Regional Climate Partnerships
Sustainable soya from Europe for Europe
Due to its high protein content, soya cake is widely used as animal feed – and it can be produced regionally! Soya cake is an optimal feed for laying hens because of its fat and protein ratio. Soya cake is also used as feed for cattle, breeding sows and in pig fattening.
In a regional climate partnership, farmers produce their soya locally. They deliver it to an oil mill in the region or jointly operate a toasting plant. The soya products also remain in the regional value chain: they are used on the farmers’ own farms or by other farms for their laying hens or in pig fattening.
The Austrian laying hen sector is a prime example of a regional circular economy: Only Donau Soja feed is used for eggs sold in Austrian food retailers, 57% of the beans fed come from Austrian fields and are roasted or toasted regionally (as of 2019).
Especially the production of soya cake is a good example of a holistic utilization of the soybean, as well as the closed small-scale regional cycle. The process takes a maximum of 40 minutes and is considered energy efficient.
Small-scale regional soya value chain. Soya is produced regionally, processed on site, and fed as toasted soybean or soya cake in the region.
Best Practice Examples
MH Agrarhandel (Styria, Austria)
Due to a worldwide shortage in the supply of non-GM soymeal, the founders of MH Agrarhandel decided to use regional soybeans to feed their laying hens since 2012.
The soybeans are heated in their own toasting facility and then pressed. The soybean cake contains 45% crude protein and about 11% fat. The fed chickens and pigs have excellent performances with the help of this feed. About two thirds of the processed product come from conventional farming and one third from organic farming. About 90% of the customers are laying hen farmers and about 10% are pig farmers. The conventional soya to be processed comes from a 30 km radius, the organic soya from a 250 km radius.
Großschedl Ltd. (Styria, Austria)
The Großschedl family processes Donau Soja soybeans from about 80 farmers in the region. The processed beans are exclusively Donau Soja-certified. The beans are cleaned, peeled, crushed, extruded and pressed. The products are soybean oil and soybean cake, with the soybean cake containing up to 48% crude protein and 7-10% fat. The processed products are used for laying hen, pullet production and pig fattening.
Towards Regional Climate Partnerships with Donau Soja
Regional Climate Partners set out together to build a new proximity: regional cultivation, local mills and toasting facilities at the farm. Certified, non-GM, with a quality label. So that we can rely on the quality with certainty. Good for us in Europe. And also good for the Amazon.
