Cargill has launched new technology that will save breeders time-consuming work and costs. SalmoNIR makes it possible to make important decisions about the production in the cages at a much earlier time than with traditional methods.
SalmoNIR is a handheld scanner designed to analyze samples for fat and color of live salmon. The scanner provides immediate answers to the condition of the cages and can thus form the basis for decisions of great importance for fish health and finances.
Cargill has spent two years developing and testing the equipment, and has scanned several thousand fish to validate the results. The conclusion is that SalmoNIR has a measurement accuracy in line with chemical analyzes.
– Chemical analyzes are expensive and time consuming, and it also requires the farmer to kill the fish to get the results. With SalmoNIR, you eliminate fish harvesting for samples and laboratory testing which leads to tremendous savings. In addition, you do not have to wait days or weeks to get the analysis results back. The scan takes a few seconds, and the data is available to the customer at the moment the measurements are performed. The fish can also be released back into the facility, says category manager Ketil Christensen.
Lowering the threshold
Many breeders refuse to take extensive samples for chemical analyzes because it is time consuming, and if the data base is not large enough, the results may be inaccurate.
“The work effort required can prevent many samples from being taken to get reliable results. The people at the facility have time to carry out the operation and they lose the fish they harvest. Lab results often take up to three weeks for the results to be released which does not give the farm enough time to adjust their feeding. With SalmoNIR, you can take out and measure a large number of fish in a fraction of the time you spend on chemical analyzes. Then you also lower the threshold for good follow-up in the field considerably” Christensen says.
Rolling out the technology
The results from the measurements are collected in a cloud solution and connected with other data about the fish in the current generation. This makes it easy to keep track of the fish’s health, how it grows, the environment it lives in, and its quality. Cargill has conducted extensive tests on a customer who scanned 6-700 fish in one day with very good results. It provides a good basis for decision-making to assess whether it is necessary to do something to perfect the feeding or introduce other measures.
“We know that we have a product that works, and the customer is satisfied. In the start-up phase, it is important to succeed with every customer. Therefore, we start with a few, before we roll out the technology fully” Christensen says.
Knowledge
Support and pricing of SalmoNIR is independent of whether the customer buys feed from Cargill or not.
“We are not only a feed supplier, but also a knowledgeable supplier who can be a partner in more than nutrition. We have great faith in the product and know that it will save fish farmers time and costs, contribute to better fish welfare and be a tool for making good and profitable decisions” says Ketil Christensen.