The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin's interview with Robert Walker, CEO of KEENAN, an Alltech Company. Click below to hear the full interview:

Tom:                          The world got a very real taste of the drought-driven water shortages occurring from South Africa and Mozambique to India when Cape Town came very close to “Day Zero” —  the day when water levels in the city's reservoirs would fall below a “red line” of 13.5 percent of capacity and household water supplies would be shut off. Everyone would be forced to queue at water stations for a meager daily ration of H₂O. The city of 4 million people imposed severe water restrictions. The city managed to conserve enough to push Day Zero down the road perhaps for a few months, but not without the help of farmers north of Cape Town, who opened their dams to allow millions of liters of water to flow down to the drought-stricken city. There has been plenty of coverage of how the water shortage has impacted Cape Town. What is less known are its effects on agriculture in the Western Cape province. Robert Walker is the South African-born CEO of KEENAN, an Alltech company that is a global leader in machinery that helps farmers mix feed and distribute it to their animals. The company is a pioneer in the “internet of things” market for agriculture, having merged its range of machinery with innovative digital technologies that enable farmers to feed their animals with precision and consistency. We thank you for joining us, Robbie.

Robert:                       Hi, Tom. Glad to be with you.

Tom:                          So, tell us what the KEENAN team is doing to help farmers in the affected areas around Cape Town cope with this water crisis?

Robert:                       Tom, it’s quite a tragedy, and it's important that everyone pulls together at this moment. The KEENAN and Alltech group are doing three things: We all are participating and are a major driver in the Grass Hope Project. This is an interesting project whereby we are sourcing urban roughage — clippings from gardens, parks and other municipal installations in the center of the city — and we are having all of that delivered to our facility at Alltech. We bale that roughage, and then that gets distributed to farmers. One of the biggest problems is that farmers just don't have enough roughage for the animals.

                                    The second big thing that we're doing that seems to be making an impact is connecting farmers. The farmers in the south of the country around Cape Town really don't have enough roughage, whereas up in the north, you'll have a lot of farmers who have sufficient amounts or have other byproducts that they can give or sell to those farmers themselves. So, we’ve been connecting those farmers so that we can get roughage from the areas of plenty to those in areas of need.

                                    And the last thing we’re doing is helping with the diets of those farms that are affected. Because when they start buying all these different byproducts or use completely different ingredients, these farmers need to have the diets reformulated and reevaluated because they are completely unfamiliar ingredients. And then, of course, they’re changing almost daily. So, those three things seem to be making quite a big impact.

Tom:                          For perspective, how important is agriculture to the socioeconomic makeup of the Western Cape province?

Robert:                       The Western Cape is the garden of sub-Saharan Africa. It is somewhat like what California is to the United States. It's where most of the export-grade fruit is produced. Specifically, you have crops like apples, peaches, plums and pears. You also have a big wine industry — grape industry. So, they are very high-value crops. All of these crops are exported by and large to Europe and the East at a very high value. So, this has hit the South African economy, and really the sub-Saharan African economy, quite hard because that is a major driver of revenue in that geography.

Tom:                          I mentioned in the introduction Mozambique, India and Pakistan also experiencing this kind of situation. Would you say that what we're seeing happening in Cape Town is something of a bellwether that the world should pay attention to?

Robert:                       It certainly is an initial indication of what could be and what seems to be becoming more the norm. What’s important here is that you can see that the infrastructure planning around this problem has just not been there. I'm not accusing governments, necessarily. What I'm saying is that the infrastructure is not suited to or adept at addressing these problems. So, it’s probably wise for a lot of these different countries and municipalities around the world to start thinking about what they should be doing in this case. Cape Town is a very good example of where a lot of countries and cities are going.

Tom:                          I wonder what specific issues have come up as your team has become more familiar with this water crisis situation.

Robert:                       As a company, we’re mostly focused on the animal side. The biggest issue that we’re seeing is, first of all, roughage —  availability of feed stuffs. What’s quite bizarre, Tom, is that you have situations where, for example, a ton of corn might be cheaper than a ton of soya hulls or a ton of wheat bran. The cost of just basic, very cheap roughage is just spiraling out of control. That makes it very difficult to deal with from a production perspective.

                                    Then, of course, you’ve got the bigger problem of the national herd. So, animals are being culled. And, of course, you’re not only losing numbers, but you’re also losing genetics. In the near future, when we need to bounce back, it can be very difficult to start breeding again.

                                 On the crop side, fruits are probably going to be the most affected. As I previously mentioned, that region is renowned for its export- quality fruit, and it is an export-based economy, but the low rainfalls have meant that the fruit quality is just terrible. It’s very difficult to achieve export-grade fruits, which means that you end up with a glut of low-quality fruits on the local market but no export-quality fruit. There are some quite profound changes that I think are going to have some quite long-term effects.

Tom:                          It looks like Cape Town has, for now at least, dodged the “Mad Max” scenario, by cutting residents’ average water use in half. But thanks to this drought that really is showing no sign of abating, the city could soon become the world's first major urban area to run out of water. Is the KEENAN team hearing much talk about linking this situation to climate change?

Robert:                       Well, farmers like to talk. And, certainly, there's a lot of talk of climate change. In fact, this situation has been building since about 2015. Farmers there on the ground will be telling us that they've noticed a change in the weather. The winters have been warmer for the last three years, and they aren't getting that fog that they're accustomed to in the winter. What's interesting to note, though, is that a lot of the farmers have said that this year they've noticed a change in the weather. The weather seems to have returned to more of a normal pattern. A lot of those farmers have actually planted. Based on that, they think that this situation is about to resolve and that the rains will come as normal. So, yes, farmers are thinking that it is climate change-related, but that’s very much about farmers who know the weather and just going by their own instincts.

Tom:                          Interesting. Some positive thinking going on there. Are conservation efforts being imposed in Cape Town in the rural farming areas? Are they taking things in hand in that way?

Robert:                       Yes. There have been quotas instituted in the rural areas, so farmers are severely restricted on what they can do and where they can get their water. What has been positive about this, though, is the community spirit, and this attitude of helping one’s neighbor. That has really brought farmer and city together, which has been a quite unexpected upside of this disaster.

Tom:                          That sharing of water, for example.

Robert:                       Yes. Absolutely. There has been a sharing of water. The farmers have extended a helping hand to the city.

Tom:                          And the farmers — or at least the associations they belong to —  operate their own private dams. Is that correct?

Robert:                       Yes, they do. So, most of the farmers in South Africa have fairly large pieces of the land, and a majority of them would have owned water, whether that comes from boreholes, wells or dams. There's normally a good supply of water on those farms.

Tom:                          Are those privately owned dams in better shape than the municipal ones in Cape Town?

Robert:                       Yes. Absolutely. The privately owned dams are not full, but they are located further up in the mountains, so they tend to have remained at decent levels. There is water there.

Tom:                          The Cape Town situation is hardly resolved. It’s going to take years of this austerity before the reservoirs refill, if they ever do. The six major dams that make up the city's water supply system are, at present, an average of 19 percent full. City officials are saying the dams will have to recover to at least 40 to 50 percent in order to avoid drastic water rationing during the summer of 2019. What are the prospects for that level of recovery? I know that you say the farmers are pretty optimistic about it.

Robert:                       The farmers are quite optimistic, but this is going to take a long time to resolve. So, for example, a lot of the farmers have had to cut their production. They’re irrigating only small parcels of land. There are prospects of recovery, certainly on the production side, but it’s going to be a slow road to recovery. When it comes to how quickly those dams are going refill, it's very difficult to say. There is a positive outlook for the coming season, certainly from the farmer’s own feeling, as well as from the meteorological services, but it's going to be a long road to recovery. A lot of those farmers have also supplied a lot of their water from their dams into the city. Those dams, as you said, are now also reaching critical levels.

Tom:                          In the meantime, Cape Town is implementing some stiff water tariff increases. Are those additional costs likely to impact farms in the province, or do they rely solely on their private sources?

Robert:                       No. The farmers generally rely on their own private sources, but they will be subject to quotas. In the city, the tariffs are very steep. The cost of water is very high, and the usage of water is very low on a per-person basis.

Tom:                          Do you hear anything about the possibility of desalination as a solution? I know they tried it in Adelaide, Australia, for example, and it's had mixed results, but is there talk of that in South Africa?

Robert:                       There’s certainly a lot of talk of that, and it goes back to what I was saying a little bit about the government infrastructure and planning. A lot of people are quite angry, saying that there should have been better planning to avoid this situation. When it comes to desalination, there's a lot of talk about it.

                                    There is an ongoing project — I'm certainly not up to date on it —  but it is seen as something that is going be quite small and won’t necessarily satisfy all the needs. It's expected to help in times of emergency. A lot of the farmers are now drilling new wells and they are still finding groundwater, much like the crisis that hit California a couple years ago, where farmers’ wells started running dry. I think we still haven’t gotten to the stage where farmers’ wells are running dry, and there’s still scope for drilling new wells. The disaster, or the lack of water, really is very much in the Cape Town region, the city itself. Of course, farmers are suffering, but there is still water.

Tom:                          There's an old saying that necessity is the mother of invention. Crises often have ways of inspiring innovation. Has that happened in this case?

Robert:                       I think innovation is going to take some time. There certainly seems to be a lot of innovative projects ongoing. One of the things that has happened is that farmers are very carefully assessing how they plan their production. For example, the farmers who raise high-value fruits and vegetables have decided to only irrigate smaller portions of their land. They give all of their resources to only a limited amount of the crop so that they can guarantee to get export-quality fruit. They can then export that fruit rather than have a mediocre crop across the land.

                                    So, you have this attention to detail and attention to a very small part of their production. There has been a very big move toward conservation. Drip irrigation has certainly been taken up, and a lot of the technology ... has certainly been adopted. As a company, we focus a lot on efficiency of production. What’s important is that farmers are able to use fewer resources to do more. We are finding that farmers are very open to listening when we speak to them about new technologies, whether it be technologies for the animals or crops in terms of nutrition, or whether it’s mixing technologies for their machinery or digital technologies just to monitor all of that.

                                    They certainly seem to be open to listening and want to improve efficiency, because a more efficient system is obviously going to be better for the environment and give better results in the end. So, I do expect more innovation to come through, and it's exciting to see that farmers are able to be so innovative and adaptive in this kind of situation.

Tom:                          Do you anticipate keeping your team in South Africa's Western Cape province for the foreseeable future?

Robert:                       Absolutely. The team is doing a fantastic job. From that Cape Town region, we are able to work into the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. It is very much a springboard for us into Africa. What we've managed to do there is tie in our machinery division, our nutrition division and our crop division so that we can give 360-degree support to farmers. That Western Cape region is very vibrant. It is the center of agriculture in the region. We have no intention of leaving it.

Tom:                          Robbie, this is a very personal thing for you. We’re talking about your home. You must have some pretty strong feelings about what's going on there.

Robert:                       Absolutely, it is. There’s a mixture of anger, sometimes, because you often think the government could do more or they could have planned better, but then again, this is nature. It's difficult to judge. South Africa is very prone to drought. This drought in this region is really just an extension of the drought that has happened previously in the northern parts of the country. South Africa is prone to bad weather or weather variations, extreme weather, and it seems to be getting worse and worse. Certainly, as someone who's involved in agriculture, I find that heartbreaking. It's very difficult to see the situation and, yes, hard to watch.

Tom:                          Robbie Walker, CEO of KEENAN, thank you so much for taking the time.

Robert:                       Great. Thanks very much, Tom.

Derek Wawack, Alltech On-Farm Support forage specialist, has been a part of the company for over seven years and visits nearly 500 farms annually. Drawing from this experience, he explains the key things he looks for when inspecting a silage pile, and the steps farmers can take to avoid costly issues.

Safety

When I go on-farm for a bunker audit, the first thing I do is inspect the silage pile for any safety concerns. Large cracks, often found when there are two crops butted together, can come down, causing an avalanche or collapse. Are there overhangs? Tires falling down? Bales that could tip over? Always exercise extreme caution when around large piles.

Mold

Molds like Penicillium, Aspergillus and Fusarium are often found in corn silage and are common mycotoxin producers.

Colorations can help us identify molds, especially in corn silage. White-to-red/pinkish molds are Fusarium, or field-borne, molds. Blue-green molds are typically Penicillium, which is more often storage-related but can occur in the field under certain weather conditions. Aspergillus, which is very common in dry climates, is olive green to yellow in color.

When I observe large mold lines, I do not touch, inhale, grab or sample those areas. Many molds cause health issues to both animals and humans, and they can also produce a fair number of different mycotoxins.

In humans and animals, Penicillium mold alone can cause dermal irritation as well as gut health complications if ingested. Mycotoxins can also cause performance and reproductive problems.

Facing

Increased surface area permits more oxygen to penetrate the feed, triggering mold and yeast growth, which increases heating. We look for a smooth face, with little loose material at the base and edges. The proper facing and feed out equipment can help reduce shrinkage. A shaver provides a very smooth and clean face and can help reduce losses with proper management. Rakes or claws will cause tine marks, increasing surface area, but they do limit oxygen penetration during facing. Finally, bucket facing leads to a lot of oxygen penetration due to lifting the pile face.

Infrared inspection

Along with evaluating facing techniques, we utilize infrared cameras for hot spot detection on the piles. These cameras are used to look for areas of aerobic instability that could be due to yeast, mold, bacteria or even the management of facing practices. Shavers tend to not allow oxygen very deep into piles. Rakes and buckets can allow oxygen into the piles, resulting in quicker spoilage.

Other issues we see on infrared cameras are yeasts. Yeasts have a tendency to show up as a large bubble on the images and, being water soluble, will drain down the pile. Yeast can contaminate the top and then drain down through the face. In contrast, molds have a tendency to grow in a linear or spherical fashion. This means molds will stay more toward the top of the pile and will develop in lines.

Plastic

We also look at how well the plastic has been managed. Has it been pulled back too far? How many sheets are being used? Are the tires touching? Are the sides covered well and is the plastic pulled out with sand around the edges if it’s a drive-over pile? Or is it a bunker in which the plastic has been, at the very least, run down the walls and double overlaid?

Due to the curvature of the pile surface area, taking proper precautions and good management of the top of the pile can result in reducing up to a third of spoilage and oxygen penetration:

• Tires: You don’t want to see large spaces between tires; in fact, the tires should nearly be touching. For ease of weight and placement, side walls work the best and reduce water-holding capacity, which can encourage bugs and pathogens.
• Plastic: One black and white sheet with an oxygen barrier film, or two layers of black and white plastic, will protect the top of the forage from the elements and discourage animals from penetrating your feed.
• Cutting: Depending on height, conditions and other safety factors, try to keep the plastic cut 6 inches to 1 foot from the face edge. Two to three feet is common, but air, rain and other weather conditions can truly damage your forage when it is exposed to the elements.
• Treatment: Most spoilage occurs at the top of the pile, where the packing density isn’t as high. A mold inhibitor can help counter the impact of increased oxygen flow in this area.

Up to 60 percent of the average farm’s expenses are feed-related. By increasing the quality of your forage and reducing shrinkage, considerable cost savings can be achieved without even leaving the farm. To learn more about proper forage management, watch Pat Crowley, Alltech’s forage specialist, explain the “4 unwritten rules for great silage.”

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin’s interview with Eddie Daly, business development manager at InTouch. Click the link above to hear the full audio. 

Eddie Daly is the business development manager at InTouch, a live nutritional support service developed by KEENAN to provide real-time feedback on diet performance. He joins us from Dunboyne, Ireland.

Tom:                          First, what is InTouch, and what’s your role with InTouch?

Eddie:                         InTouch, in its simplest form, is a live feedback and support system for predominantly ruminant farmers — dairy farmers or beef farmers. My role as business development manager is growing the business, growing InTouch’s presence in the different regions, especially those new regions that we're going into now with Alltech as our mother company. It’s bringing new technologies to the market and tailoring InTouch’s offering for each region.

Tom:                          When InTouch first tapped into the internet in 2011, which seems like light-years ago, there wasn't much connectivity. There were maybe 12 million connected devices. How does that look now?

Eddie:                         It's changed drastically in the last seven years. Conservative estimates say there are 10 billion connected devices at the moment — some people say there are about 20 billion — so, it's huge. The number of smart devices in our everyday lives has grown astronomically. I think the goal in all of this hasn't changed. It's all about making those devices speak with each other and delivering a coherent message to the end user at the end of the day.

Tom:                          InTouch offers its farm clients real-time performance monitoring and instant feedback. What does that mean?

Eddie:                         I suppose it means, in its simplest form, that we record what is happening on a daily basis on each farm. So, farmers and nutritionists will talk about the prescribed diets of the day that they formulate and try and execute. So, what we're recording is what they actually put into that mixer wagon. So, we’re importing data back from the mixer wagon and we’re combining that with production data to give them different key performance indicators.

Tom:                          And is that information, that data, is it being obtained through sensors that are strategically placed?

Eddie:                         Yes. We’re importing data from the sensors from the mixer wagon and we're also importing different kinds of service sensors. That can be anything from chain tension, so different things that are important to the farmer for both his performance and also for his machine operability.

Tom:                          Farmers are busy people, and yet here is all this incoming data, streams of it. How do you help them interpret and harness it to their advantage?

Eddie:                         You're exactly right. You know, we’re being inundated with data from different sources. It can be very difficult for one farmer or one customer to sit down and make sense of it all. One of the most important elements of InTouch is having a human at the other end of the phone or other end of the computer. We have a trained team of InTouch nutritionists, who will interpret the data that has already been crunched. So, the data has already been interpreted by our algorithms in the InTouch system. That person at the other end of the phone will relay the information to the farmers. So, we’re always trying to make it very manageable for the farmer to make one small decision that might make an improvement on his overall operations.

Tom:                          Is a benefit of this process a reduction, or even elimination, of paperwork?

Eddie:                         Absolutely. That's the goal. We customize our approach depending on how that customer likes to be contacted. We now contact them through the phone — which can be a very brief phone call that lasts 10 seconds, or it can be a long phone call that lasts 20 minutes — or by email. And we're going mobile. We have an InTouch app from which the farmer can receive information and also send information to his mixer wagon. We're always trying to tailor our approach to exactly what the farmer needs and how he best likes to connect with us.

Tom:                          What are some ways that InTouch can turn around this data and help the farmer optimize efficiencies and accuracy in feed mixing?

Eddie:                         Our goal at InTouch is to simplify the process so that we can say that, whether you are operating the mixer wagon yourself or whether you have three different operators, with InTouch you can be guaranteed that it's being operated consistently on any given day.

                                    We’re trying to simplify the process of loading the mixer wagon. Then, at the other end, when we have the performance information, we're trying to give farmers useful management clues as to what he should be doing. We can take different producers from a particular region — take the U.K., for instance — and we can benchmark each producer against other producers in his region. He can see in a snapshot where he lies in that league table, how he is performing, and then that will give him clues as to what he should be doing or what he can do to improve.

Tom:                          We touched on the elimination of paperwork, but what other sorts of conveniences does InTouch bring to the farm?

Tom:                           Now that we’ve gone cloud-based — that was in 2011, as you mentioned — all the farmers’ information is stored securely in the cloud. That means they can access their data from anywhere, at any time. So, they can log on to their own unique producer portal through any device and access their information straight away. With the mobile app, everything is a lot simpler; you can make changes on the go. I was recently speaking to a beef producer who was importing a lot of animals on a daily basis. He was going to different sources, and from his mobile, he could update his rations based on his changing inventory of animals. So, that made his life a lot easier, and he could then spend his time better, as a result.

Tom:                          How does InTouch differ? What sets it apart from other feed management technologies and tools?

Eddie:                         I suppose it’s the alert system. We flag any discrepancies in performance in or around 10 percent. So, if we see inaccuracies of 10 percent, or reduction in performance by 10 percent — or increases in performance by 10 percent — we raise an alert.

                                    The next thing that makes InTouch different from other management tools is that there's a person who is interpreting the data and taking it to the next level. These are trained nutritionists. They can advise on a new formulation of the diet as a result or they can just simply walk through with the farmer the different management things he's doing and make suggestions. In the end, the farmer gets a very condensed bit of information. He's not having to deal with reams of data; he’s able to get to the root of the problem much more quickly.

Tom:                          And can you interface with other software programs and services?

Eddie:                         Absolutely. At the moment, we’re integrating the different herd management tools such as DairyComp and milking equipment such as DelPro. We're speaking with those feed management and herd management tools. From day one, we've always been a very open platform. We'll share our information or our portals with other platforms so we can give the farmer a better value at the end of the day.

Tom:                          There is a lot of interest these days in food chain traceability. How does InTouch facilitate that?

Eddie:                         We're working with a few retailers that are concerned about traceability. They want to guarantee that their end product is from a credible source. So, we're working with them by collecting and recording the feed data so they can then say, “This animal has been fed this diet over a certain amount of days and achieved this performance.” So, they can put a stamp on it and say, “We can verify this beef or this milk” or “This is a truly sustainable product because we know where it’s coming from — we know what it’s been fed and we know the cost of it to the environment.”

Tom:                          Any emerging technologies that you're keeping your eye on for their potential to improve efficiencies and quality for your clientele farms?

Eddie:                         Yes. There are so many smart devices coming on board now. In agriculture, it's definitely a very hot area. We’re certainly looking at incorporating things like cameras. There’s a lot of very smart technology out there monitoring cow behavior through cameras, monitoring feed behavior as well.  I suppose one of the most well-known ones out there is NIR, or “near infrared technology,” which is able to get a snapshot of the quality and the nutritional value of some ingredients. So, we’re very open to building those kind of things into the system and tailoring our approach.

                                    With Alltech coming on board and acquiring InTouch, we definitely see synergies between the two companies. We've always been about precision feeding, and with Alltech, we’re seeing potential to get to precision nutrition. Alltech has a lot of very nice solutions based on minerals and additives that can add to the performance of different producers. If we can pinpoint an area that a producer is lacking in or needs help with, we could see a lot of synergies with Alltech and fitting in different solutions.

Tom:                          Does InTouch employ blockchain technology?

Eddie:                         We're not there yet, but we have the potential to plug into one of those kinds of systems very nicely. I suppose it comes back to that conversation about retailers and an integrated system. Blockchain has very exciting possibilities for farmers. They can use blockchain to add to the value of their product at the end of the day. We're definitely interested in that arena, and we’re in talks with different partners.

Tom:                          With all this data pouring into InTouch from thousands of farm clients, do trends emerge? What are you seeing?

Eddie:                         Yes. We can break it down by markets — by country or by regions within the country. Anecdotally, you could say there is definitely a tendency for the larger farms to have the ability to make savings and become more efficient just purely through scale. But, I think one thing that we’ve seen across the last decade is that good management is key to any profitable business. Those farmers who are clued into their data and are aware of their bottom line are the farmers who are going to grow and be more profitable as a result. So, it’s very much down to the individual farmer. I wouldn’t say there's any formula to a successful agricultural enterprise, but a very clued-in, good manager goes a long way to being a successful business.

Tom:                          So, Eddie, based on the information that InTouch is gathering, do you have any advice for producers?

Eddie:                         That’s a tough one. I suppose I would always recommend casting a critical eye over your business, not to have to accept criticism or anything like that, but to definitely embrace new technologies. Farmers are the original inventors. They have come up with the best innovations in agriculture themselves. So, I'm sure there are listeners to your podcast who have thoughts on innovations that they just want to get out there. And I would just encourage them to do so because I think agriculture and ag-tech are in a golden age.

Tom:                          Thank you for joining us, Eddie.

Eddie:                         Thanks, Tom. Good to talk to you.

By Brian Springer, CCA

Sixty percent of a dairy cow’s diet is forage. With so much of the diet dependent on the nutrients a cow receives from forage, it is important to make sure the crop reaches its nutrient and energy potential. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the major components of fertilizer, are essential for soil nutrient content and are controlled by pH. We test and fertilize for these nutrients regularly, and they are often the first place we look for a solution if a problem arises in crop health.

However, critical elements — like calcium, magnesium, and sulfur — are often seen as secondary in importance in terms of soil content, and, in turn, plant health. For example, with current industry practices, recent findings show that sulfur deficiency of 10 to 20 pounds per acre is common in much of the United States. Of these elements, sulfur in particular might be the missing piece in your forage puzzle as it increases nutrient quality and aids in balancing the microflora in the rumen.

What is sulfur?  

Sulfur is one of the 17 elements essential to crop production. This is because, according to the International Plant Nutrition Institute, plants almost exclusively use sulfate as their primary source of nutrition. It can be found in high levels in salt domes and volcanic deposits, typically in its elemental form. But it is also present in almost all soil types in smaller quantities.

Plants receive sulfur through two primary mediums:

• Soil: The sulfur found in soil is typically organic sulfate that has been converted from elemental sulfur by soil bacteria. Ninety-five percent of plant sulfur uptake is in the organic form of sulfate.

• Air: Inorganic sulfur dioxide is often absorbed through the leaves and stoma.  

What role does sulfur play in forage plant and dairy cow processes?

Required by both plants and animals, sulfur appears in every living cell and is essential for the synthesis of certain amino acids and proteins.

A deficiency of sulfur in the soil can lead to deficiencies in the cow. Nutritionists recommend 0.2 percent of sulfur or sulfate in the diet of cattle, and ensuring your forage has enough sulfur is the easiest and most cost-effective way to manage sulfur requirements for the ration. Most of the dietary sulfur required by the cow is actually utilized by the rumen microbes for amino acid production. By feeding the microbes, the cow can produce amino acids, enzymes and proteins that then contribute to cow health, milk production and quality.

Not only will the sulfate aid the cow, but plants use sulfate for chlorophyll formation, which contributes to higher sugar content and nutrients, resulting in greener, fuller foliage.

What does our current sulfur landscape look like?

In recent years, there has been a decrease in soil sulfur content as well as an increased demand on the soil for higher crop yields, and the fact that many fertilizers contain little to no sulfur is the primary reason for our current depletion of sulfur in the top soil. Secondary causes include erosion and mineralization.

How to recognize a sulfur deficiency

Since high-yielding crops often don’t receive adequate amounts of sulfur or receive it at inopportune times, it is important to be able to recognize a sulfur deficiency. Thankfully, if presented in its organic form, sulfate can quickly be absorbed in two to three days, which helps avoid leaching as you fertilize. If you notice some of the following signs of sulfate deficiency, it is recommended to provide a sulfur treatment two to four days before cutting forage to increase chlorophyll, resulting in a fuller, energy-rich harvest.  This short-term solution can be done by applying biostimulant products, as a sulfur application would need to take place much earlier in order to keep the plant healthy and growing well. Signs of sulfur deficiency include:

• Yellowing of young growth; yellowing of old growth indicates a nitrogen shortage.

• Curling of young leaves.

• Diminished foliage.

​

Photo is provided courtesy of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI).

Although sulfur is present in the soil, it is often below recommended standards. Furthermore, in its inorganic sulfur state, it cannot be properly taken up by the plant until it has been converted to organic sulfate. By checking your forage crop for sulfur deficiency and treating as needed, you can increase the sugar and nutrient quality of your forage and provide sulfur to your herd to support rumen microflora health.

Have a question or comment?

Did you know that 95 percent of the world's food comes from the soil? When viewed in the light of a projected 9 billion mouths to feed by 2050—and the need to produce 70 to 100 percent more food than we do today to meet that demand—preserving soils is unarguably crucial.

World Soil Day is an annual day of recognition that takes place Dec. 5th. It has positioned soils front and centre as a major resource in the quest for global sustainability. The effort in highlighting the importance of soil received an added boost when 2015 was designated the International Year of Soils.

At Alltech Crop Science we want you to join us in celebrating World Soil Day by sharing some interesting facts.

Did you know?

• Soil is the basis for food, feed, fuel and fibre production. It is the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity and therefore requires the same attention as above-ground biodiversity.
• Healthy soil is fundamental to food security and nutrition. Approximately 95 percent of our food comes from our soil.
• Soil is teeming with life – soils host a quarter of our plants' biodiversity.
• More than one third of our food goes to waste – and up to half of our households waste could be composted to help create new soil.
• 11ha of soils are sealed under expanding cities every hour in Europe.
• Healthy soils play a key role in the supply of clean water and resilience to floods and droughts.

Want to know more about soil and what it comprises of? Dr. Mark Gaffney hosted a webinar titled What lies beneath – The hidden side of agriculture. You can watch it here. You can also find out more on Alltech Crop Science and its research on crop production here.

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