Nestled on the banks of the Clyde River, overlooking Vermont’s widely reputed lush, forested hills sits Poulin Grain. Proud to call Vermont home since 1932, this fourth-generation family-owned business offers personalized service — including one-on-one animal nutrition consultations, lab-based forage analysis and customized recommendations — along with the manufacturing and delivery of premium animal feeds. Poulin Grain’s diverse customer base includes livestock producers and animal enthusiasts throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada.

As noted by company president Josh Poulin, the nearly 90-year-old business “[has] always been committed to delivering high-quality animal nutrition products at a fair value, and taking care of [its] people, animals and customers.”  

Based in Newport, Vermont, Poulin Grain serves a wide range of customers throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada, including many dairy producers.

Managing mycotoxins in feed and forage

Poulin Grain maintains a steadfast focus on serving the animal and meeting their requirements, which is why they are consistently exploring new technologies that can help them implement superior quality control and produce animal feeds of only the highest caliber.

The company’s northeastern U.S. location — a region often referred to as “mycotoxin central” — led to them initially building a relationship with Alltech. The two companies worked together to implement a mycotoxin control program at Poulin’s mills while also helping their nutrition teams and customers understand more about this dynamic problem on-farm, which includes a central focus on enhancing forage quality.

Why mycotoxin testing is necessary

A 2021 study from Weaver et al. highlighted the prevalence of these toxic compounds in U.S. corn grain and corn silage by analyzing the results of almost 2,000 grain and forage samples across seven years. Findings showed that the mean numbers of mycotoxins per sample were 4.8 and 5.2 in grain and silage, respectively.

These findings are often replicated in the ongoing testing carried out by Alltech’s 37+^® mycotoxin analysis laboratory network. For example, in 2021, over 7,000 tests revealed that an astounding 95% of samples contained two or more mycotoxins.

In recent years, several factors have combined to exacerbate the mycotoxin risk in animal diets worldwide. More extreme weather patterns, such as droughts and floods, are creating extra stress on crops, which is one of the primary predisposing factors for mold and mycotoxin development. Additionally, the shift to no-till crop establishment and reduced crop rotation is leading to a greater buildup of crop residues, which only serves to increase the mycotoxin risk in subsequent crops.

How mycotoxins impact animals

Mycotoxins can be the root cause of numerous problems on-farm. However, some of the more common mycotoxin symptoms include:

• Digestive disorders, such as diarrhea.
• Reproductive challenges, such as decreased fertility and abnormal estrous cycles.
• Reduced animal performance, often linked to reduced feed consumption and nutrient utilization.
• Compromised health, related to suppressed immunity and increased disease risk.

As demonstrated by the routine mycotoxin analysis mentioned above, the presence of multiple mycotoxins in grains and forages tends to be the norm rather than the exception. This may lead to additional or synergistic effects, further compounding the mycotoxin problem for livestock producers.

Taking a proactive approach to mycotoxin management

Although mycotoxins are often chemically stable enough to survive food and feed processing — meaning it is virtually impossible to eliminate them from the supply chain — there are some key steps that can be taken to enhance control efforts.

John Winchell serves as Alltech’s Northeast U.S. territory sales manager, where he has worked with Poulin Grain for nearly two years. When working through mycotoxin challenges, John has always believed it’s best to take a more proactive approach.

“When you think of mycotoxin management, I think it’s much more than just a product — it’s a program; [one that involves] looking at pre-harvest and post-harvest strategies, and [considering] different things, such as climate, population, and varieties,” John explains. “[This paints] a total picture as opposed to [taking a] reactive [approach].”

Aided by Winchell’s support throughout the crop-growing season, Poulin Grain and their dairy nutrition customers have implemented steps to help enhance forage quality and produce superior quality dairy feeds.

For example, to manage grain and forage quality post-harvest, John introduced Poulin Grain to both the Alltech 37+ mycotoxin analysis and Alltech RAPIREAD^®.

Alltech 37+ is a lab-based mycotoxin detection method that can identify up to 54 individual mycotoxins, including those in total mixed rations (TMRs).

Alltech RAPIREAD utilizes a portable testing module to quickly detect six key mycotoxins. It is typically used directly on-farm or in the feed mill due to its ability to deliver quick results, often in less than 15 minutes.

“Working with [Alltech] 37+ to look at the different samples on different commodities and forages has really helped us get closer to where we need to be on forage quality and cow health,” states Winchell, while also highlighting how Poulin Grain were early adopters of Alltech RAPIREAD, thereby allowing mycotoxin control decisions to be activated on the same day that a challenge is identified.

Optimizing dairy forage quality is a key focus area for both Poulin Grain and Alltech.

Maximizing livestock productivity

Poulin Grain is no stranger to adaption and innovation, as noted by general manager and senior vice president Mike Tetreault, “One of the key things for Poulin Grain to continue to be leaders in animal nutrition is we must be innovative. And part of being innovative for us is having the right products, services and technologies [in place].” That is where John Winchell and Alltech come in.

According to Tetreault, “[Winchell] has been a tremendous asset for us — he’s been really committed [to serving] all our customers and covering every area. He’s been a true source of support, education and growth for all our customers and [our] company. I don’t know what we’d do without this Alltech service.”

From starting with a simple introductory webinar to today implementing the latest in mycotoxin detection, Mike feels the Poulin team has now become experts in managing mycotoxins and is far more able to make informed decisions.

What lies ahead

As Poulin Grain’s business continues to grow and develop the ways in which it serves its diverse customer base, Tetreault is excited about what lies ahead.

“When we find problems that really need further investigation, Alltech’s 37+ [program] has been there to support us dramatically for the last year,” he says. “We’ve had several situations where we’ve been able to help and correct management [on-farm]. It’s really been a great run, and I know that going forward, utilizing these Alltech services, products and technologies will [continue to] truly be an asset for Poulin Grain.”

Sustainability – you have probably been hearing this word a lot lately. It is a hot topic around the globe right now, and beef industry sustainability is at the center of the conversation. As Dr. Jude Capper puts it, “all of us within the industry, regardless of what our role is, have to think about and have to be talking about [sustainability] going forward, because it really isn’t an issue that is ever going away.”

Capper, who has been working in the sustainability space for about 15 years, shared some thought-provoking insights into what should be considered going forward in the world of sustainability during the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE). Let’s discuss four key points Capper made in her presentation.

1. We need to define “sustainability”

“There are honestly as many definitions of this word as there are people in the universe, almost,” Capper stated. “But from a scientific point of view, and particularly when we’re talking about food and farming systems, it’s generally considered to be a balance between three things. And those are environmental responsibility, economic viability and social acceptability. And all of those things, in the long term, have to balance.”

Right now, however, the global focuses are clear: greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and net zero. This is demonstrated by companies worldwide regularly announcing some degree of net-zero-type commitment. However, what this has led to, according to Capper, are graphs and metrics being produced that attempt to measure sustainability but that neglect to accurately represent the global beef industry and its various systems around the world.

“We see a huge variation,” Capper said. “We can’t make global averages, or global commitments or globally say we’re going to implement practice ‘x,’ whatever that might be because there’s so much variation in the system.”

To further this point, she cited some data from Gerber et al. in 2013, showing a global lifecycle assessment of beef systems. The bar chart is partitioned out by region and represents greenhouse gas emissions/carbon footprint in terms of carbon per kilo of deadweight. True representation is difficult here — when you look at the world average compared to each region, it supports the opinion that we cannot expect the same systems and practices to work globally.

“We can have very clear goals, but the way that we achieve those goals is always going to vary according to the system, the region, the market, the culture and the opportunities we have there,” Capper explained. “We should always see, if we do it in a carefully considered, well-thought-out way, the positive correlation between improving efficiency, having lower carbon footprint, lower resource use and at a lower cost as well. So, there’s a positive correlation between the economics and the environment.

“But the thing that we always have to bear in mind is that just because it’s environmentally beneficial or at a lower economic cost doesn’t always mean that it’s socially acceptable.” 

2. Beef producers are utilizing sustainable practices

Capper went on to lay out ways to improve the productivity of our systems and stated that most producers are already actively pursuing these goals. However, she reiterated that there is no “one size fits all” system. 

When it comes to system efficiency, Capper touched on a few data points to put it into perspective. In her calculations, one cow in a cow-calf system needs just under 4,000 kilograms of feed, takes in just over 20,000 liters of water, and emits almost 2,500 kilos of carbon dioxide every single year. With this in mind, it could be easy to promote cutting cattle numbers and assume the world would benefit.

But, as Capper states, we must consider all of the positives that we get in terms of biodiversity, landscape maintenance, soil quality and using land where we simply cannot grow anything else to produce high-quality, nutritious food. The opportunity for showing the benefit cattle have on the environment is hard to quantify right now, but it is there. And even so, there are still ways beef producers can improve sustainability (converting crop land to grazing land, focusing on genetics, etc.).

3. Cattle can contribute to global cooling

Capper shared some data from Oxford University that clarifies some of the differences between methane and other greenhouse gases.

“In the past, we assumed that, as with carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, any methane that we emitted into the atmosphere just builds up and builds up and builds up over time,” Capper explained. “So that was under a metric called ‘Global Warming Potential,’ or GWP 100.”

GWP 100 got us one step closer to standardizing the effects of greenhouse gases. However, it did not consider the differences between methane (a short-lived climate pollutant) and carbon dioxide (a long-lived climate pollutant). GWP*, the new metric, is seen as an improved way to measure the effect individual greenhouse gases have on global warming. This is important as methane emissions from beef production are recycled as part of the biogenic carbon cycle. To keep it simple: the biogenic carbon cycle is when plants take in and store carbon dioxide that is consumed by cattle and released as methane. Then, after a dozen years or so, that methane is converted back into carbon dioxide, and the cycle continues. Because plants need carbon dioxide and cattle can consume plants like grasses, cattle are vital to this cycle. And it is even possible that cattle can contribute to global cooling through this. 

“Methane can only contribute to global cooling if methane emissions actually decline over time,” Capper stated. “And it only has to decline by a tiny bit, but they have to keep coming down rather than getting more and more and more every year (…) So that means that if we do things to improve productivity, fertility, pasture management, all of those things that I talked about earlier, such that we can make the same amount of beef, for example, with [let’s say 1% fewer cattle], then we could have a really positive effect in terms of global cooling.” Even with this approach, it is important to account for beef cattle's vital role in balancing our ecosystem and utilizing otherwise unproductive lands.

4. We need a standard carbon footprinting tool

A challenge the industry faces is creating a standard carbon footprinting tool. Ideally, one that can transcend across global regions and various production systems. There are tools out there, but we need one that is standardized and more all-encompassing. If we can accomplish this as an industry, we can confidently not only contribute to global cooling but also give producers more opportunities to market their cattle as consumers ask for data-backed sustainability claims in the meat at the grocery store.

By addressing this and the other points Capper mentioned in her presentation, she believes that the beef industry can accurately represent itself in the global sustainability space and properly demonstrate its positive impact, now and into the future.  

I want to learn more about nutrition for my beef cattle.

Crops rely on nutrients to thrive; they fail or grow more slowly when certain nutrients are deficient.

Nitrogen is one of the top three essential plant nutrients for crop growth, along with potassium and phosphorus. It is responsible for photosynthesis and chlorophyll concentration, which supplies the green color to plants, allowing farmers to monitor crop health more quickly and easily. Vibrant deep green indicates healthy plants with a lot of chlorophyll. Yellowing (chlorosis) and light green, however, show a lack of chlorophyll and plant health issues, potentially due to a lack of nitrogen.

Our atmosphere is abundant in nitrogen — 79% of nitrogen is in the form of N2 gas. Nonetheless, this is unavailable to crops unless it is “fixed” (combined) in the form of ammonium (NH4) or nitrate (NO) ions to be used for plant development. In this sense, nitrogen is often a limiting factor for optimal crop growth, even under ideal climate and water supply conditions.

Overuse of synthetic nitrogen

Fertilizers are essential for the production of food worldwide. The invention of synthetic nitrogen at the turn of the 20th century changed how we dealt with the availability of nitrogen in soil — we no longer had to rely on the limited amount of nitrogen found naturally in soils across the world but could produce and feed it to plants. Therefore, fertilizers allow us to obtain better agricultural yields with a favorable overall impact: farmers profitably produce more on less land.

But there are some severe drawbacks. In theory, utilizing more fertilizer would not necessarily be problematic if the crops used all that was supplied. However, when we look at the ratio of nitrogen in harvested crops compared to nitrogen inputs (through fertilizers or manure), we can clearly see an unbalanced output. Our crops take up less than half of the nitrogen we apply.

Let us take a step back and explore what this data means.

The comparison between nitrogen input and output is called “nitrogen use efficiency” (NUE). The higher this number is, the better the plants are uptaking and utilizing the nutrient provided. An NUE of 80% means that the quantity of nitrogen in crops equals 80% of the nitrogen supplied as inputs, with the plants not utilizing the remaining 20% of nitrogen.

A low NUE is undesirable, as it means that very little of the nitrogen applied gets absorbed by crops, and the rest becomes a pollutant. Since 1980, global NUE has remained at a low level of 40-50%. The remaining nitrogen is waste that seeps into the natural environment, flowing off the soils and polluting rivers and lakes, disturbing ecosystems and causing biodiversity loss.

Consequences of a low NUE include:

• Groundwater pollution: Nitrates lost outside the root zone pollute groundwater.
• Eutrophication: Harmful algal growth that depletes oxygen and harms aquatic organisms.
• Nitrogen deposition: Ammonia released into the air through volatilization comes back to the surface as sulfur dioxide gas.
• Greenhouse effect: Nitrous oxide formed through denitrification is responsible for 5% global climatic change (Shoji et al., 2001).

The lack of uptake leads to the need to apply more and more nitrogen fertilizers to continue growing crops at an increasing rate to feed the ever-growing population. Farmers boost nitrogen application, prolonging the cycle while further depleting the soil and raising crop costs. This regular application increase means that it now takes significantly higher doses of nitrogen to produce the same amount of crops as in the 1960s.

Soil and plant nitrogen losses harm the ecosystem, soil fertility and plant production. Ammonia emissions cause acid rain and nitrous oxide emissions. Eutrophication — when nitrate leaches into aquifers and promotes an overgrowth of aquatic plants and algae — threatens fish populations, water quality, and human and animal health. Overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers has generated over 500 dead zones at a global level. As a result of nitrate leaching regulations, agricultural land usage has been restricted in several nations. 

Increasing yields require increased inputs, which in turn increase pollution. We seem to be closed in this continuous cycle, where many people think that additional fertilizer use for crop yields is an unquestionable trade-off. Yet, we are not limited to this compromise, and microorganisms play a key role in the emerging solution.

Soil nitrogen-fixing bacteria and nitrogen cycle

Bacteria are the only known microorganisms capable of converting nitrogen gas into the plant-available organic compound ammonia. Before commercial nitrogen fixation methods were developed, plants relied only on microorganisms to provide useable nitrogen.

Soil bacteria play a crucial role in practically all elements of nitrogen availability, supporting the formation and growth of both underground ecosystems and plants through:

• Conversion of N2 into ammonia through nitrogen fixation. These bacteria are either free-living (they live independently of other organisms) or form symbiotic associations with plants or other organisms (e.g., termites, protozoa).
• Transformation of ammonia to nitrate and of nitrate to N2 or other nitrogen gases.
• Degradation of organic matter, releasing fixed nitrogen for reuse by other organisms.

Soil bacteria are responsible for the major conversion of N2 into ammonia and subsequently into proteins in the process called nitrogen fixation (or dinitrogen fixation).

Nitrogen fixation is the process of converting relatively non-reactive atmospheric N2 into more reactive molecules (nitrates, nitrites or ammonia). These reactive forms are essential for crops, helping them thrive. Nitrogen shortage, on the other hand, stunts crop growth and healthy development.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, such as Rhizobium, Azospirillum or Rhodobacter, manufacture a unique enzyme responsible for nitrogen fixation, which accounts for about 90% of natural nitrogen fixation on our planet.

In short, nitrogen-fixing bacteria transform atmospheric nitrogen into inorganic chemicals. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria accomplish what crops cannot themselves: they get assimilative nitrogen. Bacteria absorb it as a gas from the air and release it to the soil, typically as ammonia. It is the only viable alternative for plants since they can only ingest nitrogen from the soil as nitrogenous inorganic molecules, emphasizing the need for nitrogen fixation.

This ready-to-use nitrogen that bacteria provide to the crops is a much-needed component of chlorophyll molecules. Chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis, which converts sunlight energy into the chemical energy that plants need.

Furthermore, plants need nitrogen as a component of amino acids in order to construct proteins that function in metabolism and energy storage. A lack of nitrogen fixation causes yellowing, thinning, withering, general growth delay and decay.

Nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria ultimately provide the ground with inorganic nitrogen-containing compounds that are essential crop nutrients. Upon their death, these nitrogen-fixing bacteria release the nitrogen stored in their biomass into the soil, naturally increasing soil fertility and enabling farmers to save money on synthetic fertilizers.

“Nitrogen bacteria teach us that nature, with her sophisticated forms of the chemistry of living matter, still understands and utilizes methods, which we do not as yet know how to imitate.”

Fritz Haber, Nobel Lectures, Chemistry 1901-1921, The Synthesis of Ammonia from Its Elements

Biofertilization supports sustainable crop production

Plants benefit from biofertilization because it encourages the use of inputs containing a range of microorganisms capable of populating the rhizosphere and making nutrients more easily accessible to plant root hairs through bioavailability. Including, but not limited to, symbiotic and free-living nitrogen-fixers, biofertilizers are cost-effective and environmentally sustainable, aside from being effective alternatives to synthetic fertilizers.

Biofertilizers can help sustain agricultural productivity and fulfil the rising demand for crop products while conserving and preserving natural resources for future generations. Numerous studies throughout the world demonstrate the value of biofertilizers in boosting crop yields and improving the quality of agricultural products by:

• Enhancing soil content with nutrients and useful microorganisms.
• Promoting soil fertility and health.
• Preserving natural resources.
• Improving productivity and cost-benefit ratios to achieve better agricultural sustainability.

Alltech Crop Science, a global leader in microbial fermentation and the utilization of their metabolites, continues to research and innovate to assist farmers worldwide in moving toward more sustainable, productive and profitable crop production.

The confinement area, often called a paddock, run, turnout, corral or dry lot, is the cornerstone of horse keeping. It is where we keep our horses to avoid overgrazing of pastures. In the winter, when pastures are dormant and soils are soggy or frozen, our horses live in their confinement areas. They are also where we keep our horses to prevent them from getting overweight on pasture or if they are recovering from an injury.

However, horses in confinement must still have their primary needs met, which includes the ability to move about freely, have social contact and access to food at multiple times throughout the day. However, even with these needs being met, many confined horses develop physical or behavioral issues, such as pacing, chewing, aggression, nervousness or ulcers. That is where horse enrichment comes in.

What is equine enrichment?

Equine enrichment means providing stimulation in a horse’s environment to benefit their psychological and physical well-being. Here are a few ideas of ways to incorporate enrichment opportunities into a horse’s confinement area:

1. Confinement area shape or design:

You may be able to design (or re-shape) your confinement area to stimulate your horse. A long, narrow paddock with feeding or water stations at either end encourages interest and movement. Create a track paddock — or provide access to one during turnout. This is simply a large, long confinement area shaped like a track, that encircles a pasture or other area. The goal of a track paddock is to encourage horses to move more freely and interact with others. Alternatively, your confinement area could double as a round pen for extra exercise.

2. Location:

Locate your confinement area so your horse can interact with stimuli from the world around them. Set it up so your horse is a part of your everyday life — seeing things like kids playing, people coming and going, summertime lawnmowers and bicycles, snow shoveling in the winter, etc. This all provide mental stimulation.

3. Companionship:

Be sure your horse has equine neighbors next door so they can at least see and possibly interact through nose touching or mutual grooming.

4. Rolling area:

Rolling is a natural activity that improves coat and skin condition, as well as comfort. It is also thought to increase a horse’s flexibility by stretching and engaging muscles in the back, neck and barrel. If you have room, perhaps you can create a sand pile in your horse’s paddock for this purpose. Alternatively, use a sand arena or round pen for regular turnout so they can roll there.

5. Food:

More frequent, smaller meals are healthier for horses and mimic their natural lifestyle. Also, try feeding in different locations or stations, so they do a bit of food seeking. You might offer different food types in different areas, such as hay cubes or low-quality hay for extra “chew time.” You should also consider a hay net or a slow feeder, which stretches eating time further and can help enrich equine feed experiences.

6. Browsing:

You may be able to occasionally incorporate small branches of an edible plant, such as willow, cottonwood, bamboo or blackberry vines. Weave a branch or vine into paddock fencing or incorporate a holder into their paddock for this purpose. (NOTE: Be sure to carefully research what is safe and non-toxic for your area. Several plants are poisonous to horses, such as black walnut, yew, red maple, black locust, rhododendron, laurel, oak and most fruit trees. The ASPCA has a list of plants that are toxic and non-toxic to horses. You may also consult your veterinarian if you are feeling unsure.)

7. Healthy treats:

More food-related ideas include feeding occasional treats, like watermelon, plums (without the pit), bananas (skin and all), grapes, celery or cut-up pieces of raw (orange) pumpkin. These, along with other low-sugar treats, can be fed in alternative locations to engage curiosity and food hunting behavior.

8. Horse enrichment toys:

Most horse owners have heard of a Jolly Ball®! Toys like these may help, especially for young horses. Studies show that adult horses are less motivated by toys unless they are associated with food, such as hay balls or different kinds of treat licks.

9. Scratching pads or brushes:

This could be a large nylon brush or a worn-out broom head that is safely bolted to a wall or corner. Alternatively, you may utilize a textured rubber doormat, which can be screwed to a wall.

10. Friends:

You may want to consider getting a buddy for your horse. If not another horse, you might consider another animal companion for them, such as a burro or goat. A cat or dog will often befriend a horse, improving the emotional well-being of each of them.

11. Turnout:

Turning your horse out, either by themselves or with other horses, gives them a chance to play, groom and interact.

12. Exercise and grooming:

Even when you cannot ride, you can still groom and practice good hoof care. As an alternative to riding, you can hand walk, lunge or do liberty work with your horse. Plan to exercise your horse a minimum of 30 minutes, three times per week.

Utilizing a confinement area is an important part of horse keeping. It not only provides an opportunity for movement — it also offers a way to decrease pasture impact while monitoring horse health. However, confinement areas can be stifling for some horses because of the lack of physical and emotional stimuli.

Providing enrichment for horses does not have to be expensive and can be as simple as adding turnout time with others, providing quality hay or pasture in a more natural way, feeding a new type of feed or an occasional treat, or giving your horse a food ball or lick. It might even be as simple as scheduling a little extra one-on-one time with your horse. Think outside the box, mix things up and have fun together — and keep in mind that you are supporting both you and your horse’s emotional well-being at the same time. 

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

The pig mortality issue

Pig mortality is one of the biggest challenges the swine industry faces today. Data from the USDA (2015) shows that in the United States, the average post-weaning pig mortality is 3.6% in the nursery and 4.1% in the grow-finish stage. Combined with an average pre-weaning mortality of 10–15%, it is not uncommon to observe overall mortality rates of 15–20%. That represents a significant inefficiency in our system that must be addressed if our industry wants to become more profitable and more sustainable.

The first point that must be addressed is understanding the causes of mortality. As part of the Improving Pig Survivability project, Gebhardt et al. (2020), a team effort from Iowa State University, Kansas State University and Purdue University, conducted a review of the most relevant data and observed that the vast majority of pigs die because of respiratory disease (caused by agents such as PRRS virus, influenza A virus, circovirus and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae), followed by scours/diarrhea (caused by E. coli, PED virus and rotavirus, among others).

Figure 1. Percentage of mortality causes adapted from USDA, 2015. Source: Gebhardt et al., 2020.

A few strategies have been shown to produce a significant positive impact on pig survivability. Management tools such as biosecurity, pig care, temperature and ventilation control, water availability and quality, cleaning and disinfection, and increasing the weaning age can drastically change mortality and removal rates (Main et al., 2005; Faccin et al., 2020, Gebhardt et al., 2020). Additionally, novel technologies such as feed mitigants (Dee et al., 2021), microbiome modulation and gene-edited pigs are promising tools for the future. However, as nutritionists, we must ask ourselves: Are there any strategies that we can implement through the feed to help alleviate the losses in performance or reduce the number of pigs our customers lose to any given challenge?

Crude protein in pig nursery diets

Crude protein is probably the most researched and consistent nutritional tool against enteric challenges in pigs. The newly weaned pig — at around 21 days of age — has a relatively limited digestive capacity, as its gastrointestinal tract is adapted to digest milk exclusively. When piglets are fed a high crude protein diet, in addition to all other stressors of the weaning process, there is a good chance that a significant portion of that protein will not be digested in the stomach and small intestine and, as a result, will reach the large intestine, where it can be used as a substrate for bacterial growth. Consequently, that may lead to diarrhea, poorer performance, increased mortality and an increased need for antibiotics.

Research shows that feeding a diet with 18% or less crude protein can:

• reduce the amount of protein fermented in the large intestine and improve fecal consistency (Nyachoti et al., 2006; Htoo et al., 2007)
• reduce the inflammatory response after an E. coli challenge (Opapeju et al., 2010)
• reduce the E. coli population in the gastrointestinal tract (Opapeju et al., 2009)

It is important to acknowledge that performance can potentially be impacted by feeding low crude protein diets. It is critical to ensure that the pigs’ amino acid requirements are being met. If diets are formulated with synthetic lysine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine, the next limiting amino acid is likely isoleucine. If synthetic isoleucine is also being used, then histidine likely becomes the limiting amino acid. Research suggests that nursery pigs require around 32% histidine:lysine (Cemin et al., 2018), and a typical nursery diet can easily go below that value.

Protein for the synthesis of non-essential amino acids can also be a limiting factor. It is important to use a lysine:crude protein ratio in the formulation software to understand the maximum inclusion rate of synthetic amino acids. Finally, pigs have a remarkable ability to compensate for poorer performance in the nursery during later stages (Menegat et al. 2020). Feeding a low crude protein diet may result in a slower start, but given the appropriate time and diet formulation, in the later stages, pigs will exhibit compensatory growth and can achieve excellent overall performance.

Fiber in swine nutrition

Carbohydrates can generally be classified as storage or structural carbohydrates. Storage carbohydrates typically refer to starch, which is easily digested by the pig and readily available as an energy source. Fiber, therefore, can be defined as all structural carbohydrates that resist digestion and are fermented in the hindgut (Kerr and Shurson, 2013). Additionally, fibers can be further classified based on several characteristics, such as viscosity and fermentability, but the most common way they are discussed in swine nutrition is based on their solubility in water.

Soluble fibers are rapidly fermented by the pig to produce volatile fatty acids: acetate, propionate, and butyrate. These components can be used as energy sources by the enterocytes, resulting in the proliferation of the epithelium. They also have a prebiotic effect by enhancing beneficial bacteria fermentation while reducing the pH to eliminate pathogens. However, soluble fibers do increase digesta viscosity, which, in turn, reduces the passage rate and predisposes colonization by pathogens. Insoluble fibers, on the other hand, are more resistant to fermentation and do not contribute significantly to the production of volatile fatty acids. However, the main benefit of insoluble fibers is that they increase the digesta passage rate, therefore preventing the colonization of pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract (Agyekum and Nyachoti, 2017).

Considering the differences between fiber sources, what exactly should be fed to the newly weaned pig? Some research suggests that soluble fibers can increase the incidence of diarrhea in early nursery pigs (Pluske et al., 1998). However, it is important to note that this negative effect is driven by the increased viscosity of the digesta and not because of the fermentability of soluble fibers. Therefore, it appears that insoluble fibers are a better recommendation, particularly for weaned pigs (Molist et al., 2010). However, some reports suggest that a combination of both soluble and insoluble fiber could provide a synergistic effect as long as the soluble source has no impact or only a small impact on viscosity (Wellock et al., 2007; Molist et al., 2014).

Soybean meal for health-challenged pigs

The effects of soybean meal on PRRS-positive pigs have been previously demonstrated by several researchers (Johnston et al., 2010; Rocha et al., 2013; Rochell et al., 2015). Their studies generally agree that pigs challenged with the PRRS virus have improved performance and/or a reduction in serum viral load when fed high levels of soybean meal. The reasons for the benefits of this ingredient are not fully understood, but one of the hypotheses argues for the presence of bioactive components, such as isoflavones and saponins. These components have several beneficial properties, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral properties (Smith and Dilger, 2018). Recently, Smith et al. (2020) observed that PRRS-infected pigs fed high levels of isoflavones had a significant reduction in mortality rates. When considered altogether, the data suggests that soybean meal or components of it have the potential to provide some protection, especially against respiratory challenges.

Figure 2. Mortality rate of PRRS-infected weanling pigs fed high levels of isoflavones. NEG = negative control, uninfected pigs. POS = infected pigs. ISF = infected pigs + isoflavones. Source: Smith et al. (2020).

Functional amino acids in swine diets

It is generally accepted that pig diseases may cause a repartition of nutrients from growth to their more active and demanding immune system. It is also recognized that certain amino acids have important functions in the immune system, and as such, their requirements can increase during a health challenge. This group of amino acids is known as functional amino acids. For instance, threonine is one of the main components of mucin in the gastrointestinal tract (Wang et al., 2010), methionine is a methyl group donor and tryptophan has the ability to impact the inflammatory response and improve the intestinal barrier (Liang et al., 2018).

Rodrigues et al. (2021) challenged a group of nursery pigs with Salmonella and provided diets low or high in crude protein and with two different amino acid ratios: 1) control ratios or 2) control ratios with 20% higher threonine, methionine and tryptophan. The authors observed that in a situation where there is no health challenge, pig performance was not affected by increasing functional amino acid ratios. On the other hand, when pigs were challenged with Salmonella, those fed the increased functional amino acids saw a significant improvement in performance regardless of the protein level. Therefore, it appears that health-challenged pigs may benefit from significantly higher ratios of certain amino acids, although more work is required with different pathogens and stages of growth.

Figure 3. Performance of pigs fed increased functional amino acid ratios under a Salmonella challenge. Adapted from Rodrigues et al., 2021.

On-farm tools

As part of the Improving Pig Survivability project, Wensley et al. (2021) conducted a series of trials to identify and quantify the benefits of on-farm tools. The authors evaluated mat feeding, a strategy that consists of spreading a small amount of feed on a mat near the feeders with the objective of stimulating feed intake. Utilizing this strategy for 10 days after weaning resulted in a significant decrease in the mortality and removal rate in the nursery. A second study was conducted to evaluate the effects of creep feeding, which consists of supplementing the piglets’ diet by offering feed while they are still with the sow. The authors found improvements in the overall nursery mortality and removal rates by offering creep feed for four days before weaning, particularly if provided in a large pellet format. These two studies show that simple tools can be effectively used to improve pig mortality, although it is important to consider the extra labor involved in implementing these strategies correctly.

Summary

Pig mortality is a tremendous challenge for our industry. It is a complex issue that will require a concerted multi-disciplinary effort and that must include swine health, management, nutrition and new technologies to obtain the best possible outcome. As nutritionists, we do have tools available; it is critical that we understand and reevaluate crude protein levels, the utilization of fibers, the potential benefits of soybean meal and the use of higher levels of functional amino acids. Additionally, practical strategies such as mat feeding and creep feeding should be considered. Finally, it is important to consider that each system is unique in its challenges, requiring a complete understanding from the nutritionist to tailor solutions for individual situations.

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

Literature cited

Agyekum and Nyachoti, 2017. Nutritional and metabolic consequences of feeding high-fiber diets to swine: a review. Engineering 3:716-725. doi: 10.1016/J.ENG.2017.03.010

Cemin et al., 2018. Effects of standardized ileal digestible histidine to lysine ratio on growth performance of 7- to 11-kg nursery pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 96:4713-4722. doi: 10.1093/jas/sky319

Dee et al., 2021. An evaluation of additives for mitigating the risk of virus‐contaminated feed using an ice‐block challenge model. Transbound. Emerg. Dis. 68:833-845. doi: 10.1111/tbed.13749

Faccin et al., 2020. Impact of increasing weaning age on pig performance and belly nosing prevalence in a commercial multisite production system. J. Anim. Sci. 98:skaa031. doi: 10.1093/jas/skaa031

Gebhardt et al., 2020. Postweaning mortality in commercial swine production. I: review of non-infectious contributing factors. Transl. Anim. Sci. 4:462-484. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa068

Htoo et al., 2007. Effect of dietary protein content on ileal amino acid digestibility, growth performance, and formation of microbial metabolites in ileal and cecal digesta of early-weaned pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 85:3303-3312. doi: 10.2527/jas.2007-0105

Johnston et al., 2010. Soybean meal level modifies the impact of high immune stress on growth and feed efficiency in pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 88(E-Suppl. 3):57–58.

Kerr and Shurson, 2013. Strategies to improve fiber utilization in swine. J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol. 4:11. doi: 10.1186/2049-1891-4-11

Liang et al., 2018. Dietary L-Tryptophan modulates the structural and functional composition of the intestinal microbiome in weaned piglets. Front. Microbiol. 9:1736. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01736

Main et al., 2005. Effects of weaning age on growing-pig costs and revenue in a multi-site production system. J. Swine Health Prod. 13:189-197.

Menegat et al., 2020. A review of compensatory growth following lysine restriction in grow-finish pigs. Trans. Anim. Sci. 4:531-547. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa014

Molist et al., 2010. Effect of wheat bran on the health and performance of weaned pigs challenged with Escherichia coli K88+. Livest. Sci. 133:214-217. doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2010.06.067

Molist et al., 2014. Relevance of functional properties of dietary fibre in diets for weanling pigs. Anim. Feed Sci. Techn. 189. doi: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2013.12.013

Nyachoti et al., 2006. Performance responses and indicators of gastrointestinal health in early-weaned pigs fed low-protein amino acid-supplemented diets. J. Anim. Sci. 84:125-134. doi: 10.2527/2006.841125x

Opapeju et al., 2009. Effect of dietary protein level on growth performance, indicators of enteric health, and gastrointestinal microbial ecology of weaned pigs induced with postweaning colibacillosis. J. Anim. Sci. 87:2635-2643. doi: 10.2527/jas.2008-1310

Opapeju et al., 2010. Inflammation-associated responses in piglets induced with post-weaning colibacillosis are influenced by dietary protein level. Livest. Sci. 131:58-64. doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2010.02.026

Pluske et al., 1998. Confirmation of the role of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates in the expression of swine dysentery in pigs after experimental infection. J. Nutr. 128, 1737-1744.

Rocha et al., 2013. Soybean meal level in diets for pigs challenged with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus. J. Anim. Sci. 92(E-Suppl. 2):31.

Rochell et al., 2015. Effects of dietary soybean meal concentration on growth and immune response of pigs infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. J. Anim. Sci. 93:2987-2997. doi: 10.2527/jas.2014-8462

Rodrigues et al., 2021. Functional amino acid supplementation, regardless of dietary protein content, improves growth performance and immune status of weaned pigs challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium. J. Anim. Sci. 99:skaa365. doi: 10.1093/jas/skaa365

Smith and Dilger. 2018. Immunomodulatory potential of dietary soybean-derived isoflavones and saponins in pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 96:1288-1304. doi: 10.1093/jas/sky036

Smith et al., 2020. Dietary soy isoflavones reduce pathogen-related mortality in growing pigs under porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viral challenge. J. Anim. Sci. 98: skaa024. doi: 10.1093/jas/skaa024

USDA. 2015. Swine 2012: Part I: Baseline reference of swine health and management in the United States, 2012. Fort Collins, CO: USDA-APHIS-VS, CEAH. #663.0814.

Wang et al., 2010. Optimal dietary true ileal digestible threonine for supporting the mucosal barrier in small intestine of weanling pigs. J. Nutr. 140:981-986. doi: 10.3945/jn.109.118497

Wellock et al., 2007. Effect of dietary non-starch polysaccharide solubility and inclusion level on gut health and the risk of post weaning enteric disorders in newly weaned piglets. Livest. Sci. 108:186-189. doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2007.01.050

Wensley et al., 2021. Effects of mat feeding on the growth performance and mortality of pigs after weaning. Kansas Ag. Exp. Station Res. Rep. 7:11. doi: 10.4148/2378-5977.8179

Wensley et al., 2021. Effect of floor feeding creep feed on the growth performance and mortality of pigs after weaning. Kansas Ag. Exp. Station Res. Rep. 7:11. doi: 10.4148/2378-5977.8166

“Organic chicken,” “free-range chicken” and “antibiotic-free chicken” are now popular terms in the food supply chain. As consumers become more conscious about their health and animal welfare, the poultry industry has been working hard to address their concerns.

There has been a particularly strong drive for antibiotic-free (ABF) chicken. As a result, producers, retailers and restaurants have started to offer ABF choices. Governments have also created stricter regulations to prevent the misuse or overuse of antibiotics in animal feed.

Why has there been such a strong adjustment from various stakeholders globally around this issue? It all started with consumer concern about antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is predicted to kill more people than cancer by 2050. This blog post reveals how reducing antibiotic usage in agriculture is being demanded by consumers, required by governments and led by big brands to help prevent this global health threat.

For poultry producers, ensuring good animal gut health is important for preventing the disease challenges that come with antibiotic reduction on the farm.

The push for antibiotic-free chicken has come from consumers due to health concerns.

The majority of antibiotic resistance has resulted from human misuse and the overuse or abuse of antibiotics. However, the public is worried about antibiotic use in agriculture for several reasons:

• Antibiotics used in farming have also been used in human medicine.
• Animals can pass resistance to humans through live contact and/or environmental contamination.
• Meat, milk and eggs from contaminated animals (for example, poultry meat that contains antibiotic-resistant E. coli) can pass resistance to humans.

Why is antibiotic resistance scary?

Let’s rewind to 1945, when Sir Alexander Fleming won a Nobel Prize for his discovery of penicillin. In his acceptance speech, he warned even then that bacteria could become resistant to drugs. That means that some bacteria meant to be killed by antibiotics can adapt, survive and replicate. Sometimes, they pass this characteristic to other bacteria present in the gut. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is dangerous because it makes treatments fail when people or animals get sick.

Fast-forward nearly 80 years and AMR is one of the biggest threats in global health, food security and development today, according to World Health Organization (WHO). In 2019, almost 1.3 million deaths directly resulted from illnesses caused by drug-resistant bugs, according to a report released by the Lancet, a medical journal, on January 20, 2022. The large-scale use of antibiotics could lead to the death of up to 10 million people by 2050, meaning that one life will be taken every three seconds. In other words, superbugs could be a bigger killer than cancer, as projected in the chart below.

These alarming statistics reveal an urgent need for sweeping global changes to tackle antibiotic resistance on every front, from the healthcare industry to the agriculture sector.

Governments have introduced policies to prevent antibiotic resistance from agriculture.

Farmers began putting antibiotics in chicken feed in the 1950s after observing lower mortalities and faster body weight gain associated with their use. While the 1950s and the 1960s were the golden era of antibiotic discoveries, progress slowed down in the following decades, and new antibiotics are not currently being discovered. Meanwhile, bugs have evolved to resist many of the antibiotics available to both humans and animals. Consequently, regulatory boards have become stricter about antibiotics in animal feed.

Currently, the main uses of antibiotics in poultry productions are to treat disease, prevent disease or promote growth. The first use must exclude medically important antibiotics for humans in many countries now. The second and third uses are being increasingly restricted, as shown in the timeline below.

Denmark is a pioneer in this area and has established creative ways of following up on regulations. For example, Denmark’s government introduced a card system to name and shame drug abusers. This is done by listing the top veterinarians and farms by drug usage, then visiting those farms to ask why they are using so much.

With other countries following suit and creating their own rules, the focus on reducing antibiotic use in feed continues to grow globally.

Many producers, retailers and restaurant chains have developed ABF food products and menu items to respond to consumer demand.

The table below illustrates some examples from the U.S.

A holistic approach to ensuring poultry performance and producer profitability with a reduced reliance on antibiotics.

Many producers have been successful in making the transition to antibiotic-free production or antibiotic reduction, despite the inevitable challenges. To prevent disease in poultry and promote growth for broiler chicken, it is important to make both the outside and internal environments as beneficial and comfortable as possible for the animal.

For the outside environment, it is helpful to have a nutritionist evaluate any environmental factors, such as drinking water and air quality. Biosecurity, farm management and vaccination programs also play an important role in keeping the flock safe. 

The internal environment is related to gut health, which is directly linked to immunity and growth performance. A complete gut health program like Seed, Feed, Weed (SFW) aids in reducing antibiotic usage in poultry by:

1. Seeding the gut-favorable organisms (i.e., probiotics)
2. Feeding them and maintaining a proper environment in which they can survive
3. Weeding out the unfavorable organisms before they colonize the intestinal tract

This helps prevent pathogenic bacteria from binding to the epithelium and works to maintain microbial diversity, which improves the animal’s natural defenses.

In conclusion, with alarming predictions on what antibiotic resistance could do to people’s health and livelihood, the poultry industry is taking steps to reduce antibiotic use in animal feed. Many companies and farms have successfully switched to antibiotic-free production or antibiotic reduction in recent years. This shows that alternatives to antibiotics are available to help producers maintain their businesses. Additionally, a sustainable poultry production can also help companies reach a new market and gain a competitive advantage.

I want to learn more about poultry nutrition.

As we roll through the summer months, signs of heat stress in beef cattle become an increasing concern for those in the industry. An inability to dissipate heat causes heat stress in beef cattle and can lead to reductions in growth rate, health, milk production, reproductive efficiency and survival associated with heat stress. These contribute to significant losses to producers. While the cost of heat stress to the livestock industry is difficult to calculate accurately, several estimates have been made. St-Pierre et al. (2003) estimated up to $2.4 billion dollars in heat stress-related losses across all species within the US, with more than $350 million associated with the beef industry.

Typically, feedlot cattle are more susceptible to heat stress than cattle on pasture. In the feedlot, heat stress-related animal death costs ~$5,000 per head (Mader, 2002). Since those estimates were made, heat waves have become more frequent. A heat wave in 2006 resulted in the death of 25,000 cattle in California (Nienaber & Hahn, 2007), costing the dairy industry $1 billion (CDFA, 2006). In June 2009, more than 2,000 cattle died during a heat event in Nebraska. Farmers in Iowa reported upwards of 4,000 head of cattle lost in a 2011 heat wave. There have continued to be heat stress related incidents affecting cattle.

As research has delved into the effects of heat stress that reach far beyond production measures, it has become clearer that even when cattle do not show signs of heat stress, they may still be negatively impacted. Some hidden costs of heat stress include greater incidence of rumen acidosis, laminitis and dark cutting beef. Further, conception rates, sperm quality, milk yield, gut barrier integrity and immune function are adversely affected.

What factors can lead to beef heat stress?

While beef cattle are more resilient to heat stress than many other species, they still suffer negative effects. Even cattle exposed to the same environmental conditions and management practices vary widely in their ability to handle high environmental temperatures. Below are some key areas identified as indicators of an animal’s ability to cope with heat stress and suggestions on how to address them.

1. Genetics

• Bos indicus breeds have greater heat tolerance than continental breeds. Choosing location-appropriate breeds or crossbreds and timing breeding to best suit local conditions can mitigate many heat stress problems for calves.
• Cattle with dark hides are more susceptible to heat-related issues. In a group of closely related cattle with different hide colors, researchers found a 2°F higher core body temperature in cattle with dark hides. 
• Hair length is considered a moderately heritable trait. The slick gene found in Senepol cattle and Spanish-origin breeds results in a shorter coat and correlates to heat tolerance in cattle. 
• In addition to coat length, the timing of shedding is also a factor. Adjusted 205-day body weight was 24.1 pounds higher in calves from dams that shed by May in a trial by researchers at Mississippi State University and North Carolina State University.
• Calmer cattle have been shown to be more heat tolerant than excitable ones. This is likely due to reduced stress response to handling, leading to lower metabolic activity and heat production in the animal.

2. Health

• As cattle do not sweat effectively, they primarily use respiratory cooling to regulate body temperature. Thus, respiratory health is critical to managing a high heat load. Research at the Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) shows that cattle treated for pneumonia any time between birth and slaughter have a 10.5% higher respiration rate under stressful conditions in the feedlot.
• Cattle undergoing heat stress are more susceptible to illness, but the converse is also true. Cattle in poor health going into a heat event may not have adequate energy reserves to adjust metabolic activity to facilitate body cooling.

3. Production stage

• A feedlot is generally hotter than pasture due to radiant heat from dirt and concrete pads and the lack of shade and water typically available to pastured cattle.
• Heavier cattle are at more risk. The development of fat cover reduces the efficacy of heat dissipation mechanisms, with more heat from digestion and metabolism retained in the body. Cattle at the end of finishing should be watched closely for heat stress, as should cows with higher BCS.
• Adult animals can become heat-stressed at temperatures as low as 80°F if there is high humidity or little air movement. While calves are more heat-tolerant than mature animals, they are still susceptible to heat stress-related reductions in feed digestibility and energy redistribution, leading to lower growth and immunity.

4. Previous exposure to heat

• Cattle previously exposed to high temperatures are better able to tolerate additional heat events. Cattle producers in southern regions should be aware that cattle brought in from northern areas are likely to be much more sensitive to heat stress.
• Heat stress can negatively affect the immune function, growth, milk production and metabolic resiliency of cattle, even after the high temperatures have passed.

The local environment also plays a role in how well cattle handle the heat. Cattle do not dissipate heat as effectively as other species when temperatures are high. They accumulate a heat load during the day and dissipate heat at night as temperatures decline. When making management decisions in hot weather, remember that a cow’s core temperature peaks two hours after environmental temperature peaks, and it takes at least six hours for cattle to dissipate their heat load. Thus, if nighttime temperatures do not drop sufficiently, cattle will accumulate heat they cannot disperse. Therefore, a temperature-humidity index (THI) alone may not predict cattle heat stress because it does not account for this accumulated heat load.

How to manage heat stress in beef cattle

The best ways to manage heat stress in cattle involve planning practices that limit stress and provide cattle with cooling methods when needed. The USDA-ARS has excellent resources for forecasting and managing heat stress. Below are some suggestions to keep in mind:

• When possible, a shaded area should be provided to allow 20–40 square feet per animal, with the shade placed at least eight feet above the ground to allow good airflow. 
• Cattle increase respiration with temperature rises, necessitating higher water intakes. For growing animals, a temperature increase from 70–90°F nearly doubles water requirements. Ensure clean, cold water is available, with at least three linear inches of water space per head.
• Heat production from digestion peaks 4–6 hours post-feeding. Adjusting feeding times to provide 70% or more of feed in the evening allows cattle to digest during the coolest portion of the day.

• While windbreaks can be beneficial in the winter, if possible, they should be removed during the summer to allow for better air circulation. Similarly, limiting brush height in pastures can aid in keeping cattle cool.       
• Heavy fly loads will cause cattle to bunch together, exacerbating heat issues. A strong fly control problem is critical for management during hot weather.
• Watch the weather and, when possible, avoid working cattle on the hottest days and limit holding times where they are bunched or away from shade and/or water. If cattle need to be worked, do so in the early morning while they have low body temperatures and work slowly and calmly to help them manage the multiple stressors of heat and working.
• Sprinklers can be used to soak animals and aid evaporative cooling. Sprinklers should have a large droplet size, be used intermittently to limit mud formation and positioned away from bunks and feeders. Sprinklers should be considered preventative and require acclimation (once used, they must stay in use).

Some aspects of nutrition can also be considered to aid cattle in managing hot weather. Dietary protein should be examined as urea/urine production from excess protein is energetically costly and heat-generating. Similarly, high-forage diets can be problematic, as the heat produced from digesting fibrous material is much higher than that from grains and concentrates. However, cattle are more susceptible to acidosis during heat stress, so concentrate intake should be closely managed. Research indicates that lowering the energy content of the diet will decrease the heat load on the animals, with a general recommendation to reduce the diet energy content by 5–7%. Some feed additives have been proven to aid cattle during heat stress by helping maintain rumen pH balance, supporting digestion and through other actions. These additives can help maintain feed intake and health during heat stress.

Ultimately, managing beef cattle is a multi-faceted challenge that requires balancing the specifics of the cattle, environment and facilities of each individual production program.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my beef cattle.

Rhea Freeman is a U.K.-based equine marketing expert and business coach. Her unique approach to working with her clients to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for their small and medium-sized businesses has earned her multiple awards and international recognition.

The Alltech ONE Conference was lucky to have Rhea speak virtually all the way from Europe about 10 strategic marketing tips for social media. While Rhea focuses on equine businesses, her philosophies apply to any brand that is looking to expand their online presence.

#1: Find your people.

As Rhea reminds us, “Social media is not about you. It’s about ‘them’ and how you can serve them better.” As such, the first step to meeting your social media business goals is to do some market research and figure out where your audience hangs out online.

It seems obvious, but simply asking people where they spend their time and observing your audience out in the real world will help you identify which social platforms will make the most sense for who you want to interact with online.

#2: Define your objective for each platform.

In the words of Zig Ziglar, “You need a plan to build a house. To build a life, it is even more important to have a plan or goal.”

We would add to this that to build a social media following, you need to have concrete goals.

Each social media platform is different. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter —  the list goes on, but what most of us know is that each platform serves different purposes and audiences.

Before jumping into content creation, decide how you want to use each platform where you have a presence, and create content according to the audience you are serving on that particular site.

#3: Post with intention.

Science has found that the average person currently processes as much as 74 GB of information per day through all different types of media. This is equivalent to watching 16 movies per day!

For reference, 500 years ago, 74 GB of information would have been what a highly educated person consumed in a lifetime.

And every year, the amount of information we process daily is estimated to increase by 5%.

So, what does this mean for social media? It is easy for brands to get lost in the noise.

When you post, don’t do it just to fill space. Have intention behind what you post, and use your platform to make a difference.

Understanding the purpose behind each post is critical. Rhea suggests asking yourself what you are trying to achieve with each post. Here are some examples:

• Engagement
• Education
• Inspiration
• Excitement
• Entertainment
• And more!

#4: Create quality content.

It is important to differentiate yourself and your brand by creating content that is as good as it can be. In Rhea’s words, “Be on a constant quest for improvement.”

If your image is what makes people stop, your caption is what drives engagement. Don’t skimp on any part of your content; it is all important for long-term growth on social media channels.

#5: Be consistent.

Rhea suggests thinking of your social media like a TV show. Remember the days when recording a show and rewatching it later were simply not an option? You knew that every week, on Thursday nights at 8 p.m., your show would come on — and you would show up for it, running to get snacks during the commercials!

If you are not consistently showing up on social media, your audience will wonder what happened to you, and they may even draw conclusions that you are no longer in business.

So, keep showing up. And keep creating content with the intention to make a difference. Your audience will notice.

#6: Be aware of your branding and style elements.

The goal of social media is to drive brand awareness through connection. What you are striving for is to create content that people recognize and associate with your brand, even before they see who posted it or your logo in the corner of the profile image.

Design isn’t everything, but it is certainly a component of a comprehensive marketing strategy, and it will help distinguish your brand from the rest.

Play around and have fun with your brand design, and remember that it is a reflection of your business.

#7: Encourage and nurture engagement.

Remember, social media is the cocktail party, not the university lecture.

Social media marketing allows us to reach our customers in some amazingly powerful ways that we do not want to take for granted.

Ask your followers questions on stories, feed posts or videos, and be sure to respond to what they post in their replies. Some of the greatest needs of humans are to be seen, heard and appreciated.

Listen to your followers, learn what matters to them and take the time to nurture your online relationships.

#8: Use the tools inherent in each social media platform.

No matter which social media channel you’re looking at, these apps were designed for people to use! This means that there are fun tools within each platform that were created to help you engage with others. Some examples include poll questions on Instagram stories, video editing features on TikTok and more.

Experimenting with different functionalities can help increase your reach. It can also help with market research by showing you what types of content are most relevant and engaging to your audience. Channel your inner construction worker and use that toolbox!

#9: Use the platform as a user.

Creating a social media marketing strategy is very important, but don’t forget to have some fun!

Rhea suggests:

• Engaging with other people’s accounts
• Following the hashtags that interest you
• Reaching out to new people
• Building relationships and connections
• Getting inspired by what others are doing

Think of social media as attending a conference day in and day out: It is a major networking opportunity that is waiting for you to engage. In fact, we’ve heard that social media is on par with the networking opportunities you will find at the in-person Alltech ONE Conference — and that’s saying something!

#10: Don’t become overly focused on the number of followers you have.

It is important to not become too obsessed with the number of followers you accrue. Of course, growing your following is important, but quality definitely rules over quantity when it comes to social media.

Make your social media goals all about growing a genuine following and connecting with them authentically. That will trump any number of bought or misaligned followers any time of day.

Thinking back to the networking example we mentioned previously, if you go to a conference with no interest in any of the topics being spoken about, why are you there? The people there are likely not “your people,” and you will find the experience very unfulfilling.

The same rule applies to social media: Go where you can find a community, and cultivate that connection and warmth on your own channels.

Wrapping it all up

Rhea ended her thorough presentation with this bit of wisdom: “Social media isn’t just about the sale. It is about community expansion, growing a brand, creating loyalty and celebrating and connecting with your people.”

Whatever your social media goals are for your equine business, put these principles into action and have some fun! We guarantee you will see results.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

I have had horses most of my life, but it was not until I first cared for a horse on my small acreage that it dawned on me, what should I do with all the manure? I am sure you, too, if you care for horses, have asked the same question at some point.

Horses produce 50 pounds of manure per day, over eight tons per year! Add to that the eight to ten gallons of urine a horse generates and the wheelbarrow or more of bedding used each day, and in no time at all, you will have a manure mountain.

All that takes up a whole lot of valuable space that you would probably enjoy using for more interesting things than stockpiling manure. For me, that first small acreage experience was over 30 years ago, but the process of working out a useful horse manure management option led me on the exciting journey I am on today as an environmental educator working with horse owners around the country.

In this article, I will share some of the problems associated with not having a solid system to deal with manure as part of your overall horse management program and cover the benefits of composting. We will go through the steps to manage compost and wind up with guidelines for using finished compost.

The trouble with horse manure

There are many concerns about the mismanaged manure pile (besides the obvious of wasted space and being an eyesore), such as:

• Horses grazing near their manure are quickly reinfested by larvae that hatch from worm eggs shed in manure.
• Odor and fly problems becoming a concern to you or your neighbors.
• Runoff from soggy manure piles causing water quality issues for creeks and wetlands, as well as for drinking water, which is a serious concern if you have your own well. Many areas have ordinances in place that strictly control these issues.

What is composting?

All organic matter, including manure and bedding, eventually decomposes. By providing an ideal environment, we put the beneficial bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that speed up the decomposition process to work.

As manure and stall waste are broken down, the microorganisms generate tremendous amounts of heat. This heat destroys weed seeds, fly larvae, worm eggs and other disease-causing pathogens.

Finished compost is crumbly, earthy-smelling, dark material and a marvelous soil amendment that holds in moisture and adds nutrients.

The compost bin vs. the compost pile

In order to compost and generate heat, it is important to stack your manure and stall waste a minimum of three to four feet high. (Aim to make it at least the size of a washing machine.)

You can build a bin out of cement or pressure-treated wood, or you can just create a large manure pile. Larger horse facilities or those with tractors might need a sturdy bin design with strong walls. If you live in a wet climate, you will need either a roof or a tarp over your bin to avoid piles getting too wet and soggy. A cement pad for the bottom is helpful when using a tractor to keep the area from turning muddy in the winter or rainy season.

How to manage composting systems 

This includes tarping (covering), turning or aerating, and watering. Like most living things, the microorganisms that break down manure and bedding are aerobic, requiring air and water. Too much or too little of either can cause problems. Some simple steps to follow to manage the process are:

1. Choose the right location. Begin by locating an appropriate place for your composting site. For chore efficiency, choose an area convenient for chores with easy access to your horses, barn and paddocks. This area should be high, well-drained and away from waterways. Locating your pile at the bottom of a hill or in a wet area may mean it turns into a pile of mush. A dry, level area is especially important when it comes to accessing the pile with any kind of heavy equipment, such as a tractor or truck (which you may want for spreading the finished compost).

2. Piling. Place daily manure and stall waste in one bin or pile. When that bin or pile is as large as you want it (at least three feet), leave it and begin building a second pile or bin, and so on for the last bin. In two to four months, the first bin or pile should be finished, and you can start using the compost from that bin. It is a good idea to have two or three separate piles — or more if you would like.

3. Keep it covered! Covering your compost prevents the valuable nutrients you are saving in the compost from getting washed out and causing problems with the neighbors or in nearby waterways. A cover keeps your piles from becoming a soggy mess in the winter or too dried out in the summer. This can be accomplished with a tarp, plastic sheet or by building a roof.

Since you will need to pull the tarp back every time you clean your horse’s stall and paddock, make the tarp as chore-efficient and easy to use as possible. You may want to attach your tarp to the back of your compost bin. TIP: If you live in a windy area, weigh down your tarp with milk jugs full of gravel.

4. Get air into the pile. Turning the compost-to-be allows oxygen to get to the bacteria and organisms that break down the material into dirt-like organic matter. This keeps the process aerobic and earthy smelling. If the compost becomes anaerobic, without air, it will have a foul, undesirable odor.

How often you turn it determines how quickly your compost will be ready. On its own, air will permeate into the pile to a depth of one to two feet, so it’s the center of the pile that really needs air. Unless you have access to a tractor or enjoy a good workout, turning the pile by hand is difficult.

An easy way to get air to the center and avoid frequent hand-turning is to insert a couple of five- or six-foot PVC pipes into the center of the pile like chimneys. Buy PVC pipes with holes in them or use a drill to put in holes along pipes. Alternately, you could use a tamping rod to insert a few holes into the center.

The pile will still need to be turned from time to time to get the manure on the outside into the center so heat from the composting process can kill pathogens and evenly break down the material.

5. Keep it damp. Your compost material should be about as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Particularly in the summer, you will need to find a way to water your compost. Either use a garden hose when you turn it or just hose down the manure in your wheelbarrow before you dump it into the pile.

The compost should be damp but not dripping with water. If you squeeze a handful of it in your hand (wear a glove if you want), you should only be able to squeeze out a drop or two.

6. Optional: Monitor the heat. A wonderful component of composting is the heat generated by the beneficial microbes. A compost pile can get fairly warm, about 130–150°F. If you want the compost to kill fly larvae, worm eggs, weed seeds and pathogens, you need it to reach these temperatures for about three or four days. You can monitor the temperatures easily with the aid of a long-stemmed compost thermometer purchased at a local garden store.

7. Finished compost. How actively you monitor the air and water and how often you turn it determines how quickly it will compost. It should take around three to four months to finish, perhaps longer in the winter. The volume of material piled up will decrease in size by about 50%. You will know when your compost is ready when the material looks evenly textured, dark and crumbly like dirt and no longer like the original material. It should be 90°F or less.

8. Put that black gold to good work! Compost is a rich soil amendment that improves the health of both plants and soil and helps to retain moisture. You can use your compost in your garden, give it away to your neighbors, or spread it on your pastures. Spreading manure in pastures during the growing season — from late spring to early fall — is best.

You can use a manure spreader or simply spread it with a shovel from the back of a pickup truck or by the bucketful with a tractor. Do not spread it too thick to avoid smothering grass; just a sprinkling of about 0.25–0.5 inches at a time and no more than three to four inches per season in the same area.

In conclusion

Finished compost is a precious soil amendment infused with micro and macronutrients that work to add nutrients in a time-release fashion. Compost adds “life” to soils in terms of beneficial bacteria and fungi. Academic research shows that compost makes plants healthier, more disease-resistant and that just one application of compost can have benefits lasting five or more years.

Compost will also help hold in moisture — very important for helping your pasture survive a summer drought or climate change! And composting provides you with a free, easy source of compost that saves you money. Your horseless gardening neighbors may find it a valuable commodity as well!

For questions or design help, contact Horses for Clean Water, your local conservation district or the Natural Resources Conservation Service.  

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

As Alltech president and CEO Dr. Mark Lyons closed the 2022 Alltech ONE Conference following powerful presentations led by Alltech Humanitarian Award winners Mick Ebeling and Erik Weihenmayer, he invited the audience to consider a great deal about all that had been discussed. 

“We’ve been talking a little bit about some of the problems threatening global stability,” he said. “High inflation, the energy crisis, food poverty and the climate crisis [are all top of mind]. [And as Alltech ruminant research director Dr. Vaughn Holder reminded us], we have not just one now, but [rather] two very important jobs: nourishing people and preserving our planet. 

“We have the science that is showing us the way, but we also know [what to do] intrinsically,” Lyons continued. “It’s something that’s within us. Let’s not let negativity [and perceived barriers] suppress our inner truths.” 

A good thing 

Lyons went on to point out that we should take heart in Mick Ebeling’s message of doing at least a little bit of good for others each day.  

“[Doing good is good.] It’s good for our business. It’s good for our brand. It’s good for recruiting, and it’s good for retention,” he said. “[Think about it]. What is the number-one challenge in your business? People. It was before the pandemic, and it is even more so today.”  

Lyons has a point. According to a recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the so-called “great resignation” isn’t over: “Higher pay, more job fulfillment and wanting to be ‘truly themselves’ at work are the [key] factors pushing workers to change jobs.”

It would appear that the answer to this modern-day dilemma might be simpler than we may have originally thought. 

A transformative opportunity 

Lyons went on to note, “This is an opportunity for transformation. What a gift [we’ve been given: the ability] to work together to create a planet the way we want to see it. 

“We can have profitable businesses while solving the world’s biggest problems,” he continued. “There is so much more agriculture can do.”  

He’s not wrong. As studies have shown, we capture more carbon in the soil with animals on the land than we would without them. That’s information that the average person is likely unaware of, and “that’s the power that you [in agriculture] have. Tell the story,” Lyons urged the audience. 

“As my father [the late Dr. Pearse Lyons] liked to say, ‘Don’t get it right. Get it going’ — much to the remiss of many perfectionists, including [my mother],” Lyons continued. “But he was right! It’s not about perfectionism, it’s about progress. If we change the lens and the way we look at things, we can change the way we think.” 

The power of anti-goals 

Before you enlist Google’s help in discovering what anti-goals are, I’ll save you the trouble: Anti-goals are a concept developed by Tiny Capital co-founder Andrew Wilkinson. They’re about things you don't want to happen or the person you don’t want to be a year from now. So, essentially, instead of envisioning positive outcomes surrounding potentially hard-to-attain goals, you think about all the things you don’t want to happen and what actions you can take to avoid these potential challenges.  

So, consider: What things do you not want to happen? What outcome would make achieving your goal hardly worth it? How do you avoid that? This is an example of inverted thinking. It’s much easier to solve a problem backwards than it is forward, and anti-goals are designed to help you assess potential barriers before you encounter them. 

Camp or climb? 

In closing, Lyons remarked, “Every great ascent begins with a vision. Are we okay here? Are we going to be complacent? Shall we camp? Or will we climb?” 

He encouraged the audience to give those around them the courage to achieve great things and to work toward a Planet of Plenty™. 

“[Before we part, I’d like to ask] you to do a [few] things,” Lyons said. “[The first is to] think of that one person you can help, as Mick [Ebeling] challenged us to do. [The second is to] think of one collaboration [you can set into motion] — someone you can work with who can help you achieve your ambitions. And [finally, I would encourage you to] think of someone you could bring [to the Alltech ONE Conference] next year.”  

You never know. These few simple tasks could transform your life, that of another — or both. See you on the ascent. 

To register for access to on-demand content and more from the Alltech ONE Conference, visit one.alltech.com.