DSM-Firmenich, Schothorst partner to advance sustainable feed production

NETHERLANDS – DSM-Firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health has formed a new strategic partnership with Schothorst Feed Research (SFR) to accelerate sustainability in feed formulation and livestock production. 

The collaboration will see SFR integrate DSM-Firmenich’s Sustell™ life cycle assessment (LCA) platform into its customer consultancy services and research trials, giving feed companies and farmers more precise insights into their environmental footprint.

Sustell is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that delivers ISO-certified life cycle assessments using farm-level data. 

It provides what-if scenario modelling, enabling stakeholders across the supply chain to plan and implement effective footprint reduction strategies.

Delivering science-based sustainability solutions

Through the partnership, Schothorst Feed Research will utilise Sustell to address sustainability-related questions and integrate it into ongoing trials, thereby strengthening evidence-based recommendations for clients.

Hans Couwenberg, precision services and sustainability manager at DSM-Firmenich, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Schothorst Feed Research and support their mission to deliver advanced sustainability insights to the feed industry.” 

He added that by integrating Sustell into their advisory and research activities, SFR will be able to help their customers navigate the challenges of feeding the global population within planetary boundaries and identify opportunities for significant environmental improvements.

Echoing this, Wim Beeks, manager of sales & consultancy at SFR, noted: “Using Sustell in our consultancy services and research trials provides valuable insights for our customers and enhances our ability to deliver practical, science-based sustainability solutions. This partnership enables us to offer robust environmental impact assessments and support the industry’s transition to more sustainable practices.”

Expanding partnerships across the value chain

The Schothorst collaboration follows several recent moves by DSM-Firmenich to strengthen its digital sustainability offerings.

In September, the company joined the Milk Sustainability Center (MSC) as a strategic partner alongside John Deere and DeLaval. 

This integration allows dairy farmers to connect Sustell with MSC’s platform, giving them automated, data-driven tools to track and improve sustainability performance.

Dr. David Nickell, Vice President of Sustainability and Business Solutions at DSM-Firmenich ANH, underscored the impact of the alliance: “The partnership between the Milk Sustainability Center and dsm-firmenich makes environmental impact assessment scalable and easier to implement. This will enable value chain partners to track sustainability performance regularly and to understand where and how to make profitable improvements with credible and transparent data and insights.”

The company also partnered with FarmTrace, a global farm connection and analytics platform, to further streamline data collection. The collaboration integrates Sustell with FarmTrace’s infrastructure, reducing reliance on manual inputs and ensuring that sustainability assessments are both efficient and consistent across farms.

“Farmers are being asked to do more than ever, and sustainability shouldn’t add complexity,” said Dr. Nickell. “Through our partnership with FarmTrace, we are enabling end-to-end integration of accurate, real-time farm data into Sustell™, so we can focus on what we do best: translating data into actionable insights that drive environmental improvement.”

FarmTrace CEO Katherine Zambaldi added: “Sustainable food systems need scalable solutions. By linking our data infrastructure with Sustell™, we’re helping unlock value from existing farm technology and enabling sustainability insights without adding administrative burdens.”

Towards a more sustainable livestock sector

With operations across 59 sites worldwide and a portfolio of more than 100 nutritional products and precision services, DSM-Firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health is positioning itself as a central player in the push for more sustainable food systems. 

By combining advanced digital tools like Sustell with partnerships that span research organisations, technology providers, and farming networks, the company is helping the livestock sector reduce its environmental impact while improving efficiency.

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