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With poultry being one of the most consumed meats worldwide and a production of 86.3 million tonnes of eggs worldwide, it is clear that poultry products are an important source of protein and nutrition. However, raw or undercooked chicken and eggs can be contaminated with pathogens that cause foodborne diseases, such as Campylobacter and Salmonella.
Many of you run family farm businesses filled with the opportunities, challenges and satisfaction that comes with it. As businesses transition from one generation to the next, the incoming generation is faced with many internal and external expectations to be like or even better than the last generation. This is true on the farm and in the corporate boardroom.
This week I had the chance to meet Dr. Mark Lyons, the CEO of of Alltech, as he was my guest on RealAg Radio at the Alltech ONE Calgary event.
Profitable poultry production depends on many factors and has become more challenging with surging production costs. Some of the pressure has been alleviated by a corresponding rise in egg prices, but with other costs increasing, focusing on the birds’ nutrition and gut health to maximise performance is still paramount.
Host Shaun Haney is joined by a number of guests including motivational speaker Chris Koch as he discusses his journey through life after being born without limbs. We will also hear from the CEO of Alltech, Dr. Mark Lyons, on what Alltech is doing around the world; Dr. Patrick Ward on Alltech’s new acquisition of Agolin; and Laurentia van Rensburg and Bryan Sanderson on sustainability.
The annual Alltech ONE Conference (ONE) has been transformed into a series of exciting international events that will invite collaboration on the greatest challenges facing the agri-food industry. The Alltech ONE World Tour will bring the ideas and inspiration of our ONE conference to communities throughout the world. This means more people than ever will have the opportunity to engage with leading experts on global, regional and local market trends in agriculture, business, health and nutrition.
As cow feed accounts for a quarter of total farm costs, there’s a lot at stake. Beth Gardner takes on one of the most complex factors in optimising feed conversion efficiency — physical ration presentation.
Author: Beth Gardner, InTouch Feeding Specialist for the North of England.
On googling “ration presentation”, the first search result stems from all the way back to 2011 — a time-flying 12 years ago! It’s a Farmers Weekly article and in the first sentence it refers to feed costs being “at an all-time high”.
Sounds familiar, right?
Something else that remains unchanged, is the scientific fact that the rumen requires fibrous dry matter to operate effectively.
So, let’s explore what has changed in the intervening years?
Thanks to technological, mechanical, and biological advancements, we’re generally growing better quality grass — and preserving it better too!
Overall, we have:
As a result, the amount of straw incorporated into diets has increased. It’s not uncommon to see rations with half a kilo of straw per cow per day.
This increase in straw can help to improve cow rumen health and reduce the volume of silage in the diet, meaning silage stocks tend to go further.
That said, with weather changes and weather extremes becoming more common, grass growth remains a challenge. Some of our customers are now growing more maize to mitigate risk.
For some time, many nutritionists and feed specialists had promoted cutting fibrous dry matter (straw, hay and drier silages) to the width of the animal’s muzzle to achieve the all-important “scratch factor” in the rumen.
Nowadays a cow’s requirement for dietary fibre must be assessed not by muzzle width, but rather by both particle size and chemical fibre content. This is known as physically effective neutral detergent fibre (peNDF).
Current research from the University of Wisconsin stipulates that a 5mm particle chop length is required to be a physically effective NPD. Any shorter, and the conversion of input to output will be compromised. Any longer, and intakes are commonly reduced.
This is only one aspect of the balancing act of chop type. Fibre type and consistency are also factored into feed conversion efficiency performance.
In opposition to the concept of “scratch factor” lies compact feeding or compact TMRs. This is a Danish concept that some U.K. dairy farmers have tried from around 6 years ago.
Compact feeding creates a porridge-like pulp that is soft, mushy and near impossible for cows to sort.
It disregards anything to do with fibre structure and rather focusses on the goal of getting intakes in quicker, so that cows have more time to lie down and ruminate.
It seemed to do the job of increasing milk yield on many systems. However, it didn’t come without its drawbacks. Unsurprisingly, it commonly caused acidosis and all the immediate and long-term challenges that come with that condition.
A more common system seen in the U.K. today is “partial compact feeding”, known to be an effective feeding method of reducing sorting behaviour. By pre-soaking concentrates before adding feed and chopping forages, the fibre structure of the forage remains. Rations produced using this process should aim to be around 40-42 DM%.
In summary, feed remains one of our biggest cost pressures, however we’ve improved forage production and now better understand promotion of rumen health and function.
We know that the physical presentation of a ration directly impacts on dry matter intake and rumen function, and we know that different diet feeders create very different physical presentation results.
When it comes to choosing a diet feeder — there is no right or wrong choice. The choice of a horizontal paddle or a vertical auger tub depends on many different factors. Factors include: farm layout, business goals, base products and feeding operators.
The physical property of the rations produced by the two different diet feeding machines are very different. A horizontal mixed ration is typically more open and airier than that of a vertical auger machine, which tends to be denser.
In any case, the number one priority is consistency. First, consistency of peNDF and second, keeping that consistent mix the same for every cow, every day.
Alltech’s InTouch reported feeding data (detailed in the table below) shows that farmers moving to the KEENAN system complete with InTouch, typically see a 0.13 increase in feed efficiency. This may seem like a small improvement, but that margin gain can stack up to thousands of pounds every year.
Even a brand-new machine will not produce the best mix possible, if used incorrectly. Here’s the top 5 signs that your ration has room for improvement:
*Feed conversion efficiency is the ratio of kg feed to kg of milk output in lactating dairy cows. InTouch targets dairy farmers to achieve 1.5kg of milk for every 1kg of dry matter of feed
And here are 5 of the most likely causes:
Alltech InTouch research using the Penn state particle separator (PSPS) on dairy farms in the North of England found inconsistency of particle size and NDF percentage in mixed rations.
Laboratory analysis on rations formed using standard mixer scales versus InTouch controller systems found further inconsistencies. Standard scales showed a 33% variance in NDF dry matter content, whilst the InTouch controller showed only 17%.
William Hill, who runs a 130-cow herd in Cumbria, improved mix quality and speed when he upgraded to a MechFiber365+ diet feeder. With this improvement, milk butterfat increased by 0.44% and feed conversion efficiency (kg of milk output: kg feed) improved by 0.06.
Would you like your ration analysed by a specialist? Contact your local InTouch specialist today!
Tynagen™ is the industry’s first fully-extrudable and heat-stable postbiotic designed exclusively for pets. Tynagen’s postbiotic ingredients are a new breakthrough to maximize overall pet health by delivering beneficial metabolites straight to the gut.
Animal rearing and organic waste processing are associated with odor emissions, which often impact the environmental health and quality of life both within and beyond the facilities.
Ammonia is one of the main odorous compounds found in the polluted air discharged from animal farms or compost bioreactors. The emission of ammonia is a natural process produced by the anaerobic decomposition of animal waste. However, chronic exposure may lead to respiratory stress and illnesses, especially in a confined environment.
Deo Pet:
Deo Pet is a unique, natural product that helps control ammonia levels, manure odors and other harmful gasses associated with animal waste decomposition. Formulated from proprietary extracts of the Yucca schidigera plant, it creates a healthier environment for animals, farmers and communities.
Our yucca plant harvest management system allows us to sustainably ensure the long-term continuity of the Yucca schidigera species.
From seed selection and planting to care, cutting and reforestation, each step in this process is important to ensure a sustainable production and minimal environmental impact.
To ensure the quality and traceability of our final product, we continuously carry out internal and external audits, and we are proudly certified by the International Organization for Standardization with ISO:9002.
Contact a local Alltech representative today for more information on Deo Pet.
Nucleo-Sacc™ is a yeast-based protein containing highly concentrated levels of essential and functional nutrients. Nucleo-Sacc is added to the diets of young companion animals and supports digestive efficiency through precision nutrition.
Features and benefits:
Periods of stress are common in young animals, be that due to environmental changes, post-weaning stress or disease challenges. Nucleotides have been shown to alter biological responses, including growth. Nucleo-Sacc is an Alltech yeast technology providing young animals with an easily digestible nucleotide source, inositol and glutamate which improves feed intake.
Mr Skornyakov told the recent Alltech One Conference in Dublin that after a fourfold increase in haulage costs, the increased production cost was leaving no margin for growers.
