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Welcoming Masterfeeds to the Alltech Family

Submitted by eivantsova on Tue, 11/10/2015 - 08:15

We have some exciting news to share: This morning we finalized an acquisition agreement that will provide us ownership of Masterfeeds LP, a leading commercial animal nutrition company in Canada. 

Masterfeeds produces some of the Canadian feed industry’s best-selling and most widely-recognized nutrition products.  Following Alltech’s acquisition of EMF Nutrition, another stalwart Canadian feed company, in 2013, the acquisition of Masterfeeds further strengthens our presence in Canada. The three companies together will now compose one of Canada’s largest animal nutrition offerings. Alltech, Masterfeeds and EMF Nutrition employ nearly 700 Canadians and operate 25 manufacturing facilities, nine retail locations and seven distribution centers in a business spanning the entire country.

Masterfeeds will continue to be headquartered in London, Ontario, Canada, and led by its current Chief Executive Officer, Rob Flack.

Customers of Masterfeeds, Alltech and EMF Nutrition can expect business as usual. The same range of brands, products and solutions will be available.  In the future, customers may also benefit from an increased variety of nutritional solutions and services, backed by the latest scientific research.

Feed costs represent the majority of total livestock production costs.  By improving nutrition, farmers and ranchers can realize a significant increase in efficiency, profitability and sustainability.  Our continued commitment to tailoring nutrition programs, with a focus on natural ingredients, allows farmers and ranchers to raise healthier animals through a process that is beneficial for Animals, Consumers and the Environment. It’s our guiding ACE principle at work.

This growth opportunity will create better access for farmers and ranchers to superior animal nutrition solutions through Masterfeeds’ and EMF Nutrition’s extensive on-farm presence and dealer distribution networks in Canada.  Canadian farmers and ranchers will have the opportunity to benefit from leading nutrition technology and additional services, including on-farm audits and analysis tools.

We’re thrilled to welcome the Masterfeeds team to Alltech, and we’ll have more to share about our integration soon. 

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Alltech releases first Global Craft Beer Survey, against backdrop of AB InBev/SABMiller deal

Submitted by cewert on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 13:51

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland] – Around the world consumer demands for higher quality and greater variety have positively impacted the craft brewing industry. A recent study on the global craft brewing industry, conducted by yeast expert Alltech, discovered that there are more than 10,000 craft breweries worldwide. Of those, 86 percent are in North America and Europe, with Europe pipping North America to the post by only three craft breweries. Even so, the U.S. has just surpassed 4,000 breweries, which represents a nearly 20 percent growth in the last year and far exceeds any other individual country’s count by thousands. The Asia-Pacific region currently has 661 craft breweries.

“The rise of craft beer as a beverage of choice is indicative of consumers’ demand for differentiated, interesting and quality products,” said Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer of Alltech. “Alltech’s history is rooted as a supplier of yeast not only to the animal nutrition industry but also to the beverage industry. It has been 15 years since we acquired the Lexington Brewing Company and during that time we have witnessed the development of more discerning drinkers as consumers switch from the big beer brands to those with distinctive taste and a story to tell. This change in consumer sentiment and demand has obviously driven the big beer brands, like AB InBev and SABMiller, to join ranks.”

The Global Craft Beer Survey assessed the number of craft breweries through information obtained in partnership with local beverage associations and Alltech’s sales force, which operates in 128 countries. The top 10 locations for craft breweries in the world are: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil and Japan.

According to Connolly, the organizer of the survey, one distinctive point to note with this survey is in relation to each country’s population. “It is fascinating to compare the number of craft breweries in each country. While Japan leads the Asia-Pacific region with 200 craft breweries, New Zealand is by far the leader in the number of breweries per head of population with 23 times more breweries per head than Japan.”

The Global Craft Beer Survey raises some questions in regard to uptake of the craft brewing phenomenon in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, China and India rank among the top ten countries for population and GDP yet neither country has more than 60 craft breweries. Given that China rivals the U.S. as beer drinkers with close to a doubling in terms of consumption, will there be a brewery boom in the country’s future?

Overall, Connolly estimates the craft beer industry’s net worth at $50 billion.

This is Alltech’s first global survey of the craft brewing industry. It was undertaken at the request of president and founder Dr. Pearse Lyons for the company’s own information because data assessing the international craft brewing market was not readily available. Born and raised in Ireland, Lyons hails from five generations of coopers who supplied barrels to distilleries for a quarter of a century. While completing his degree at the British School of Malting and Brewing, he interned at both the Guinness and Harp Lager breweries and later worked as a biochemist for Irish Distillers, makers of the beloved Jameson whiskey. In the U.S., he founded biotechnology company Alltech and acquired his own brewery, which today is Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co., the maker of award-winning barrel-aged beers and spirits.

Alltech is responsible for The Alltech Craft Brews and Food Fair held annually in Ireland. The event returns to Dublin’s Convention Centre Feb. 5 – 7, 2016. Exhibitor space has almost sold out, proving the popularity of craft beverages in Europe.

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How Many Craft Breweries are there in the World?

Submitted by cewert on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:22

Beer is one of the most universally storied beverages, with the first signs of brewing dating back some 5,000 years. Many, including the Greek, Sumerian, Egyptian, Norse, Aztec and Zulu cultures, worshipped gods and goddesses solely devoted to beer. However, it wasn’t until the rise of the craft beer industry that beer has taken on such diverse forms.

It is no secret that the U.S. craft beer industry has boomed. But what of the craft brewery situation elsewhere? Are other countries experiencing a similar rise in craft brewing? A Google search would indicate the craft beer revolution is a global phenomenon but tallying facts and figures is another matter.  No report has ever been conducted on what is happening internationally. So we decided to do our own survey.

Let’s start with some of the basic information. We found that there are more than 10,000 craft breweries worldwide.  Of those, 86% are in the U.S. and Europe. And sorry, Europe actually squeaked past North America by three breweries. Even so, the U.S. has more than 4,000 breweries, which far exceeds any other individual country’s count by thousands. Here are the top ten countries and their brewery count. We threw in the population stats too, which we’ll talk about next.

  1. U.S.A

  2. U.K.

  3. France

  4. Italy

  5. Russia

  6. Canada

  7. Switzerland

  8. Germany

  9. Brazil

  10. Japan

The Swiss clearly enjoy their beer. Yet, they have by far the smallest population when compared to the other nine countries in the top 10. They also have the smallest GDP when compared to the others. In fact, according to knoema.com, a database collection website, all of the top ten craft beer producers rank in the top 15 GDP with the exception of Switzerland, which is 39th.

Another interesting fact about the Swiss: Beer is not cheap for them. Zürich, their most populous city, is ranked number two as the most expensive city to buy beer.  (We know you’re curious, Oslo, Norway, is the worst at €3.55/bottle.) Beer in Switzerland has been priced at €3.04 per 33cl (just over 11 oz.). In U.S. metrics, that’s about $3.68 per bottle or $22 per 6-pack. Yikes!

We should also tip our hats to the UK and Japan. Both are at the top of our list for number of craft breweries and each has one of the top ten most expensive cities to purchase beer: Tokyo (third) and London (fifth).

We were curious how much population plays a part in the number of craft breweries present. Turns out, it really doesn’t. Population has no direct correlation with the local presence of craft breweries or with craft beer consumption. Both China and India have over a billion people each and so few craft breweries. Even so, the Chinese beat out the U.S. in beer consumption, consuming more than two times that of the U.S., according to the New York Daily News. Chinese beer preference, however, does not appear to be partial to craft beer. Not yet, anyway.

You can access the full press release here.The infographic illustrating the 2015 Alltech Global Craft Brewery Survey findings may be downloaded here, while a detailed listing of craft breweries by country can be downloaded here.

 

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Researching solutions to soil and plant health challenges at Grupo Toro Verde during the Alltech Crop Science field tour

Submitted by msimpson on Fri, 11/06/2015 - 10:21

The Alltech Crop Science (ACS) three day field tour commenced with a visit to Grupo Toro Verde. Leaders in producing lettuce, spinach and sprouts Grupo Toro Verde manage a total crop surface area of 600 hectares. The majority of their production is exported to England, The Netherlands and Sweden. Toro Verde often encounters challenges in soil exploitation, water scarcity and poor quality, due to high salt content.

According to Antonio Alcazar, Toro Verde farm techician, their primary focus is to produce high quality produce for export, without residues. Alcazar illustrated how a number of ACS solutions are used to improve and promote plant and soil health.  Toro Verde use Soil-Set® Aid to increase the capacity of nutrient absorption and retention; ProCrop™ ISR for homogeneity, precocity, plant health and improved shelf life; and ProCrop™ Shield EU to provide nutrients essential for the defence against environmental stresses affecting crop production.

“An additional advantage to ACS solutions include being residue free, harmless to the environment and suitable for use in organic farming. In addition,  these solutions can be easily mixed and integrated with conventional treatment programmes.” said Alcazar.

“Our visit to Grupo Toro Verde has been really interesting,” said Mario Pastore, Italian crop producer. “It is great to experience the Spanish reality of crop production. I will take home some innovative ideas to Italy.”

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The Alltech Crop Science tour group learned about the plant and soil health at Grupo Toro Verde.

Antibiotic-free production can intensify mycotoxin challenges

Submitted by klampert on Mon, 10/26/2015 - 11:07

Poultry producers have long added antibiotics to the diet to overcome gut health challenges. However, based both on recent findings that doing so can cause antibiotic resistance and on increasing consumer demand for antibiotic-free poultry, many large producers are no longer using antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). While beneficial in one respect, it may leave the birds more susceptible to feed contaminants such as mycotoxins, resulting in performance losses and producer profitability. 

Mycotoxins in poultry production have been linked with classic clinical signs, such as mouth lesions caused by T-2 toxins, yellow liver from aflatoxins or gizzard erosions from cyclopiazonic acid. Action was only taken if one of those symptoms was clearly diagnosed. Recent studies, however, have indicated  that mycotoxins can directly affect gut integrity, opening the door to secondary infections, even when found in low to moderate levels in feed.

A paper by Antonissen et al. (2014) indicated that vomitoxin (DON) increases the percentage of birds with subclinical necrotic enteritis and causes barrier disruption and epithelial damage to the intestine. The increased permeability of the epithelium and lower protein absorption may stimulate growth of clostridium perfringens. The lower nutrient absorption and the risk of intestinal challenges may lead to performance losses.

Alltech, the global leader in mycotoxin management, has developed several tools to help poultry integrators overcome this problem. Our state-of-the-art Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analysis program is the most advanced system in the industry. Based at the Alltech Analytical Services Laboratory in Winchester, Kentucky, and utilizing LC/MS/MS technology, we conduct surveys worldwide. This enables us to determine the overall risks in feedstuffs and provide customers with species-specific risk assessments.

Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analysis has tested more than 9,000 samples and found one or more mycotoxins in over 98 percent of samples. In North American samples, the DON group and fusaric acid are the most prevalent mycotoxins in feedstuffs. Even when present at low to moderate levels and without classic signs of mycotoxin challenges, poultry are still susceptible to mycotoxin attacks on gut integrity. According to Dr. Johanna Fink-Gremmels of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, roughly 60 to 80 percent of the bird’s immune system is in the intestines. Any challenge could have a direct impact on overall bird health and vaccine response.

While the poultry industry’s positive move to antibiotic-free production is encouraged, implementation of a mycotoxin management program before challenges arise is highly recommended.  Successful antibiotic-free production requires mitigating any potential health threats where possible, and the powerful threat of mycotoxin contamination must not be overlooked.

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DHA: The New Sports Nutrition Kid on the Block

Submitted by eivantsova on Thu, 10/15/2015 - 14:51

While creatine, branched-chain amino acids and glutamine are well known and frequently utilized amongst fitness buffs and competitive athletes, there’s another nutrient taking its turn in the spotlight – DHA. DHA, short for docosahexaenoic acid, is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that has made a name for itself for its role in both cardiovascular and brain health. More recently, the sports nutrition community has taken notice of DHA’s ability to help speed recovery, increase gains and improve athletic performance.

DHA aids in the muscle recovery process as an anti-inflammatory agent and reduces DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), perceived pain and range of motion 48 hours post exercise.1These qualities, along with boosting blood and oxygen flow to muscles, may also decrease incidence of injury.

Increasing the amount of DHA you consume may help decrease muscle breakdown and increase protein synthesis by increasing the body’s muscle-building response to insulin and amino acids.2Fatty acids like DHA not only increase muscle gains, but may also increase the body’s level of calcium absorption, improving bone strength.3

A vital component in nerve endings, neurons and muscle membranes – DHA has been shown to improve reaction time of athletes during competition.4 DHA also decreases heart rate, which can help improve oxygen utilization during competition or tough workouts.5

References:

  1. Tartibian B, et al. (2009). The effects of ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids on perceived pain and external symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness in untrained men. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 19.(2),115-9.
  2. Smith G, et al. (2011). Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids augment the muscle protein anabolic response to hyperaminoacidemia-hyperinsulinemia in healthy young and middle aged men and women. Clin Sci (Lond),121(6), 267–278.
  3. Maggio M, et al. (2009). The impact of omega-3 fatty acids on osteoporosis. Curr Pharm Des, 15(36),4157-64.
  4. Lewis E, et al. (2015). 21 days of mammalian omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves aspects of neuromuscular function and performance in male athletes compared to olive oil placebo. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12,28.
  5.  Mori T, et al. (1999). Docosahexaenoic Acid but Not Eicosapentaenoic Acid Lowers Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in Humans. Hypertension, 34, 253-260. 
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A dozen egg facts!

Submitted by msimpson on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 10:40

To celebrate World Egg Day, Alltech went in search of some fascinating egg facts. Here are a dozen “egg”cellent facts:  

  • Worldwide, approximately 1.2 trillion eggs are produced for eating every year. The average person consumes 173 eggs a year.
  • An average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs a year.
  • To produce an egg, it takes a hen 24-26 hours.
  • Egg yolks are a good source of natural vitamin D.
  • A large egg contains only 70 calories and 5 grams of fat.
  • Yolk color purely depends on the diet of the hen.
  • Eggs provide the highest quality protein, which is necessary to help maintain muscle function and slow the rate of muscle loss.
  • To tell if an egg is raw or hard, spin it! If the egg spins easily, it is cooked. If it wobbles, it is raw.
  • Eggs age more in one day at room temperature than in one week in a refrigerator.
  • As a hen grows older, it produces larger eggs. 
  • Egg protein has the perfect amount of amino acids needed by humans to build tissues. It is second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition.
  • Enriched eggs have a higher than normal content of a particular nutrient. For example, hens that consume more omega-3 will produce eggs with higher levels of omega-3. Enriched foods must follow specific guidelines. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA), “A food that is labeled as ‘enriched’ with a nutrient must contain at least 10 percent more of the daily value of that nutrient than a food of the same type that is not enriched.”

Be sure to scramble, boil, fry or poach an egg today and join us in celebrating World Egg Day!

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Worldwide, approximately 1.2 trillion eggs are produced for eating every year. The average person consumes 173 eggs a year.

 

Alltech welcomes new Career Development Program members

Submitted by eivantsova on Wed, 10/07/2015 - 09:03

Alltech global headquarters welcomed the new members of the Career Development Program (CDP) on Sept. 21. Eleven recent college graduates from 11 countries were selected for the year-long program. Ten of them completed an intense weeklong orientation at Alltech’s global headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky, USA, while the other did so at the Alltech European headquarters in Dunboyne, Ireland, where he will be based.

The group is divided into three specialized areas: beef, dairy and quality. These tracks are tailored for specific growth markets and departments within the company.

During the orientation, CDP members learned about Alltech and met numerous Alltech employees, from recent hires to senior executives. A highlight was meeting Alltech’s president and founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, who shared advice on starting a career at Alltech, along with Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives at Alltech and a licensed clinical psychologist.

“We were delighted to welcome our 11 new specialized CDP members. Each one of them was chosen based on their educational history, but more importantly their soft skills, such as curiosity, flexibility and enthusiasm,” said Dr. Aoife Lyons. “It is exciting to see these energetic recent grads with fresh perspectives joining the Alltech family.”

“Orientation week was such a humbling and honoring experience,” said Alexandra Dawson, a food science and nutrition graduate from Australia, a new member of CDP quality track. “It was great to meet a wonderful group of people, all from different countries, and then to have so much pertinent and useful advice given to us by senior executives as well as former CDP members.”

After their orientation, CDP members learned about the training they will receive in their respective specializations. Those in the beef track will focus on improving animal health and welfare, while increasing beef farm profitability in the European beef market. The dairy track targets solutions to boost profitability in dairy production in Asia. The quality track encompasses all aspects of product manufacturing, including the Alltech Quality System (AQS), the most comprehensive quality system in the industry.

The new CDP members are:

Alltech Beef Career Development Program:

  • Bahadir Fidan, Turkey
  • Thomas Pacalier, France
  • Matteo Tartara, Italy
  • Eduard Castanyer, Spain

Alltech Dairy Career Development Program:

  • Christina Straathof, Canada
  • Nhung Lai, Vietnam
  • Ghazanfar Naseer, Pakistan

Alltech Quality Career Development Program:

  • Alexandra Dawson, Australia
  • Alayna Boland, United States
  • Marcela Ishii, Brazil
  • Jordyn Aitken, New Zealand

To learn more about the Alltech Career Development Program, please visit: www.alltech.com/graduate.

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The 2015 Career Development Program (CDP) includes 11 new members from across the globe. They join Alltech president and founder Dr. Pearse Lyons, along with team leaders Dr. Aoife Lyons, Suniti Mujumdar, Kyle Raney, Neil Keane, Jan Edward Lim and Meghan Niehaus.
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<p>The 2015 Career Development Program (CDP) includes 11 new members from across the globe. They join Alltech president and founder Dr. Pearse Lyons, along with team leaders Dr. Aoife Lyons, Suniti Mujumdar, Kyle Raney, Neil Keane, Jan Edward Lim and Meghan Niehaus.</p>

Are you an 'eggs'pert? A dozen egg facts you should know.

Submitted by klampert on Mon, 10/05/2015 - 10:50

To celebrate World Egg Day, Alltech went in search of some fascinating egg facts. Here are a dozen “egg”cellent facts:  

  • Worldwide, approximately 1.2 trillion eggs are produced for eating every year. The average person consumes 173 eggs a year.
  • An average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs a year.
  • To produce an egg, it takes a hen 24-26 hours.
  • Egg yolks are a good source of natural vitamin D.
  • A large egg contains only 70 calories and 5 grams of fat.
  • Yolk color purely depends on the diet of the hen.
  • Eggs provide the highest quality protein, which is necessary to help maintain muscle function and slow the rate of muscle loss.
  • To tell if an egg is raw or hard, spin it! If the egg spins easily, it is cooked. If it wobbles, it is raw.
  • Eggs age more in one day at room temperature than in one week in a refrigerator.
  • As a hen grows older, it produces larger eggs. 
  • The hundred folds in a chef's toque (that tall, pleated hat) represent the hundred ways to cook an egg.
  • Egg protein has the perfect amount of amino acids needed by humans to build tissues. It is second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition.

Be sure to scramble, boil, fry or poach an egg today and join us in celebrating World Egg Day!

To download our Egg Shell Quality poster, click here

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Alltech verifies thirteen products with new “Feed Verified” program

Submitted by aledford on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 14:11

Through decades of rapid advancements in agriculture science, Alltech has been on the cutting edge of innovation while keeping its products natural, healthful and environmentally sound. In fact, everything Alltech does is guided by the “ACE” principle, which emphasizes benefits to animals, consumers and the environment.

Because of this, Alltech’s products are excellent choices for farmers and ranchers who want to produce safe, high-quality foods in sustainable ways. Alltech’s in-house standard, known as the Alltech Quality System (AQS), is already recognized throughout the feed industry as a standard to follow. The AQS delivers the exact same level of quality assurance and traceability in each of Alltech’s geographical markets, based on a uniform process designed to meet and exceed other third-party systems of certification. 

However, because there are now so many such third-party programs, each with its own complex and constantly-evolving requirements, food producers have faced an uphill battle in keeping up with which ingredients are acceptable for use in which programs.

Enter Where Food Comes From, Inc. (d.b.a. IMI Global, Inc.), already the most trusted resource for independent, third-party verification of food production practices. Where Food Comes From has just announced the launch of its “Feed Verified” program, which enables livestock producers, feed companies and food brands alike to confirm easily and in real time that a particular product meets a specific verification or certification requirement.

The first resource of its kind, Feed Verified features a constantly updated listing by name of approved feed products and ingredients, while indicating which verification or certification programs approve each product for use. The listing is multi-species and includes direct hyperlinks to individual product websites for easy access to product and purchasing information.

Thirteen of Alltech’s products were already listed on Feed Verified at launch time, with more expected as verification procedures continue.  The featured products are:

  • BIO-MOS OA
  • INTEGRAL OA
  • ACTIGEN
  • SEL-PLEX 2000
  • BIOPLEX COPPER 10% OA
  • BIOPLEX COBALT OA
  • BIOPLEX ZINC 15% OA
  • BIOPLEX MANGANESE OA
  • BIOPLEX ZMC 842 OA
  • BIOPLEX HI-FOUR OA
  • YEA-SACC 1026 OA
  • DEMP
  • SELECT TC OA

Where Food Comes From, Inc. is known for its expertise in keeping up with the latest in food production science and technology.

“A critical aspect of verifying certain livestock production practices is knowing, tracking and confirming what an animal eats,” explained John Saunders, the company’s chairman and CEO. “It may sound simple, but you have to take a step back and think about the complexity of what we are looking at. Five years ago we were only concerned about animal by-products. Today it is that plus antibiotics, growth promotants, genetically modified organisms, organic ingredients, even the percentage of forage or protein. I could go on, but the reality is that feed is emerging as the new risk in value-added livestock production. It only takes the tiniest of ingredients to disqualify an entire generation of animals from a specific verification program, even when everything else is done exactly right. That is exactly why Feed Verified came to be. We want to do everything in our power to enable farmers and ranchers to be transparent about how they are producing food, and Feed Verified is another tool to help them succeed in that endeavor.”

Alltech looks forward to working further with Where Food Comes From, Inc., as both companies continue in making it easier for food producers to deliver transparency to consumers.

To view a current version of Feed Verified, visit http://www.imiglobal.com/feed-verified.html.

  

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Beyond nature and nurture: How genetic interactions are affecting pork profitability

Submitted by aledford on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 10:09

For years, scientists felt that if they were able to map the genome, they would know significantly more about life sciences. However, after successfully mapping both the human genome and several domestic animals’, scientists are left with more questions and the realization that genetic expression is more about the environment than it is the genes themselves.

This study of genes and their interactions is what drove Dean Boyd, technical director for The Hanor Company, to leave the academy and take scholarship to the field. Rebelling against status quo, Boyd strives to provide scientific discoveries based in unbiased, field applied research. At Pork: The other white meat? symposium, during  The Alltech REBELation conference in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, he shared some of his findings in regards to genetic expression in pigs and their role in profitability.

When first entering the field, Boyd was taken aback by the high number of researchers functioning on personal biases. These biases lead them to publish skewed or limited findings that were ultimately costing the pork industry significant losses. To rectify the situation, Boyd sought to identify the key performance factors in gene expression and the impact of those expressions on profitability through empirical experiments and large amounts of data.

Gene expression in the field 

First and foremost, Boyd found that gene expression is very much modified by the environment, being mainly limited by immune stress and nutrition. However, it’s important to note that viability can only truly be tested under moderate to high immune stress conditions. To adequately analyze a genome, it must be challenged by a variety of field pathogens to understand how the animal is truly programmed. Because of this need for testing under challenging conditions, producers need data from not only the genetic nucleus (which is readily available), but also field data describing how the genes were expressed during challenging conditions (which is less often available).

Even with sufficient data and research, Boyd makes it clear that science will not always get things right, stating that Mother Nature is very complex. However, he clarifies that while all science has potential errors, it is essential to steer clear of ‘isolated science,’ or science that has singular focus. These types of experiments tend to be focused on only one aspect of production, and while they provide impressive figures for proposed outcomes (i.e. litter size), they also typically come with unexpected downsides in other areas (i.e. birth weight and viability). The give and take relationship within pork production can be easily overlooked when only one performance indicator is being tracked. As an example, pigs weaned at 12 days as opposed to 21 days reduced their days to 270lbs by 34 days. However, their mortality rate was also increased by 5.8 percentage points.

Boyd describes the give and take relationship as somewhat of a chain reaction.

  • Increased litter size: Decreased birth weight
  • Decreased birth weight: Increased mortality rate/reduced viability
  • Increased mortality rate/reduced viability: Decreased lifetime full value of sow

To simply focus on litter size neglects other needed components including uterine capacity, the prevention of decline (or ideally an increase) in placenta mucus, milk output, nipple number, and nipple placement.  Boyd knew producers needed access to better science.

Five research platforms

In an effort to provide integrated, reliable, and thoughtful research to producers, Boyd has developed a financial analysis worksheet that is based on five research platforms.

  1. Number of FVP full value pigs (FVP) weaned
  2. Number of FVP delivered to plant
    1. Wean to plant viability
    2. Minimum cull and light sale pigs
  3. Carcass weight (volume)
  4. Carcass output/sow + annual + lifetime (cost dilution)
    1. This accounts for and addresses seasonal infertility, which for many producers is a larger threat to profitability than even disease.
  5. Weaned pig and W-F cost
    1. Feed and non feed companies

Through these factors, Boyd and his colleagues have created a benchmarking system with which they are able to analyze pork production units’ profitability, finding that the most differentiating factor, in both profit and loss years, is viability. 

While viability is the most significant differentiator; there are many key profit drivers to consider including pig numbers to market, pig livability, heavy carcass weight, and production costs. At first glance, one might assume production costs most strongly influenced profits, but in fact, pig numbers to market does.

Conclusion

In addition to managing these key profit drivers, Boyd explained, it is essential to have integrated team functions. Veterinarians, nutritionists, and those in production need to have an open dialogue where they can actively and effectively work together. One of the largest challenges the industry is facing is a recent shift in consumer culture. Previously, science has been an influential driver in consumer decisions. However, due to some strategic moves and changes in technology, marketing has positioned itself as a more influential voice in consumers’ lives. A great example of this is the antibiotic free (ABF) debate. Regardless of what science may suggest (i.e. antibiotic free vs. antibiotic residue free), consumers are demanding ABF products, so producers must be prepared to deliver them. An integrated team is the best way to ensure pork producers are prepared to address these changing consumer demands.

All in all, it is important for producers to recognize that mapping the genes of pigs is one small step towards fully understanding those genes’ interactions with the environment around them. To potentially improve profitability, it is essential to acknowledge the interactions between all the various factors of production, focusing on the key profit drivers and working closely with an integrated team.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my pig herd.

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Even with sufficient data and research, Boyd makes it clear that science will not always get things right, stating that Mother Nature is very complex.

Success Stories with Alltech Crop Science

Submitted by aeadmin on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 00:00

Agronomist Dalynn Ramsay describes some of the recent remarkable results seen in crops treated with Alltech Crop Science.

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Agronomist Dalynn Ramsay describes some of the recent remarkable results seen in crops treated with Alltech Crop Science.
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Food Safety: Red Tractor’s Never-ending Pursuit

Submitted by aeadmin on Mon, 07/27/2015 - 00:00

Food Safety: Red Tractor’s Never-ending Pursuit

Where does your food really come from? From farm to processing plant, from supermarket to plate, it’s important to know that your food was handled in a safe and ethical manner at every step of the journey. This episode takes a look at Red Tractor, one of the most trusted food assurance programs. Alltech’s David Butler recently sat down with food industry leader Philip Wilkinson to better understand how Red Tractor provides peace of mind to the consumer. You can listen to the podcast in full or view the transcript below.

I'm David Butler and my guest today is Philip Wilkinson, Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group. Actually that's just one of many positions that Philip holds. He took some time to talk to us about food safety, traceability and Red Tractor, the United Kingdom's leading farm and quality food assurance program. Their motto is, "we trace it so you can trust it".

So, I’m Philip Wilkinson, Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group which is the largest poultry producer for broiler meat in Europe. I’m Vice President of AVEC, which is the European Poultry Association, a board member of the British Poultry Council, and on the Board of Assured Foods Standards in the UK.

That is a lot of hats to wear.

Yeah it is, but they are all interconnected so it works very well.

And a lot of what you do is related to messaging to the end consumer is that correct to say?

Yeah. The Assured Foods Standards brand, or mark, you would know as being a Red Tractor which is underpinned by the Union Jack, the Union flag of the UK. And, that is a mark that has been on the go now since the year 2000 when it was launched. In dollar terms the sales value in 2015 will be in the region of $22-23 billion US. So, it has come from zero to hero in that 15 years and would be the mark that the vast majority of citizens and consumers in the UK would recognize in terms of one of quality, traceability, assurance, and would give them trust.

They would know that that kind of symbolizes everything that’s important to them and their food.

We like to think so. But, it’s a little bit like painting a very large bridge. It’s never ending. You get to the end and you got to start at the beginning again. So it’s an evolutionary process. We didn’t put something in place back in the year 2000 and it stayed exactly the same in 2015. It moves with the times. We tweak it here, we tweak it there in order to keep up with what is considered to be important in the minds of consumers. At the time that this was launched, there was no carbon footprint message going around whereas we now know that is a major part of the sustainability debate. So, we are now looking at being true to that objective and G20 leaders have signed up to that agreement to hit benchmarks by 2020 and there are milestones in that process, so we have bought into that as part of our message and that will fall into our activities going forward across all meat proteins and crops, as well, because the Red Tractor does embrace all meat proteins together with combinable crops, so you know it’s a pretty big operation.

That does seem like a huge operation and it seems like it would be very difficult to create guidelines or best practices across so many different, very diverse industries. How do you do that?

Okay, and that’s a good question. Each sector is a stand-alone. So, each sector has its sector board, it has its own technical advisory committee, and what I need to share with you is that this is not an in-house initiative. This is something that is shared across the whole of the supply chain so that everyone buys into it. So, you’ve got the farming union representing the farmers. You’ve got the likes of the British Poultry Council representing the poultry processors, you’ve then got the British Retail Consortium representing the retailers. Food service representatives and also academics and independents.

And, what we do, is we have a set of standards that are compiled by those people. So they are independent. The technical advisory committees are chaired by independent people. People who have got a wealth of experience in the field but are not directly involved in the supply chain. So they may be university professors who talk about this sort of stuff and I think about ours, is a guy who was a lecturer, very very well respected, at Reading University. He has been the chairman of the technical advisory committee. So that when product, and it always does happen that there will be a food scare, there is always something that is going to happen in the food industry, no matter how hard you try, you can put an independent person to front that, because it gives far more credibility than somebody like me who is an industry person who the consumer would say, “Well, he would say that anyway.” So, it gives it and this technical advisory committee, is meeting on a bi-month basis to review the standards, review the adherence to standards, to then dole out penalties to those who don’t adhere to the standards, so that the standards have integrity. Without the integrity, the consumer wouldn’t trust them and there would be chaos.

Right, so you have input and knowledge and expertise that is coming from the people in the industry that worked in the industry for years and years and they’re contributing that, but you also have independent people on the boards.

Just to show how fair we actually are, we even have on the board of Assured Food Standards, a representative from Compassionate World Farming. It doesn’t get more open than that. These are people who would sometimes march on the Houses of Parliament or march into KFC or into McDonald’s or into Two Sisters Food Group and cry foul. So, this is how open we are and how transparent we are in embracing the thoughts and opinions of everyone before we arrive at a decision.

Wow, that’s pretty impressive. It seems a lot more genuine than, you know, a company that might create their own little kind of premium certified logo that is not backed up by anything in particular.

I think that most companies who do, do that and some decide they’re going to have their own offering underpinned by Red Tractor, but then, let’s say move slightly outside that to create a point of difference for them, they would always use the Red Tractor Assurance to underpin, but then they would also rather than it stay in house, they would also use independent bodies who audit their schemes as well. And, might even help in the compilation of those schemes.

Is there any talk of Red Tractor expanding beyond the United Kingdom?

The Red Tractor Standards are already accepted outside of the United Kingdom because companies such as ours, or some of the retailers, or food service organizations who stand by the Red Tractor mark to the consumer as their offering have product that comes in from other countries. So, even though we produce in the UK, 19 million chickens a week, we actually consume 27 million whole bird equivalents, so those birds come in from Brazil or Thailand or elsewhere in Europe and in order for it to be a level playing field, and in order for the on pack claims to be made, equivalents have to be agreed in those countries. So, if they’re not eligible to carry the Red Tractor and the Union Jack, because obviously the Union Jack is produced in the UK; however, they are audited to those standards in those relevant countries by auditors who have been checked out by the audit bodies and the competent authorities back in the UK. So, the brand doesn’t travel, but the equivalents of it, do and that is the only way we would take product in from those countries outside of the UK.

So that’s having a positive effect on the global food supply really.

Yep, and as I showed in the presentation both yesterday at the food REBELation and at the poultry REBELation, I have shown that other European countries have got their own marks and emblems and logos that are for their countries that may or may not be the same as ours. They may be slightly different, but this is something that has now gone European wide, that’s for sure. And, there’s been a lot of interest as I’ve talked in other countries all over the world either in my own capacity or doing talks for Alltech. There is a massive interest in Red Tractor and the Red Tractor, and I wouldn’t say this but I know that I’m right, the Red Tractor news has traveled globally more than I would say most of the others or any of the others that I’m aware of. The only one that would sort of be internationally recognized would be the RSPCA, the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals which obviously goes pretty global anyway. Particularly the commonwealth countries where there would be a connection anyway.

Right, that makes sense. So how is all of this activity funded?

The Red Tractor is funded through usage of the mark on pack, so it’s fractions and fractions of pennies on a pack.

So a licensing fee?

Yes, a licensing fee which then everyone in that supply chain pays a price for. So just to give you a feel. It won’t be an exact number and I’m going to try to convert to US dollars for you, but for a poultry farm, a broiler farm in the UK to be signed up Red Tractor, it would cost circa $75-$80 a year; well in the big picture that doesn’t really even cover the auditor traveling and coming to the farm to do the audit, but because it’s funded across the whole of the supply chain, and everybody can afford to be in. If you’re a big dairy company, that’s going out on milk bottles that sit on tables, well then that’s easy, but if you are the dairy farmer you have to pay the same sort of money as they have to pay, you would never sign up in the first place. The reason why it’s been so successful is that the farm to fork supply chain has bought into it and are all doing their bit and paying for it.

The cost is shared?

People stand shoulder to shoulder.

Yeah, yeah. It benefits everybody.

Sure it does.

One last question. I assume you don’t have full traceability for everything under Red Tractor yet? Do you? Traceability is so difficult.

Well, I cited this morning in the poultry session that this is an example. We have got a slaughterhouse for chickens close to a 24 hour TESCO store that also stocks our chicken. The Tesco technical team will maybe totally unannounced arrive at their store at 7:30 – 8:00 o’clock in the morning, and they will pick a whole bird off the shelf, they will pick a packet of wings off the shelf, and they will pick some breast meat off the shelf jump in their car, drive two miles up to the road to our factory, knock on the door, technical manager plunk those on his desk and say, “I want traceability, full traceability down the production line back to the breeder farm where the eggs came from and I want you to do that in 4 hours on all of those products” We normally turn it around in somewhere between 2.25 – 2.50 hours. So the answer to your question, yes we can and I can even take it one step further in terms of supply chain for the feed that goes into the birds, whether it be the wheat or the soya I can do all that as well. So, in the poultry sector, I can’t speak on behalf of the other sectors because I’m not as close, but I would imagine it’s pretty much the same there. I sit very very comfortably on traceability.

That’s impressive!

How about that?

That’s a lot of work that goes into that.

But, it’s a great story to tell. You know when you get a TV scare and people are talking about horse meat and stuff like that, we had a minister for Food get on the prime time television BBC news when we had these issues and he said, “Obviously you can’t guarantee it because in the horsemeat scandal there’s a criminal element involved and the law enforcement authorities are dealing with that right now, but when asked the question by the interviewer, much the same as you are now, the interviewer said, “What would you do in a situation like this right now if you were a consumer?” And, the minister said, “look for a Red Tractor on the pack and that’s as safe as it’s gonna get.” So there’s no better endorsement on the BBC News program with ten million plus viewers watching. I’ll tell you that anytime.

Yeah, and you’re not going to have, you know a government Minister going out on a limb very often if that’s not a pretty safe statement.

He’s gotta be pretty cool with what he’s saying, he’s gotta be comfortable with it.

Well, thank you very much Philip.

Pleasure.

I really appreciate it. I hope you’re enjoying your time here.

Always do, I’m delighted to be back here. Always enjoy it.

I want to thank Philip for spending some time with us. You can find out more about Red Tractor at redtractor.org.uk and you can find out more about Two Sisters Food Group at 2sfg.com.

Thanks so much for listening to the AgFuture podcast and thanks to our producer Robbie Gay. If you like the podcast please share it with your friends or give us a rating on iTunes. We'd love to hear from you too. Send your comments or suggestions to AgFuture@alltech.com.

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General Colin Powell on Being a Leader at Alltech REBELation

Submitted by msimpson on Thu, 07/09/2015 - 11:10

This is a guest post from Ryan Goodman.  He blogs at Agriculture Proud.

Big ideas. We know the future of food systems, demand and supply continues to grow and evolve, but what are the tools that will get us there? Who are the people who will lead us there? What are the disruptive ideas that will fuel those ideas? Sometimes it takes a REBEL to be a LEADER.

During Alltech’s 2015 international symposium – REBELation, the theme was exploring how to be a leader, bring disruptive ideas to the table and taking advantage or opportunities to move us forward through innovation. Sometimes this innovative leadership is disruptive, but it often brings about fantastic results that make change.

REBELation brought forward a variety of leaders and innovators who all had unique experiences to share. Some of whom I don’t 100% agree with their business practices, which I’ll share more about later, yet they definitely provide great examples for taking advantage of opportunities for disruptive innovation that makes change.

If you’ve ever met Alltech’s Founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, or even heard him speak, you’ll identify him as a man with passion for what he does. He is an innovative businessman, forward thinker, challenger and a rebel. You never know what to expect he’ll say, sometimes you’ll wonder where he’s going with a point, yet his words often challenge you to think. I’ve attended several of Alltech’s meetings in the past, with trips to Lexington and France, and there’s always something new to take home.

During this year’s REBELation Opening Session, Dr. Lyons left us with a few words of advice that set the tone for our meetings ahead.

Don’t oversleep on your dreams. To be leaders, we must combine urgency and innovation to stay ahead of the curve.

Rebels innovate and are constantly seeking new products and ideas. In order to innovative and creative, you have to fall in love with doing things differently.

What’s your goal? How do you achieve it? Avoid energy vampires. Make sure your dream has purpose and passion. Don’t die with your music still in you, Do what makes your heart sing.

Dr. Lyons goes on to describe qualities of a rebel to include provocateur, firebrand, instigator, motivator, revolutionary. A leader of this type must remain calm and be kind, have a vision but at the same time, be demanding. Qualities which most definitely describe the actions of General Colin Powell, who spoke to the crowd.

I’ve never been one to follow many politics or our country’s war efforts closely, but most would definitely recognize General Powell from his time serving our country and working closely with international leaders. He is a man who has been recognized for his leadership and ability to lead his teams on several occasions, which definitely translated to some great advice as he shared his experiences with us.

A leader must…

  • Be confident and have a sense of purpose. This translates to your team’s trust in your abilities.
  • Understand what is expected of the leader. Leaders have to understand and convey this to those following.
  • Inspire people. People who are inspired are self-motivated.
  • Have optimism and confidence.
  • Be relevant in today’s world, which often means keeping pace.
  • Recognize performance when a job is done well.
  • Know how to identify problems and fix them.
  • Build bonds of trust in their organization.
  • Look at opportunities in the future and know how to deal with risks when they arrive.
  • Be selfless, not selfish.
  • Execute the plan.

How does this apply to agriculture? As Dr. Pearse Lyons shared with the AgWired team in reference to awarding General Colin Powell with the Alltech Medal of Excellence award, “What is the number one thing missing from agriculture and business today? Leadership, and when I think of leadership, General Powell comes first to mind. He is decisive, courageous and a ‘force multiplier of perpetual optimism.”

Read more on Ryan's blog, Agriculture Proud.

Find out more about Ryan here.

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Ryan Goodman

Welcoming Produs to the Alltech Family

Submitted by klampert on Wed, 07/08/2015 - 10:50

Announcing new acquisitions in Norway (from left to right) are Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, Bjarne Ravnøy, Magne Kolstad, Leif Loe, Linda Dvergsdal Hauge all from Produs and Patrick Charlton, Alltech vice president for Europe. Produs and Produs Aqua are Alltech’s ninth and tenth acquisitions respectively, a development that will mean continued innovative, customised and quality products, programmes, services and on-farm consultation for customers in Norway, both on land and at sea.

 

Today we are proud to announce another acquisition in Europe. Currently Alltech has a presence across much of Europe, with Norway being a final frontier. This morning we announced an agreement to acquire Produs AS and Produs Aqua AS, Norway. Based in both Førde and Bergen, Norway, Produs has been in business for nearly 15 years, and during this time has worked closely with us. Produs is a very strong brand in Norway, and there is a great fit between the Alltech and the Produs brands. Produs has always been a strong ambassador for the Alltech brand in Norway and together we now offer a strengthened commitment to our customers, providing them with tailored solutions and local support.

Improving animal nutrition is a pressing need for the productivity of the world’s farmers and those involved in the food chain. Feed costs comprise the majority of livestock production costs. By improving nutrition, livestock and poultry producers are able to realise a significant increase in efficiencies and return on investment. Alltech’s continued commitment to tailoring nutrition and health programmes with a focus on natural ingredients, allows farmers to raise healthier animals through a process that is more beneficial for animals, consumers and the environment. 

We’re very excited to welcome the Produs team to Alltech, and we’ll have more to share about our integration in the coming months. In the meantime, read more about today’s news in our press release.

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