The hatchery and nursery stages are the most critical phases in the production of salmonids, a family of ray-finned fish species that includes salmon, trout and char. During this early life stage, fish undergo rapid physiological development, including maturation of the digestive and immune systems and musculoskeletal development. Early nutrition also helps establish the foundation for long-term growth, feed efficiency, performance and health.
To help producers meet these needs, ADM has developed NURSal, a specialized nursery feed for salmonids that combines advanced manufacturing technology with a nutrient-dense formulation designed to support digestibility, palatability, nutrient retention and uniform feeding during early development. NURSal is the latest example of ADM’s focus on advanced nutrition, applying specialized formulation science and advanced manufacturing to deliver high-performance, functional products. By supporting digestibility, nutrient retention, and early gut resilience, NURSal helps producers translate advanced nutritional science into measurable production outcomes.
Young salmonids have an incompletely developed digestive system and limited enzymatic capacity, making highly digestible nutrition particularly important. NURSal is designed to deliver high-quality nutrients while protecting nutritional integrity. It is manufactured using cold micro-extrusion followed by marumerization, and precision sieving.
During cold micro-extrusion, feed is processed at temperatures below 70°C to help minimize protein denaturation and preserve heat-sensitive nutrients, while marumerization produces highly spherical pellets with a smooth, sealed surface that supports water stability and reduces nutrient leaching. Precision sieving further ensures consistent particle size, which is an important consideration for fast-growing salmonids, where uniform feed intake can contribute to more consistent growth across the population.
NURSal is formulated with high-quality marine proteins and fats and provides 52-55% protein, along with essential fatty acids, including omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), DHA and EPA. The combination of nutrient density, digestibility, attractability and physical pellet quality supports efficient nutritional intake during the critical early feeding period.
ADM’s research demonstrates the performance potential of NURSal. During a 90-day feeding trial in France, triploid rainbow trout were fed NURSal or one of two commercially available starter feeds. After 84 days, fish receiving NURSal reached an average body weight of 25.0 grams, compared with 21.4 grams for the micro-extruded competitor and 18.7 grams for the crumble feed – representing 17% and 33% higher final weights, respectively. Fish fed NURSal also reached the 25.0-gram target approximately seven days earlier, while maintaining a feed conversion ratio of 0.66.
