK and Ireland and US markets.

Impact on Human HealthPaper presented by Professor Alice Stanton

Greater consumption of oily fish and elevated plasma levels of long-chain marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3-PUFAs) are both strongly associated with; reduced heart attacks and strokes; greater brain health; improved vision; protection from cancer; improved muscle and joint health; and less diabetes mellitus, in humans.

Despite international guidelines recommending at least 1 serving/week of oily fish, many people do not eat fish at all - worldwide deficiencies are very common. Unfortunately, taking Omega-3-PUFA supplements does not appear to reliably provide the same beneficial protections as eating oily fish.

There are now whole food alternatives to oily fish or to supplementation, namely chicken-meat and eggs naturally enriched with algae-sourced omega-3-PUFAs. The evidence collected to date, that eating omega-3-PUFA-enriched chicken-meat and eggs raises plasma levels of protective omega-3-PUFAs, will be presented, as will the likely impact of such increments on the prevention of heart and brain disease.

Finally, the concept that naturally enriched omega-3-PUFA foods is yet another proof that greater benefits accrue to humans through consumption of a healthy balanced diet, consisting of whole natural foods, rather than the addition of supplements to unbalanced diets, will be discussed.

Professor Alice Stanton is a clinician-scientist.

Qualifications include an honours degree in Medicine (University College Dublin 1984), a first-class honours B.Sc. in Physiology (University College Dublin 1986), a post-graduate diploma in Statistics with distinction (Trinity College, Dublin 1988), and a PhD in Pharmacology (University College Dublin 1993). Clinical training in General Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology was obtained at St Vincent’s University Hospital, St. Lawrence’s Hospital, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Beaumont Hospital (Dublin), Academisch Ziekenhuis (Utrecht), and Hammersmith Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital and Imperial College (London).

She is currently Professor in Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Director of the Intermediate Cycle of the Medical School at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Consultant in Hypertension Medicine at Beaumont and the National Maternity Hospitals, Dublin, Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in Ireland, and Director of Human Health at Devenish.

Particular research interests include; management of resistant hypertension, non-invasive measurement of the vasculature, cardiovascular genetics, personalized medicine and most recently the impact of micronutrients on health and wellbeing.

She is a Member of the International Society of Hypertension, the European Society of Hypertension, the British & Irish Hypertension Society, and the Irish Heart Foundation’s Council on High Blood Pressure. She has authored in excess of 100 peer-reviewed published papers, and has had grants and fellowships from the Health Research Board (Ireland), Enterprise Ireland, Higher Education Authority (Ireland), Irish Heart Foundation, British Heart Foundation, Engineering Physical Science Research Council (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Irish Research Council, and the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme.

Thank you for joining our session:

From Soil to Society: Nutrients for Health

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