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With the global population growing by the tens of thousands daily, Irving, Texas-based Darling Ingredients has spent decades searching for economically and ecologically viable ways to provide for the planet’s basic needs of resources.
The roots of the company go all the way back to 1882, when Ira C. Darling set up operations to serve the growing meatpacking industry in Chicago, and over the last century and a quarter, the family-based business has become an international leader in a wide range of ingredients and specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, technical, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries.
Randy Stuewe, Darling Ingredients
CEO
“With operations on five continents, Darling remains focused on finding innovative solutions to the increasing demands for food, feed and fuel from a growing global population,” says Randy Stuewe, Darling Ingredients’ CEO. “We believe sustainability is more than what we produce – it’s the foundation of how we conduct business and serve as stewards of our environment, protecting the food and feed chains, keeping people and animals safe, and benefiting people, businesses and the environment.”
One of the ways it contributes to that goal is through Nature Safe Fertilizers.
Nature Safe dates back 26 years, when it was discovered that a dairy customer in Texas was successfully using the company’s Bi-Pas product, a specialty protein feed ingredient, as a fertilizer to grow organic vegetables.
“This led to the development of the Nature Safe product line, which emphasized soil and plant nutrition and efficient fertility using the same principles our company applied to animal nutrition,” says Rick Geise, Darling Ingredients’ product manager for Nature Safe. “By the end of the 1990s, Nature Safe began to diversify its product offering to multiple markets, recognizing outstanding potential to support growers in many segments.”
Nature Safe’s fertilizer is comprised of the meat by-products from animal-based diets, with the company processing them to reclaim valuable and essential proteins, meals, and bio-nutrients that are used in the formulations, as well as in other food, feed and fuel applications.
“Our organic fertilizer is one of those products, and has successfully answered the specialized needs of its varied markets,” Geise says. “Nature Safe’s ingredients are processed using very low temperatures and applying steam pressure. The process is very similar to cooking a roast in a crockpot. The steam expands the striated fibers of the protein, making the finished product very digestible and extremely predictable.”
He explains the digestibility of an organic fertilizer will determine its release characteristics. Proteins are made up of striated fibers (visualize how your fingers interlock when you clasp your hands together), while digestibility is determined by how these proteins are processed.
The organic fertilizer market has changed over the past 10 years. Stueue notes that originally, Nature Safe targeted the golf course market, partnering with Audubon International to promote the benefits of an environmentally friendly fertilizer for golf courses seeking Audubon certification.
"Over the years, we’ve seen a steady decline in the golf course market and an equally steady increase in the organic ag market,” he says. “Nature Safe now has a complete line of OMRI-Listed offerings for the organic ag market to increase soil health and crop yields, reduce disease, improve quality and raise the farmer’s ROI.”
Looking ahead, Nature Safe will strengthen its presence as it looks to continue being a reliable producer.
“We are opening a new production plant in Turlock, CA, scheduled to begin operations in December 2018,” Stueue says. “We are also experiencing personnel growth and will be adding two new team members before the end of 2018 to further support our customers. We continue to evolve and grow, guided by our commitment to economic and ecological sustainability.”
