To capture the dairy operations on the Fagundes family dairy in Hanford, California, Alltech’s film crew arrived early to leverage as much daylight as possible.

“We always try to arrive early,” said Alan Henthorne, corporate media manager for Alltech. “But we never beat a dairy farmer to work!”

In fact, when the Alltech crew arrived, the Fagundes dairy was already well-underway with morning milking and feedout.

Experienced in shooting on-location throughout the world, including recently in Mexico, Europe and China, this was the team’s first shoot in California, the number one milk producing state in the U.S. To put that ranking in context, the average herd size in California is more than 1000 for a dairy; in the second-ranking milk state, Wisconsin, the herd size is closer to 100.

Frank and Susan Fagundes have a 700-cow dairy, with mostly Holsteins who were not quite sure they were interested in a camera close-up.

Although Alan’s crew typically shoots with a Canon C-100 and DSLR with interchangeable lenses, the size of the dairy required a different approach: a drone.

The Alltech team has been using a small drone for a couple years, and, according to Alan, it’s already become an essential part of the team’s storytelling toolbox.

At the Fagundes dairy, the Alltech team envisioned the drone capturing the family walking with their dog among the cattle, illustrating the scale of the operation as well as the unique—albeit dusty (a camera challenge due to the drought!)—California landscape.

Drones add a certain element, however, to the dynamics of filming. Humans, cows and dogs all respond differently to the flying object.

In this particular case, the drone almost became puppy chow. “The Fagundes’ German Shepherd was determined to do his duty and protect them all from this invader,” said Alan.

So how did the cows handle their close-up?

Despite the fact that the drone must “look and sound like the biggest fly on the planet” to them, they did surprisingly well, according to the team. There was only one instance in which they almost initiated a stampede.

Alan emphasized, however, that safety in these shoots is always paramount. The drones are never used without permission and only used with complete human and animal safety in mind. In fact, studies are already being conducted to determine the minimum safe distances between drones and animals to avoid disturbing them. Even in terms of the overall shoot, camera tripod legs get equipped with the same biosecurity footwear as a human.

For the Alltech film crew, all the efforts are incredibly rewarding.

“Farmers work hard and don't always have the time to tell their own stories,” said Alan. “We're happy that we are able show how much dedication, passion and care can go into what they do, which ultimately is feeding the rest of us.

You can see the full video above and on our interactive Farmer Stories Map.

Have a question or comment?

More and more college students are realizing the value of work experience in their chosen field before graduation. In fact, the number of undergraduates participating in internships or co-op experiences during college has risen to a high of 65 percent, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Class of 2015 Student Survey. It also found that students who participate in paid internships have a greater chance of graduating with a job offer.

What better way to experience a future career than by interning with a potential employer?

More than 170 students have gained invaluable experience as interns at Alltech’s Center for Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition since the world-renowned research facility opened in 2008. All these student researchers have completed projects impacting the company’s research program aimed at creating solutions for the global agriculture industry.

From traditional nutrition evaluation trials to evaluation and optimization of production processes, these students (the majority of them undergraduates) not only learn valuable information but also gain hands-on experience and training. Many have set themselves on paths to graduate school. Others have even found their career path with Alltech.

“The experience has opened a lot of doors to opportunities I had not imagined,” said Hayley Kincaid, a recent biology graduate of the University of Pikeville in Kentucky.

Kincaid joined the internship program right after graduation so she could begin gaining research laboratory experience. “I never expected to be here,” she said, “but I love working in the lab.” Kincaid is working with the poultry nutrition group during her time at Alltech.

“I didn’t know that companies like Alltech existed,” said Kincaid, who learned about Alltech and the internship program when a company representative visited her school. She is excited about future opportunities with companies like Alltech in Eastern Kentucky.

The only problem she has with her three- to four month-internship at Alltech is she would like it to be longer. “I just like it so much; I want to stay!” she said.

For many, an internship with Alltech is the type of experience needed before making a decision to pursue an advanced degree in a scientific field.

Megan Dudley, a psychology major at the University of Kentucky with an interest in neuroscience and genetics research, plans to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in the field. A professor mentioned a potential internship at Alltech could be advantageous.

“The experience in methodology will be invaluable when applying to grad school,” Dudley said.

The experience in the laboratory has not been the only benefit. “I think my confidence level has increased dramatically from being here,” Dudley said, explaining that she takes responsibility for her research project in a new way, which will be necessary for graduate school.

For others, an internship experience with Alltech is a determining factor in a career not just in research, but with the company.

Amanda Sberna is the senior lab technician and marketing specialist for the Analytical Services Laboratory at Alltech. She interned with Alltech before graduation.

“Through my internship I gained knowledge and skills that would help me to become the scientist I am today,” she said. “Alltech is an incredible company to work for, offering many different opportunities with your career.”

For more information about Alltech’s student research internship program, or to apply, please visit http://www.alltech.com/about/careers/internships.

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. 

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 39^th.

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.

​

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.”

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.

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. 

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!

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.