Photo: Trouw NutritionComplex datasets hold valuable insights to solve questions for procurement Noud Aldenhoven is trained as a mathematician with a PhD in mathematical physics including a start-up company where he applied artificial intelligence (AI) to help better and faster screening of breast cancer He also worked as a data and AI consultant in the human medicine sector He joined Trouw Nutrition 6 years ago to apply his AI and data expertise in a new field: animal nutrition and livestock farming We sat down with Noud to ask him about the role and why it is important to work closely with animal scientists Having data scientists as part of the work force makes complete sense considering that Trouw Nutrition has many production locations and customers around the world Noud explains: “Being such a global and big company means we have a lot of data including raw material data from procurement nutritional data or recipes used in our feed mills and the field/farm data from our customers But no amount of data extraction solves business problems if you cannot make sense of the information you have gathered That is why companies need business logic to gain actionable insights from their databases that best fit operational requirements I apply business logic to the (often multiple) datasets we have and try to find answers to the questions I get from our internal formulators These questions range from “standard” questions (what is being produced where and sold to whom?) to more advanced questions I have been comparing recipes for nutrient similarity and differences between the formulas resulting in all kinds of interesting patterns on how our products are formulated Animal types and life stages are obvious indicators for similarity and economic market conditions show interesting connections as well These insights help to better understand how our market works and what our market might need in the future.” Fast data insights after vitamin shortage very tangible issue that Noud helped solve was around the sudden shortage of vitamin E and A on the market due to a fire in the supplier’s production facility This emergent issue required fast and detailed insights around which products and recipes we produce As a data scientist I helped to create insights on how much of these vitamins we use and which factories use the most vitamin E and A in their recipes.” Having these data insights allowed Trouw Nutrition to quickly get a solid view on where the biggest bottlenecks in production could occur and hence how to manage the remaining vitamin supplies in the most efficient way Noud explains: “These shortages in micro-nutrients can happen at any moment as well as disruptions in other important feed ingredients due to trade disruptions or bad harvests Data science helps to get the insights needed to make the right decisions Next to optimising internal processes with data science Noud is very much involved in the development of (new) nutritional animal models These models are used by Trouw Nutrition internally but the models are also increasingly used externally (e.g. These models are founded on strong and proven biological information (how animals grow work very well in practice and are the backbone of diet formulation and application Noud: “What excites me is that data science and AI now allow us to increase our suite of models to include predictive models The advanced prediction models are based on machine learning from data to predict animal responses This concept is being applied for better prediction of milk yield in dairy cows which is something that is hard to do with conventional methods which are virtual replicas of animal-farm systems allow for simulations and analysis of the characteristics behind the responses and optimise feeding schedules and shipping plans for pigs A great example is our Watson swine model.” Volume and quality of the datasets are key Noud addresses that AI is of great value in data science but should also be seen as ‘one of the many tools that can be used’ AI successfully complements (not replaces) the proven methods and processes we already use for many years He says: “Before even thinking of using AI it is important to identify the issue you want to solve first and then explore which techniques can be used In the case of the sudden vitamin shortage I was using large data sets and applied business logic to produce insights for quick decision-making Noud learned that AI works well when there is enough data volume and quality (clean data) if you want to use AI to predict pig growth health and finally pig growth (ideally measured in regular intervals) you want data from as many different farms over many different continents and complete datasets are (still) scarce I am afraid Complementing statistics with animal science   it is vital to analyse data with domain knowledge and the best way to gain that is by collaborating with those who collect or generate it Noud therefore regularly visits feed mills and farms to understand why certain things are done data insights might show that we need to change a recipe for a certain location but there might be other factors at play that we need to consider before applying changes,” Noud says global feed companies simply cannot do without data insights anymore “At Trouw Nutrition we already see the added value the data brings to our internal processes and for our clients It is all about better and faster decision-making And as a company we continue to capitalise on the data leading to even more accurate animal models for better farming and nutritional decisions and fine-tuning the processes (or emergency decisions!) around procurement and formulation,” Noud concludes A new wind farm is being built in the Rhenish lignite area the construction site is being set up and road works are beginning RWE is erecting six wind turbines with a total output of 34.2 megawatts (MW) on recultivated areas of the Inden opencast mine in the Düren district The company was awarded the contract for the project by the Federal Network Agency in December last year CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia: “Aldenhoven is another example of how well the energy transition is progressing in the Rhenish lignite area The expansion of renewables has accelerated significantly in recent years the municipality and other local stakeholders for their constructive cooperation This is what has enabled us to start construction so quickly.” The choice of location on recultivated land is not the only special aspect The wind turbines in Aldenhoven will be connected to RWE Power’s transformer substation in the Inden opencast mine and feed the electricity generated into the power grid via the existing infrastructure Once they are commissioned in the summer of 2025 the plants will produce enough green electricity to cover the calculated annual demand of around 24,000 households Images of RWE wind farms in Germany for media use are available in the media centre News | Crime Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice This is the bizarre moment a chef fought off a brazen thief who armed himself with a burger flipper after being caught with his fingers in the till tackled the intruder in a bid to protect his family-run Bloomsbury restaurant from losing the day's takings Mr Aldenhoven spotted an intruder rifling through the cash register at Clive’s Midtown Diner after he shut up shop on January 20 CCTV footage showed the thief casually wander into the American-style restaurant owned by Mr Aldenhoven's 70-year-old father Clive Lucy Letby's 'confession' notes 'were written as part of therapy' The Tower season 3: what to know about the ITV drama Met Police log 1,000 FGM reports over 10 years but only two lead to convictions Sherwood on BBC One review: still as dark and gripping as ever The crook unlocked the till with one hand and helped himself to cash the head chef rushed upstairs from his office to confront the man Video from the restaurant’s security camera showed him leap on the man's back in a bid to recover £180 worth of takings The pair could be seen grappling as Mr Aldenhoven hooks onto the man’s back in a bid to restrain him my family’s money and I wanted to protect that “It’s out of character for me but I descended on him I pinned him down with my arms and then my legs as I tried to dial 999.” Mr Aldenhoven described the terrifying moment his anger turned to fear as the man raided his kitchen He said: “He reached into his pocket and said “Then he broke free from my grip and ran into the kitchen the thief returned brandishing a burger flipper and Mr Aldenhoven The dramatic scene took a bizarre turn when the alleged thief fled into Museum Street and his victim gave chase The pair could be seen wrestling in the road as stunned bystanders looked on Before the chase ended in the pair crashed into a parked moped and continued to battle in the road A Tuk-Tuk driver then attempted to intervene before police arrived Mr Aldenhoven said: “I descended on him again they just thought we knew each other and were fighting but I saw saying who has worked in the capital for 10 years spoke of the rise in crime across London and said he felt “under attack” as soon as he realised the door had not been locked on the night of the incident He added: “The last member of staff had left 10 minutes earlier and I suddenly remembered I’d not locked the door when I glanced at the CCTV and saw him “The first time you forget to lock up and this happens He was also charged with theft in relation to a separate incident He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' on Saturday He will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints