Integrated Human Practice
Overview
Our team adopted various ways, such as literature investigation, online questionnaire, street survey, and interviews
with stakeholders and experts to do the research and collect information. After these human practices, we learned
deeper about our topic and we could push our project moving forward to closely meet the need of the real world.
Graph 1. Overview map of our Integrated Human Practice
Background Research
Dry lab and wet lab got together for discussion
Our pr-investigation mainly focuses on biological additive technology, feed, and market trend. For this purpose, we
did a literature investigation, and also watched some related videos to learn more about feed additive, et al. We
had several team meetings for sharing information with each other to ensure each member at the same page.
Survey
Online Questionnaire
Graph 2. The QR code of the online questionnaire we sent out
We adopted an online survey by spreading a questionnaire to learn about the husbandry industry and market trends.
There were more than 750 completed questionnaires collected and we analyzed the statistic in several aspects,
especially the public trend and consciousness of digestive function in husbandry.
Below are some survey results we would like to highlight from which we could learn about how is the market and what the public thinks.
Below are some survey results we would like to highlight from which we could learn about how is the market and what the public thinks.
Fig 1. The cross-analysis result of the questions: "what is your identity" and "what channels do you go
through to learn “Feed”
We classified our respondents as individual pet owners, farmers, feed dealers, and no relevant. From Figure 1 above,
for those stakeholders who work with feed, like farmers and feed dealers, they learn about feed mainly from business
regards, like recommendations by production companies or friends. But generally, people acquire information about
feed mainly from the internet.
Therefore, we could adjust our commercial publicity strategy accordingly when our target consumer changes. For those individual pet owners, we could focus on online promotion; while with regards to those farmers or feed dealers, maybe we need direct outreach to them and our priority on marketing promotion will be to accumulate the brand influences.
Therefore, we could adjust our commercial publicity strategy accordingly when our target consumer changes. For those individual pet owners, we could focus on online promotion; while with regards to those farmers or feed dealers, maybe we need direct outreach to them and our priority on marketing promotion will be to accumulate the brand influences.
Fig 2. The cross-analysis result of the questions: "what is your identity" and "Have you encountered the pet
indigestion issue?”
As shown in Figure 2, more than half of farmers or feed dealers vote for the choice "often" or even "always". It
indicates that the indigestion issue of livestock is still commonly seen in the farm industry. Even for those
individual pet owners, there is still a majority who have been troubled by pets’ indigestion problems. Our project
aims to develop an additive of feed to help pets or livestock to digest well, thus this survey result could prove
that our project is responsible for the real issue in the world.
Fig 3. The result of the question: "will you buy the feed or feed additive which will help with the pet’s or
livestock’s digestion?”
The result above confirmed the need for the feed or feed additive which could help deal with the indigestion issue.
We can see that most people are still willing to try new if the product meets their needs. These valid statistics
enable us to do a correct forecast in the market and indicate a promising future for our proposed products.
Field Trip
Our group also did a street interview in Shanghai Lanling Flower and Bird Market. Inside the market, there are many
feed stores and pet stores.
Our team took a deep tour inside the market and interviewed some store owners regarding the feed pricing, feed ingredient et al. The information they provided us helped to complete our business plan and implementation strategy. We also interviewed a vet who works inside the market and we had a conversation about ruminants and the indigestion issue.
We considered this trip as a close communication with our potential consumers and other stakeholders. After this trip, we have more insights about feeds and the additives market.
Our team took a deep tour inside the market and interviewed some store owners regarding the feed pricing, feed ingredient et al. The information they provided us helped to complete our business plan and implementation strategy. We also interviewed a vet who works inside the market and we had a conversation about ruminants and the indigestion issue.
We considered this trip as a close communication with our potential consumers and other stakeholders. After this trip, we have more insights about feeds and the additives market.
Graph 3. We interviewed several feed stores
Graph 4. We interviewed some pet stores
Interview with Stakeholders
Virtual Tour in Qianjin Animal Husbandry (http://qjmyjt.com/)
Graph 5-8. Screenshots of the virtual tour in Qianjin Animal Husbandry breeding base
On July 23rd, we virtually visited Qianjin Animal Husbandry. Director Wang Fang and director Wang
Haizhong of Qianjin Animal Husbandry breeding base not only showed us around the ranch through the camera and
friendly took our interview.On July 23rd, we virtually visited Qianjin Animal Husbandry. Director Wang Fang and
director Wang Haizhong of Qianjin Animal Husbandry breeding base not only showed us around the ranch through the
camera and friendly took our interview.
Through the camera, we visited the milking hall but also saw cows of different ages and their resting dairy sheds and feed. According to the introduction of director Wang Fang, we learned that there are 50000 cows and 5000 beef cattle in the Qianjin ranch and a cow spends a total of 85-90 yuan a day on feed. The feed structure includes 25 kg silage, 3.5 kg alfalfa hay, 12 kg concentrate feed additives, and 2-3 kg sugar beet granules. Of course, they also regularly arrange for cows to eat grass in the pasture. The feed weight of the whole ranch is as high as 10-100 tons a day!
Director Wang Fang said that cattle are picky about food, so the feed needs to be selected and tested before it can be put into storage, so as to prevent the digestion problems of cattle and sheep. However, the problem of indigestion still exists. There is indeed a certain expenditure on treatment every year, but there are no specific statistics.
As for feed additives, director Wang Fang said that in addition to supplementing lysine and methionine for nutritional balance, the main additives purchased by the ranch will also buy fatty acids, yeast additives that help digestion, and other additives with special needs, which will also cost a lot every year. As for purchase options, the director said that he would choose some products with lower prices on the basis of better results. Of course, the ranch has a special purchasing department, which will be responsible for doing market research in advance, and then choosing to purchase.
We introduced the feed additive we are developing to solve the indigestion of cattle and sheep to Director Wang Fang and asked her whether she would consider buying it as a customer. She said that if it's just a digestive aid, it may not be attractive. It's best to further improve the gastrointestinal environment of cattle, so as to improve the digestive ability of cattle from a more fundamental point of view. We will consider whether we can add some other substances to the formula of additives, which can improve the gastrointestinal environment of cattle, that is, as the optimization direction of product functionality. Director Wang also agrees with us.
Through the camera, we visited the milking hall but also saw cows of different ages and their resting dairy sheds and feed. According to the introduction of director Wang Fang, we learned that there are 50000 cows and 5000 beef cattle in the Qianjin ranch and a cow spends a total of 85-90 yuan a day on feed. The feed structure includes 25 kg silage, 3.5 kg alfalfa hay, 12 kg concentrate feed additives, and 2-3 kg sugar beet granules. Of course, they also regularly arrange for cows to eat grass in the pasture. The feed weight of the whole ranch is as high as 10-100 tons a day!
Director Wang Fang said that cattle are picky about food, so the feed needs to be selected and tested before it can be put into storage, so as to prevent the digestion problems of cattle and sheep. However, the problem of indigestion still exists. There is indeed a certain expenditure on treatment every year, but there are no specific statistics.
As for feed additives, director Wang Fang said that in addition to supplementing lysine and methionine for nutritional balance, the main additives purchased by the ranch will also buy fatty acids, yeast additives that help digestion, and other additives with special needs, which will also cost a lot every year. As for purchase options, the director said that he would choose some products with lower prices on the basis of better results. Of course, the ranch has a special purchasing department, which will be responsible for doing market research in advance, and then choosing to purchase.
We introduced the feed additive we are developing to solve the indigestion of cattle and sheep to Director Wang Fang and asked her whether she would consider buying it as a customer. She said that if it's just a digestive aid, it may not be attractive. It's best to further improve the gastrointestinal environment of cattle, so as to improve the digestive ability of cattle from a more fundamental point of view. We will consider whether we can add some other substances to the formula of additives, which can improve the gastrointestinal environment of cattle, that is, as the optimization direction of product functionality. Director Wang also agrees with us.
Interview with Experts
Interview with Professor Han
Graph 9. Interview with Prof. Han
On July 21st, our team consulted Professor Han, Ph.D. of the University of Lübeck, Germany, an expert in
synthetic biology.
First of all, we have some concerns about the form of xylanase in the feed. Since what we will produce in the laboratory is the liquid enzyme solution, but if we want to add this into the feed it might be not much appropriate. Regarding this question, Prof. Han suggested that we make xylanase into powder or spray to be used as feed additives, which are easy to store and transport. When we use it, we could easily add it into the feed and mix it up. Therefore, we decide to learn about freeze-drying technology which could be applied in our implementation plan in the future. Prof. Han pointed out that the application prospect of xylanase is very broad, and its efficiency in promoting digestion and absorption is at the top level, especially for ruminants. He added that the cost for our products shall be very affordable since we will utilize the engineered organism to produce enzymes which cost not very much in production. If we successfully develop our final product and bring them into the real world, its prospects in China are very good. The professor encouraged us to continue the research and dig into this topic deeper.
First of all, we have some concerns about the form of xylanase in the feed. Since what we will produce in the laboratory is the liquid enzyme solution, but if we want to add this into the feed it might be not much appropriate. Regarding this question, Prof. Han suggested that we make xylanase into powder or spray to be used as feed additives, which are easy to store and transport. When we use it, we could easily add it into the feed and mix it up. Therefore, we decide to learn about freeze-drying technology which could be applied in our implementation plan in the future. Prof. Han pointed out that the application prospect of xylanase is very broad, and its efficiency in promoting digestion and absorption is at the top level, especially for ruminants. He added that the cost for our products shall be very affordable since we will utilize the engineered organism to produce enzymes which cost not very much in production. If we successfully develop our final product and bring them into the real world, its prospects in China are very good. The professor encouraged us to continue the research and dig into this topic deeper.
Interview with Mr. Fan
Graph 10. Interview with Mr. Fan
In order to have a deeper understanding of feed and livestock, on July 22nd, we had an online interview
with Mr.
Fan, a master of Clinical Veterinary Medicine at Agricultural University School of Veterinary Medicine.
During this pleasant online meeting and communication with Mr. Fan, we consulted many questions related to their work about the feed market situation, prospects, and product implementation. He not only pointed out the problem of our product direction, but also made us understand the market environment in more detail, and gave feasible suggestions for future product positioning.
In terms of market, Mr. Fan pointed out that the current market share of cereal feed and silage is 80% - 90% and 10% - 20% respectively. In the whole Chinese market, only large-scale feeding plants can produce silage for the nutritional needs of their cattle and sheep. He also said that in a farm with 2000 cows, the annual cost of treating livestock digestive tract diseases is more than 10000. However, there are a wide variety of additives on the market at present, including additives to improve ruminant digestion. It shows that the cereal feed and silage targeted by the enzymes produced by our engineering bacteria do account for a large proportion of the feed market, and the demand for "digestible feed" also exists, but we still need to improve some competitiveness in order to let our products occupy a place.
For our initial idea of making a mixed upgraded feed product, Mr. Fan raised two questions: 1. Cereal feed is a dry material, silage is a wet material, and it is difficult to store and transport dry and wet materials together. 2. Silage is added with probiotics or enzymes, but its activity will be greatly reduced during transportation. Therefore, the professor suggested that our products be sub-packed in the form of powder and then mixed in production. In addition, Mr. Fan also provided another way of thinking. He said that although the market share of grain feed is high, it is far from the nutritional value of silage, and using grain as feed (also known as concentrate) is more likely to cause problems such as delayed anterior stomachs of cattle and sheep. So Mr. Fan also suggested that we can only add engineering bacteria directly to silage, which can be sealed and packaged so that our feed can be enriched and digested with the help of probiotics.
In terms of commodity cost pricing, Mr. Fan said that the material cost of making enzymes in engineering bacteria is very low, mainly due to the high cost of transportation and manufacturing machinery. If our products are to be competitive, the cost of pricing these two products should not be too high. So instead of making "upgraded feed", we choose to use it as a feed additive to save costs.
Finally, Mr. Fan also shared that there are three main factors that hinder the development of the feed Market: 1. market economic fluctuations, 2. digestive diseases caused by wrong feed proportioning, and 3. aflatoxin poisoning caused by moldy feed. Then, we analyzed the current market situation at home and abroad. In foreign countries, especially in Europe and America, the demand for beef is far greater than that in China. It is common for an enterprise to have tens of thousands of domestic animals, and the industrial chain has basically taken shape. In China, it is a large enterprise with 10000 heads, a relatively mature industrial chain has not been formed, and the management, feeding, and cleaning are not up to standard. The best feed ratio for raising livestock is the mixture of concentrate (grain crop wheat) and roughage (Platycodon grandiflorum forage) in the ratio of 3:7. For domestic retail investors, the main expenditure is to buy concentrate, and they have no contact with silage. Therefore, retail investors have a small demand for grain feed or mixed feed, while large enterprises generally cooperate directly with feed companies to form an industrial chain.
Based on this market, we have more thoughts on the future product sales channels. We can consider the main mode of direct cooperation with the company, but retail investors may also choose some small package product specifications.
During this pleasant online meeting and communication with Mr. Fan, we consulted many questions related to their work about the feed market situation, prospects, and product implementation. He not only pointed out the problem of our product direction, but also made us understand the market environment in more detail, and gave feasible suggestions for future product positioning.
In terms of market, Mr. Fan pointed out that the current market share of cereal feed and silage is 80% - 90% and 10% - 20% respectively. In the whole Chinese market, only large-scale feeding plants can produce silage for the nutritional needs of their cattle and sheep. He also said that in a farm with 2000 cows, the annual cost of treating livestock digestive tract diseases is more than 10000. However, there are a wide variety of additives on the market at present, including additives to improve ruminant digestion. It shows that the cereal feed and silage targeted by the enzymes produced by our engineering bacteria do account for a large proportion of the feed market, and the demand for "digestible feed" also exists, but we still need to improve some competitiveness in order to let our products occupy a place.
For our initial idea of making a mixed upgraded feed product, Mr. Fan raised two questions: 1. Cereal feed is a dry material, silage is a wet material, and it is difficult to store and transport dry and wet materials together. 2. Silage is added with probiotics or enzymes, but its activity will be greatly reduced during transportation. Therefore, the professor suggested that our products be sub-packed in the form of powder and then mixed in production. In addition, Mr. Fan also provided another way of thinking. He said that although the market share of grain feed is high, it is far from the nutritional value of silage, and using grain as feed (also known as concentrate) is more likely to cause problems such as delayed anterior stomachs of cattle and sheep. So Mr. Fan also suggested that we can only add engineering bacteria directly to silage, which can be sealed and packaged so that our feed can be enriched and digested with the help of probiotics.
In terms of commodity cost pricing, Mr. Fan said that the material cost of making enzymes in engineering bacteria is very low, mainly due to the high cost of transportation and manufacturing machinery. If our products are to be competitive, the cost of pricing these two products should not be too high. So instead of making "upgraded feed", we choose to use it as a feed additive to save costs.
Finally, Mr. Fan also shared that there are three main factors that hinder the development of the feed Market: 1. market economic fluctuations, 2. digestive diseases caused by wrong feed proportioning, and 3. aflatoxin poisoning caused by moldy feed. Then, we analyzed the current market situation at home and abroad. In foreign countries, especially in Europe and America, the demand for beef is far greater than that in China. It is common for an enterprise to have tens of thousands of domestic animals, and the industrial chain has basically taken shape. In China, it is a large enterprise with 10000 heads, a relatively mature industrial chain has not been formed, and the management, feeding, and cleaning are not up to standard. The best feed ratio for raising livestock is the mixture of concentrate (grain crop wheat) and roughage (Platycodon grandiflorum forage) in the ratio of 3:7. For domestic retail investors, the main expenditure is to buy concentrate, and they have no contact with silage. Therefore, retail investors have a small demand for grain feed or mixed feed, while large enterprises generally cooperate directly with feed companies to form an industrial chain.
Based on this market, we have more thoughts on the future product sales channels. We can consider the main mode of direct cooperation with the company, but retail investors may also choose some small package product specifications.