SBIR Phase II: Scalable insect farming for agriculture

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是一个新兴产业的基础：农业昆虫。Beta Hatch是新型动物饲料原料生产的先驱，开发大规模生产昆虫的技术，并创造STEM工作岗位。拟议的工作将使昆虫成为一种可持续的富含蛋白质的饲料成分。有了可预测的全年产量，这将有助于建立一个更加稳健和安全的农业系统。贝塔哈奇昆虫牧场将通过整合该项目的成果来设计，是一个将有机副产品转化为有价值的饲料成分和肥料的现场解决方案。这些牧场被设计为未充分利用的空间（仓库和家禽饲养场）的改造，为农村和中心地带地区带来就业机会。我们与我们的主要客户农民密切合作，以建立我们产品的性能和经济价值。昆虫提供营养，使动物更健康。我们的草（昆虫粪便）是一种有机肥料，可以促进土壤健康，不含硝酸盐（没有径流）。拟议的工作将使我们能够将昆虫作为世界？美国最可持续的动物饲料原料，并扰乱4000亿美元的动物饲料市场。该SBIR第二期项目旨在为农业市场提供具有成本效益的昆虫生产规模。在现存的数百万种昆虫中，只有少数在可控条件下被成功饲养，大批量生产的昆虫就更少了。然而，昆虫有潜力通过生物降解废物、清除或回收毒素以及为动物提供营养，在农业供应链中发挥重要作用。为了满足农业市场对规模、质量和成本的要求，大量的研发必须解决昆虫大规模生产的一些核心挑战。我们建议将生物和工程方法结合起来，开发新的产卵基质，识别和减轻死亡原因，设计自动化和灵活的饲料处理系统，优化饲养托盘（生产的基本单位），并通过自动化水和饲料输送实现产量最大化。这项拟议的工作将削减我们80%以上的成本，产生多项专利，并为可扩展的昆虫牧场设施的设计提供信息。作为动物饮食的天然组成部分，昆虫是一种可预测的富含蛋白质的替代饲料成分，全年产量可控。在该项目的第一阶段，我们建立了昆虫育种计划，探索了新型无机饲料，并确定了蚧虫作为饲料的核心生产挑战。对于NSF SBIR二期项目，我们将开发降低生产成本和控制未来设施成本的解决方案。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project are foundations for an emerging industry: insects in agriculture. Beta Hatch is pioneering the production of new animal feed ingredients, developing technology to mass produce insects, and creating STEM jobs. The proposed work will allow scaling insects as a sustainable protein-rich feed ingredient. With predictable year-round production, this will contribute to a more robust and secure agricultural system. The Beta Hatch insect ranch, which will be designed through integration of the results from this project, is an on-site solution to convert organic by- products into valuable feed ingredients and fertilizer. These ranches are being designed as conversions of underutilized spaces (warehouses and poultry barns), to bring jobs to rural and HUBZone areas. We work closely with farmers, our main customers, to establish the performance and economic value of our products. Insects provide nutrition and make animals healthier. Our frass (insect manure), is an organic fertilizer that stimulates healthy soils, and has no nitrates (no runoff). The proposed work will allow us to establish insects as the world?s most sustainable animal feed ingredient, and to disrupt the $400B animal feed market. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to cost effectively scale insect production for agricultural markets. Of the millions of insect species that exist, only a handful have been successfully reared under controlled conditions and even fewer have been mass produced. And yet insects have the potential to fill essential roles in agricultural supply chains by biodegrading wastes, removing or recycling toxins, and providing nutrition for animals. In order to meet the scale, quality and cost requirements for agricultural markets, significant R&D must solve some core challenges in insect mass production. We propose to integrate biological and engineering approaches to develop novel oviposition substrates, identify and mitigate causes of mortality, design automated and flexible diet handling systems, optimize rearing trays (the basic unit of production), and maximize yields with automated water and diet delivery. The proposed work will cut over 80% of our costs, produce several patents, and inform the design of a scalable insect ranching facility. As a natural part of animal diets, insects are a predictable protein-rich alternative feed ingredient, with year-round controlled production. In Phase 1 of this project, we established an insect breeding program, explored novel inorganic diets, and identified the core production challenges for scaling insects-as-feed. For this NSF SBIR Phase 2 project, we develop solutions that will reduce the cost of production and control the cost of future facilities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.