A picture is worth a thousand words — to tell a story, share a moment or bring back a memory. As the urban population increases, it has become even more important to “agvocate,” sharing stories and pictures of the agricultural life. Alltech wants to help share these agvocacy photos, stories and moments and celebrate those whose daily dedication feeds a growing world.

With the launch of the #iamAG online agvocacy photo contest, Alltech invites American farmers, ranchers, producers and all agricultural workers to submit and share photos of their farms and ag lifestyle for the opportunity to win a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19) held in Lexington, Kentucky, May 19–21, 2019. 

Photos must be submitted online by Nov. 30, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. EST. They will be judged by a panel, who will select the top photos as finalists, and those photos will be published on Alltech’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/AlltechNaturally).

Voting will open to the public on Dec. 3 at 3:00 p.m. EST and will close on Dec. 17 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Use the hashtag #iamAG to find the photos or visit the Facebook album to vote.

Winners and their guest will receive free registration to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (valued at $995) and $2,000 for travel expenses. To enter a photo and read the full contest details, including the rules and regulations, visit https://go.alltech.com/i-am-ag.

Registration is now open for ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 19–21, 2019. The annual international conference draws 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss world-changing ideas. For more information or to register, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation online with #ONE19.

[SERDÁN, México] – Alltech Serdán has been honored with the Distinctive ESR® (Socially Responsible Company) 2018 designation for its voluntary commitment to implementing socially responsible management practices. The designation recognizes Alltech Serdán’s years of involvement in multiple community projects, including El Cerrito primary school, La Familia Home and the Multiple Adaptation Center, which serves children with different abilities. These community activities are performed in addition to the plant’s constant application of responsible business practices with suppliers, collaborators and customers.

Alltech understands that sustainability in production is a social and environmental commitment. Despite having no legal obligation to reforest, Alltech is committed to replanting 10 yucca plants for each ton of raw material processed.

“This practice ensures the availability of raw material in the future, promotes ecological balance and generates a sense of sustainability in the community in which it operates,” said Alberto Sánchez, production manager for yucca plants. “Alltech Serdán maintains 150,000 plants exclusively for reforestation.”

With offices in over 128 countries, Alltech’s global activities are guided by its ACE principle, which encompasses the company’s commitment to generating a positive impact on the Animal, the Consumer and the Environment.

“The Serdán plant is a brilliant example of Alltech’s ACE principle,” said Sánchez.

With a team of more than 200 people — including several employees who have been at Alltech for 25 years — Alltech Serdán generates both direct and indirect benefits for the more than 4,000 residents of the local community and surroundings.

"It gives me great pleasure to see companies like Alltech prove that it is possible to do business in such a way that everyone wins,” said Josefina García, administrative manager of Alltech Serdán. “I feel inspired by my work, knowing that I belong to a company that makes a difference."

The ESR distinction bestowed upon Alltech Serdán began in 2000 with the objective of promoting corporate social responsibility in Mexico through the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI), which is disseminated through allied agencies throughout the subcontinent.

The distinction provides extra motivation for the team — which celebrates 25 years of operation in 2018 — to be even more focused on working actively within the community and to maintain its corporate social responsibilities every day.

-Ends-

Download image: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/wy5wmRw2.zq3Ew

Image caption: The Alltech facility in Ciudad Serdán, Puebla, México.

Contact: press@alltech.com

Liana Dobler

Gerente de comunicaciones, Latinoamérica ldobler@alltech.com; +54 9 11 6826 6464

About Alltech:

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech discovers and delivers solutions for the sustainable nutrition of plants, animals and people. With expertise in yeast fermentation, solid state fermentation and the science of nutrigenomics, Alltech is a leading producer and processor of yeast additives, organic trace minerals, feed ingredients, premix and feed.

Our guiding ACE principle seeks to develop solutions that are safe for the Animal, Consumer and the Environment. Our more than 6,000 talented team members worldwide put this purpose to work every day for our customers.

Alltech is a family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to emerging customer needs and to stay focused on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For further information, visit www.alltech.com/news. Join us in conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

By 2067, the per capita consumption of dairy is expected to increase from 87 kilograms (kg)/person to 119 kg (projections). Compounded by a growing population, the dairy industry will need to produce 600 billion kilograms more milk. This means today’s dairy cow will either need to double her production, or we will need to dramatically increase cow numbers! Over the last 25 years, we have increased milk production by 61 percent (about 2 percent per annum) — but can we continue to grow sustainably?

The difference between a high and low performing cow can be considerable. Milk production —  judged by weight — is influenced by genetics and nutrition, but also by inconsistency in mixing of feed, eating behaviors (such as sifting), other cows’ bullying, water quality (or lack thereof!) and environmental factors, such as heat. In ever larger and more intensive production environments, with fewer people wanting to work on farms, management is emerging as an even more significant challenge. In such a setting, dairy farming has focused on managing the average cow, not the individual.

A glaring gap for dairy farmers is data. Farms, especially large ones, don’t know how much an individual cow eats, how much she drinks, how much she moves, her body temperature, stress levels, sickness, etc. Even individual milk production isn’t always recorded in a consistent manner.

How can farmers manage cow comfort, select the best animals for breeding and retaining, judge true profitability, meet prosumer demands for animal welfare and sustainability and raise the bar in terms of milk production? Without precise, real-time, smart data, the task of managing individual cows is nearly impossible. But emerging digital technologies could fill that data gap.

Sensors

More than any other technological advancement, sensors can fill the data gap in dairy farming, particularly when animals are outside in a field. Before the use of technology, monitoring an individual cow’s health was difficult, time consuming and cost-intensive. However, the use of sensors and wearable technologies allows farmers to monitor individual cows. No longer do producers have to work from herd averages; they are now able to determine individual illness or lameness more effectively and react accordingly, quite possibly before milk production or the rest of the herd is affected.

Wearable sensors have proven valuable in managing a cow’s health, and there is no shortage of companies producing this type of technology. Leaders — such as SCR Dairy, which is assessed to have about 80 percent of the market share — produce all manner of wearables worn on a cow’s ears, neck, legs or tail. They can even be implanted subcutaneously or inside the rumen.

Sensors help monitor cow comfort and welfare. Cows need to rest for an average of 11 hours per day; any less than that affects blood flow to the udder and can negatively impact milk yield. Sensors can detect a lack of locomotion and alert producers when to circumvent these negative effects.

Sensors can be used to detect disease signals that are otherwise hard for farmers to notice, such as mastitis. AfiMilk, Agricam, Fullwood, DeLaval, Lely, LIC Automation, MastiLine and Wakaito all claim to detect mastitis in cows and provide producers with early opportunities to combat the issue.

Rumination is also vital to a cow’s production, and sensors designed to be located inside the rumen can monitor acidity levels through a digitally connected bolus. Companies that offer acid monitors — like Smartbow, which was a participant in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator — allow farmers to detect digestive problems, such as ruminal acidosis. 

Livestock Labs has created a tracking technology called EmbediVet, which is implanted underneath the cow’s skin using a local anesthetic. This tracker claims to be less bothersome than wearable sensors and more accurate in gathering data and monitoring behavior.Ingenera offers a line of various sensor products designed to measure cow conformation, weight, udder health and other body metrics.

Moocall, also a participant in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator, produces sensors that detect the heat cycle of the cow by evaluating her responsiveness to a teaser bull. His proximity and behavior can determine her receptivity and alert the farmer's smart device if she is in heat. Afimilk makes a pedometer for cows, alerting farmers of the best time for insemination on the basis that cows walk and move more as they come into estrus.

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Image courtesy of MooCall

Moocall also makes the Moocall Calving sensor, a wearable that attaches to the cow’s tail and monitors her contractions. Connected to the producer’s mobile phone, it sends an alert one hour before active calving, allowing farmers to minimize time spent checking pregnant cows and increase efficiency in time management.

Outside of wearables on cows, there are other examples of sensors in the dairy industry. The startup SomaDetect has developed a sensor that enables farmers to know what is in the milk they produce. Specifically, there is an in-line sensor that measures milk fat, protein, somatic cell counts, progesterone and antibiotic residues (not allowed for human consumption) at every milking. Danish company Foss Analytics has a similar business model, using sensors and NIR.

ENGS systems is implementing their free-flow technology through the Advanced Milk Meter. It collects data on the cow’s individual milk flow rate, quantity, temperature and electrical conductivity and transfers the data to a milk management program for farmers to use.

Artificial intelligence

Big data promises precision agriculture; however, if farmers can’t interpret the data and use it to take action, the data is useless. Artificial intelligence allows producers to analyze the data collected by sensors and other hardware technologies and can provide interpretations and solutions by mimicking human decision-making — potentially transforming how a dairy farm operates.

SCR Dairy is implementing cow, milk and herd intelligence through their sensors and artificial intelligence technologies. They offer sensors ranging from heat detection and calving to health monitoring sensors — including the SenseTime Solution sensor, which detects and charts a cow’s daily activities, such as ruminating, eating and walking patterns. When paired with artificial intelligence software, this sensor provides users with early, proactive solutions to problems. Along with the capability to record information about reproduction, health and nutrition, the sensor also provides farmers with solutions for each individual cow. 

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Image courtesy of Cainthus

Cainthus has developed algorithms for facial recognition software that can monitor a cow’s activity. There is no need for the cows to wear any sort of tracking device, and this software may eliminate the need for wearables all together, particularly for animals raised indoors. Using cameras stationed throughout the barn, the software alerts farmers when their cows show early signs of lameness. Cargill has a significant minority investment in Cainthus, capitalizing on the notion that this “machine vision” approach will allow AI to supplant many of the sensor systems. 

Developed by Connecterra, Ida, “The Intelligent Dairy Farmer’s Assistant,” is a cow neck tag that gathers activity data on cows, such as time spent eating, ruminating, idling, walking and lying down. Connecterra says it uses AI to interpret individual deviations in the cow’s behavior and provide alerts or recommendations to the farmer.

Drones

There are opportunities for drones in the dairy industry, but they often require additional technologies. Drones can be used to generally inspect the herd or fences or to aid in herding cows from fields to barns.

The inclusion of other technologies presents greater opportunities. Visual sensors have proven to be instrumental in surveying land and measuring pasture growth. PrecisionHawk is using drones to map, inspect and photograph pastures in order to detect growth. 

Algorithms enable drones to identify cows specifically and avoid confusing them with deer or similar animals. When combined with thermal imaging, the opportunities to locate and track cows increases dramatically, particularly in fields spotted with trees or dense foliage. Temperature detection would allow farmers to identify abnormal behavior in the cow, such as lameness, illness or calving. Drones may become more useful in these areas, particularly if battery life is prolonged and autonomous flying ability is improved.

Robots

Robotic milking machines are probably the most well-known application for robots in the dairy industry, increasing efficiencies and replacing expensive or unavailable labor. Lely’s Astronaut A5 and DeLaval’s Voluntary Milking System not only cut labor costs, they also allow cows to decide when they want to be milked. Robotic milkers (milkbots) clean the udders, identify the cow’s teats and milk automatically.

DeLaval offers other robotic milking technologies, such as the rotary platform, which allows farmers to maximize a herd’s milking performance while providing a comfortable and safe environment for both cows and operators. miRobot provides a milking system also designed for larger operations. Both companies offer multi-stall, automated milking operations to milk cows simultaneously, completing full parlors with only one operator. This new technology has allowed farmers to cut back on labor costs and achieve more milkings per day.

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Image courtesy of Lely

The Lely Grazeway system acts as a gateway to the pasture that only allows cows to graze after they have been milked. The cows step into the selection box, and the Lely Qwes cow-recognition system determines whether or not the cow can be let out to graze.

Before robots, cows were typically milked twice a day because of labor and time constraints. Now, cows can be milked three times a day or more, greatly increasing production and profits. In addition, while the cows are stationary for several minutes during milking, there is also an opportunity for medical and health assessments using transponders or sensors — which can not only analyze the speed, amount and quality of milk produced but also how much the cow has eaten, its heat cycle and more.

Another possible use for robots includes cleaning and sanitizing the barn, allowing for better biosecurity measures that will lead to healthier conditions for the cows. There might also be a place for robots in the calving process. While this might not be as useful for an outdoor herd, there is the potential for robotic assistance for cows kept indoors.

3D printing

There are multitudinous applications for 3D printing in the dairy industry. A primary application of 3D printing is for machine parts, which may be of particular interest to rural farmers, saving valuable time and even possibly money, depending on the part needed.

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Image courtesy of Perfect Day

In some ways, 3D printing is already challenging the dairy industry, through 3D-printed foods. Cheese is one of the easier foods to duplicate through 3D printing, due to its easily changeable state from solid to liquid. Studies suggest that printed cheese is less sticky, softer and has better meltability than non-printed cheese. The concept of printed food may not appeal to all consumers, though, so the challenge is to produce food that offers an advantage, such as lower cost, improved taste or better nutritional content.

Such is the case with “Perfect Day,” a startup company from San Francisco using 3D printing combined with gene sequencing to create a yeast fermentation product that looks and tastes like milk. The product is portrayed as a non-dairy alternative for vegans or dairy-intolerant individuals. 

Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) can be defined as the integration of digital information with the user’s environment in real time. A recent report stated that sales for augmented reality are expected to rise from $2.4 billion in 2018 to $48.2 billion in 2025.

Studies have found that AR can be used to make food more visually appealing or to effectively estimate proper serving sizes. Apple’s ARKit can also be used to provide consumers with nutritional knowledge, as this video demonstrates. Should this technology become more common, these applications could affect the dairy industry, as certain aspects of food products — both good and bad — would be more readily available to the consumer. 

Outside of the consumer focus, augmented reality can be used to allow producers an alternative way to monitor and evaluate cows. This video (skip to the 2:22 mark) demonstrates how AR can allow a farmer to immediately see stats relating to the farm through the use of goggles. Information relating to each individual cow is overlaid through the glasses into the farmer’s field of vision. He can see information on everything in the facility and even evaluate the quality of the milk.

Could this technology not also be used in the veterinary field for inspection and observation? Perhaps if combined with reliable sensor data, the vet could be able to deliver appropriate recommendations for disease management and reduce the need for direct farm call visits, thus lowering costs.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) is defined as a digital environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way through electronic equipment. Applications in the dairy industry vary from farm tours to veterinary training, with positive impacts on safety and efficiency. 

New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra and solutions company Beca have partnered to develop a virtual reality health and safety training technology that allows employees to navigate the manufacturing and distribution sites without actually setting foot on the physical site, thus reducing onboarding times. Fonterra employees learn to identify potential hazards and experience hazardous situations in a realistic simulated environment, enhancing learning experiences without the risk of being in harm’s way. This technology also reduces labor costs by replacing a number of hands-on health and safety training positions.

Virtual reality is being used to teach veterinary students about the reproductive and rectal tracts of the cow. Created by former vet Sarah Baillie, the Haptic Cow is a fiberglass model of the rear of a cow that combines virtual reality with robotics. The VR aspect is provided by a computer that allows students to visualize an object within the cow — virtually enabling them to practice fertility examinations, such as pregnancy detection, or determine reproductive concerns without putting them in a situation that could be dangerous for both the cow and the student.

DeLaval is creating virtual reality films of farms available in 360 degrees, allowing viewers to scroll from side to side to view the entirety of the dairy barn. The Hamra Farm in Sweden, for instance, showcases the innovative techniques they implement on their farm, such as robotic milking machines, robotic brushes, robotic cleaners and more, in their VR film. These "farm tours" will allow consumers to better understand where their dairy comes from. There is much discussion about animal welfare, and giving consumers an opportunity to experience firsthand how a dairy farm operates is an important component of influencing perception the industry.

Blockchain

It is well known that consumers are increasingly becoming interested in where their food comes from and how it is produced. Blockchain can connect all aspects of the supply chain from producer to consumer and allow for food traceability and safety. From an agriculture and food perspective, offering this type of information to consumers will become a competitive advantage and may not prove as challenging in dairy as in other areas of agriculture, such as beef, which exchanges ownership more frequently.

Internet of Things

Together these eight technologies are creating opportunities within the dairy industry for increased efficiencies, profitability and production. The connectivity of these technologies is made possible through the Internet of Things (IoT).

Agriwebb is a company using IoT for full farm recordkeeping, including field management, inventory, operations, grazing and even biosecurity. Stellapps in India leverages IoT to offer all manner of products, from general herd management to milk evaluation, payment processing and cold chain monitoring. Dell Technologies is also heavily involved in IoT applications and is working with dairy producer Chitale.

Cargill is working with SCiO (Consumer Physics) to create Reveal, an app designed to deliver content of feed within minutes. Previously, this type of technology was either time-intensive (waiting on lab results) or expensive (specialized equipment cost thousands of dollars). Using a micro spectrometer with NIR calibrations, Cargill and SCiO offer this simple service using producers' own devices, and results are available in a minute's time.

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IoT technology is how the KEENAN InTouch system is able to provide farmers with the nutritional information they need to ensure the best formulation possible. KEENAN’s feed mixers are designed to give uniformity to feed, allowing for improved digestion in the ruminant and creating rations that are both chemically and physically balanced. The cloud-based system enables producers to monitor feed waste and make necessary changes to improve efficiencies and decrease costs.

Using the data

In the past, farm management applications have allowed farmers to make strategic management decisions based on the collection of farm data. Inevitably once nutritional decisions are being made, sciences such as nutrigenomics and decisions about smart nutrition are critical to taking advantage of this enhanced data and management information systems. Nutrigenomics research has shown that specific nutrients and inclusion of enzymes can greatly impact milk yield.

Previously, collected data was generalized for an entire dairy farm. Through the use of sensors, AI and other technologies, farm management apps like FarmWizard can provide individual data for each cow, allowing farmers to improve precision and accuracy when making managerial decisions. 

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Dairying in 2067 won’t look anything like the dairy farming of the recent past, let alone the era when the first cow was domesticated. Changes are happening so fast that the connected farm is likely to be the norm within the next 10 years. By implementing the eight technologies described here, along with the interconnectivity of IoT, farmers will be able to capture and have direct access to individual cow data, both current and historical. This will enable farmers to bridge the data gap and improve dairy production through digitization. The winners will be those who embrace this disrupted digital dairy landscape.

I want to learn more about implementing new technologies on my dairy farm.

Winners of the Alltech Young Scientist program to be awarded at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18).

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] — In a few short weeks, agriscience students from colleges and universities around the world will compete at the highest level for the chance to be rewarded for their innovative research. The global regional finalists have been selected for the 2018 Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) program, the world’s largest agriscience competition for university students. Now in its 13^th year, the program’s pool of nominees represents 83 universities from 28 countries.

The regional finalists will attend AYS Discovery Week, held in conjunction with ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18), May 20–22 in Lexington, Kentucky, to present their research to a panel of international judges. They will also have leadership building, career mentorship and networking opportunities. The prizes include a fully funded Ph.D. position for the global undergraduate winner as well as $5,000 USD, and a fully funded postdoctoral position and $10,000 USD for the global graduate winner. 

The regional finalists for the graduate AYS award and their paper topics are:

• Zili Gao, University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States
  • “The heat shock cognate 70 protein is a novel target of nobiletin and its colonic metabolites in inhibiting colon carcinogenesis”
• Saheed Salami, University of Catania, Italy; currently attending University College Cork, Ireland  
  • “Cardoon meal as a novel feed: effect on lamb performance, rumen function and meat quality”
• Yanli Liu, Northwest A&F University, China
  • “Metabolomics and proteomics reveal impacts of folic acid on lipid metabolism in chicken primary hepatocytes (Folic acid regulates lipid metabolism mediated by IGF2)”
• Moisés Poli, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
  • “Pacific white shrimp and Nile tilapia integration in biofloc system under different fish-stocking densities”

The regional finalists for the undergraduate AYS award and their paper topics are:

• Ronald Trotta, University of Kentucky, United States; currently attending North Dakota State University, United States
  • “Effects of source and level of dietary energy supplementation on fiber digestion and in vitro methane production from tall fescue-based diets”
• Evgeny Remizov, Saratov State Agrarian University, Russia
  • “Antimicrobial peptides as a base of development of new antimicrobial medication”
• Shenfei Long, China Agricultural University, China
  • “Dietary supplementation with DHA-enriched microalgae improves performance, serum composition, carcass trait, antioxidant status and fatty acid profile of broilers”
• Juan Bol, Universidad EARTH, Costa Rica 
  • “Evaluation of induced resistant products to improve root health and control of plant parasitic nematodes in commercial banana plantation”

“The Alltech Young Scientist program provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the best and brightest minds of the next generation of agriculture science leaders,” said Dr. Karl Dawson, vice president and chief scientific officer at Alltech. "The regional finalists will present their research to a global audience, and the undergraduate and graduate competition winners will have the opportunity to join our global team."the opportunity to join our global team.”

For more information about the Alltech Young Scientist program, visit AlltechYoungScientist.com and stay connected through the Alltech Education Facebook page.

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin's interview with Dr. Jorge Arias, global director of aquaculture and country manager for Chile and Argentina at Alltech, and Avelyne Saint Hilaire, the local administrator of the Alltech Sustainable Haiti Project in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.

Click below to hear the full interview:

What's happening in Haiti? Alltech is there, having arrived in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 2010 to a nation in need of much more than immediate disaster relief. There was, and remains, a need for sustainable economic growth, jobs, agriculture and education. Joining Tom Martin for an update on the Alltech Sustainable Haiti Project are Dr. Jorge Arias, global director of aquaculture and country manager for Chile and Argentina at Alltech, and Avelyne Saint Hilaire, the project’s local administrator in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Dr. Arias served as Ms. Saint Hilaire’s translator for this interview.

Tom:                             Let's begin, Dr. Arias, with a brief history of Alltech’s engagement and presence in Haiti. Tell us how it all began.

Jorge:                          We went to Haiti about 10 days after the earthquake. That was in January 2010. We went with Dr. Lyons (Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech) and a couple of friends. We went directly to the Dominican Republic and then by helicopter to Port-au-Prince. We wanted to check on the situation there and to see what we could do.

                                       Port-au-Prince was the main area suffering from this earthquake, but actually, the whole country is in a continuous crisis situation. Dr. Lyons said, “What if we try to help Haiti through another region?” Through contacts and friends, we connected with people in the north of the island — in the Ouanaminthe area. People were arriving in Ouanaminthe from the critical area of Port-au-Prince. We found a school there, and that’s the beginning of the story.

Tom:                           This earthquake was devastating. Up to about 300,000 people were lost.

Jorge:                          Yes.

Tom:                           This struck a country that already had long been suffering from entrenched problems of all sorts. Could you carry on that description? How would you describe what you found?

Jorge:                          It was a terrible situation. All the buildings had fallen down. It was terrible. We really felt the need to start helping — not just that particular crisis, but in the long term.

Tom:                           You absorbed what you had seen and what you learned on the scene and out of that came a plan.

Jorge:                          Yes.

Tom:                           Can you tell us what that looked like in the beginning?

Jorge:                          Dr. Lyons said, “We need to make this project sustainable.” We asked what can grow in Haiti. What activity could we promote? We learned that Haiti was the first country in the Americas to produce coffee. Before Brazil, before Colombia, it was Haiti. It was also the first country to produce sugarcane. We chose coffee. Through that project, we could subsidize the rest of the activity. That was just the beginning.

Tom:                           Haiti, as I understand it, had undergone significant deforestation in the past. Did that lead to a decline in coffee production?

Jorge:                          I think it was all part of the same process. When you go to the island, you find two countries: the Dominican Republic and Haiti. One was colonized by Spain, the other by France. Haiti was trying to produce food for Europe and to export to different countries and also to produce coffee and sugarcane. On the other hand, the Dominican Republic has more sustainable beef and dairy production. What’s the difference? They didn’t deforest the area. So, they are two contrasting situations.

Tom:                           The aim of the coffee initiative was to help Haitian farmers get back on their feet. Has that been an outcome?

Jorge:                          Yes, at least in the community we’re influencing, which is the community of Dondon, a small village in the north part of the country. The original idea was to see what we can do: We find a coffee. We import the coffee to the U.S. green, as most of the coffee trading is taking place in the form of green coffee. We roast it in Kentucky, and then we sell it. With the profits, we can sustain the project. That was the original idea. We set an example for other people to follow.

Tom:                           Alltech’s involvement in Haiti extends beyond coffee production to educating and inspiring the next generation of Haiti. Tell us how the coffee connects to children.

Jorge:                          The first thing we started with was sponsoring a school. There was an elementary school in Ouanaminthe, and in one of our visits with Dr. Lyons, we knew there was another school (also in need of help). So, we took Dr. Lyons to see this second school. He immediately said, “Oh, we need to do something about this school also, Jorge.” That was the beginning of subsidizing and helping the other community. The students receive special education. We keep sending volunteers to teach the kids music, language, art and many activities.

                                       We also prepare lunch for the whole community of students. And we have some parents coming every noon to enjoy good food in both schools.

                                      We have more students now, to the point that we are planning to move to a new school in Ouanaminthe. We need to grow because we ran out of space where we are.

Tom:                           Wonderful. Let’s bring in Avelyne. Avelyne, thank you for waiting.

(Interpreted by Jorge)

Avelyne:                      Thank you, Tom. How are you?

Tom:                           Take us back to the beginning of your engagement in this project with Alltech. What was that like?

Avelyne:                      This is an experience where I’m growing every day because Alltech gave me the opportunity, not only to work with the community, but also the possibility to help the needy people in my area. The kids and the parents are enjoying and learning. They are evolving.

Tom:                           Avelyne, can you tell us about some of the ways that the school projects have made differences in people's lives — children in particular?

Avelyne:                      In the last seven years, the parents have received significant help. We started with 150 students in Ouanaminthe. In Dondon, we had fewer than 100 kids. Right now, between the two schools, we have 652 students. There are around 500 families that receive help and this education. That’s not only helping the students at the school, but also beyond school. And the kids are receiving quality education.

Tom:                           Avelyne, do you see this kind of educational experience and opportunity changing Haiti’s future?

Avelyne:                      That’s the main goal. We need to start from the beginning in order to change the country, and we need to start with the kids. I believe this was a real intention of Dr. Lyons’.

Tom:                           Thank you, Avelyne. Turning back to you, Jorge, let’s talk about water — clean, potable water. Tell us about Alltech’s water purification efforts in Haiti.

Jorge:                          The First Presbyterian Church in Lexington is associating with the effort that we started in 2010. They started buying the coffee first. That was the first activity. They did it for more reasons than to simply transfer the profits back to Alltech in order for us to sustain the project. They decided to use that money to go to Haiti and do some work with us. So, they have taken two or three trips to Haiti in these last few years, and one of those projects was to set up a water purification system for the whole community.

                                       We bought a piece of land where we are setting up this purification system. We can sell the water at a reasonable price and that, in turn, will also subsidize the growth of the project and help us to build a new school.

Tom:                           And why was the water project necessary to begin with?

Jorge:                          Water quality is an issue in Haiti — in the whole region. We can decrease the influence of different diseases and we can guarantee the quality of the water we use for our kids, but also for the community. We don't know how far we can get with the (water) project. We know from experience that in Dondon it became the water well of the whole community. It’s interesting to see all the community getting involved. Sometimes what the community needs is for somebody to kick off a project and people will follow.

Tom:                           You mentioned disease. Have doctor visits also been a part of this project?

Jorge:                          Yes. On one of my trips, I met a group of doctors visiting the Ouanaminthe area, and I had been told that they were coming from Lexington. I met them and we became very good friends, and remain so today. They’re going to Haiti every year to work on another project with Southland Christian Church. We basically formed a “joint effort” with these guys. They’re still going every year, and they are visiting our kids at the school. One of the doctors created a foundation to sponsor kids coming from Haiti to study at the University of Kentucky.

                                       We are trying to educate those guys and send them back to Haiti to work in their communities. We have one good example in James Blanq. He’s actually producing chickens now in Ouanaminthe, and he came through this program.

Tom:                           Another part of this project has been the important recognition of the healing and enriching power of the arts. What sort of connections have been made, and how have they developed?

Jorge:                          Dr. Everett McCorvey (University of Kentucky professor of voice and director and executive producer for UK Opera Theater) helped us, not only through the UK School of Music, but Everett is also a member of the community of First Presbyterian Church. We’re taking their volunteers to teach our kids music. We also invited a person that was giving a lesson in painting.

                                       Every time that somebody approaches Alltech and our group of people working on the project and they say, “I know how to do this, I know how to do that,” they are more than welcome to come along and join us in the effort.

Tom:                           If somebody would like to join in the effort, how would they do that? Who will they contact?

Jorge:                          They have to contact our people at Alltech, and they can do it through me or anybody in the Alltech community, the Alltech family. We’ll be more than happy to find a way for them to participate in this project.

Tom:                           I have one question for each of you: I’ll start with you, Avelyne, and ask what positive changes have you seen occurring as a result of the efforts of the Alltech Sustainable Haiti Project?

(Interpreted by Jorge)

Avelyne:                      Now the parents are much more involved in the education of their kids, and they're more conscious about the importance of education. As an example, Mondays and Fridays are marketing (shopping) days in Ouanaminthe. There is marketing on the border between the city of Dajabon in the Dominican Republic and the city of Ouanaminthe in Haiti. In the past, parents directly involved in the trading process were taking their kids. So, on Mondays and Fridays, the school was empty. The big change now is that the kids are going to school from Monday to Friday and their parents are doing their thing in the market.

                                    I have noticed that the government is aware of the project and is approaching the school to look at what we are doing, and they are getting more involved in all this process. That didn’t happen before.

Tom:                           Thank you very much, Avelyne. Dr. Arias, your response to that question too: What are the positive changes that you’ve witnessed?

Jorge:                          It’s just amazing. Dr. Lyons once told me, “Jorge, we need to bring different people every time we come to Haiti. We need to bring different people of our Alltech family or people from the Kentucky community simply because it won’t necessarily just change their lives, but it’s also changing our lives.” If you go there and see what’s going on, it really changes your perspective on your life; you see what you have, and what those people don’t have.

                                    So, we’ve been doing that through Dr. Lyons. We are taking different people to visit the project. Those people are getting more involved in the project some way or another. I took part of my family on my last trip. I took my son and he wants to go back.

Tom:                           Dr. Jorge Arias, Avelyne Saint Hilaire, thank you both for spending time with us.

Jorge:                          Thank you, Tom.

Avelyne:                      Thank you, Tom.

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – For recent university graduates and soon-to-be graduates who are eager to begin a career that makes a positive difference in the world of agriculture, Alltech’s new program could be a perfect fit.

Following the success of the company’s Corporate Career Development Program and specialized programs in quality, European beef, dairy and now ruminants, Alltech is introducing a region-specific model to North America focusing on beef, dairy and poultry. Applications are now open.

The Alltech North American Career Development Program (CDP) is a one-year, salaried, entry-level program, providing up to 12 recent university graduates the opportunity to train alongside experienced professionals in Alltech’s dairy, beef and poultry businesses. After an induction period at Alltech’s international headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky, trainees will be assigned to specific locations in the United States or Canada to prepare for sales positions. They will receive mentorship from senior managers who are experts in their respective fields. The CDP aims to equip and empower trainees with critical skills designed for a successful career at Alltech.

Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has conducted psychometric testing worldwide for hiring and training at Alltech for over 10 years. She works closely with the CDP programs and has seen firsthand how graduates have dived into the conversation about how we nourish the world’s plants, animals and people.

“These young people are chosen not just for their educational backgrounds and intelligence, but perhaps more importantly for their curiosity, enthusiasm and sense of adventure,” she said.

Like the existing corporate and specialized programs, the North American program will offer members the opportunity to train in a variety of functions to learn new business skills and sharpen soft skills that can be readily applied to support Alltech’s beef, dairy and poultry businesses.

“We look forward to welcoming a new group of talented, aspiring professionals who are passionate about agriculture and making a positive difference in the world,” said Suniti Mujumdar, manager of educational engagement at Alltech. “It is a privilege to be part of coaching the next generation of agribusiness leaders.”

The North American CDP is a unique first step on the path to an exciting and rewarding career at Alltech. Applications will remain open through Feb. 9, 2018.

Click here to apply, and visit the Alltech Education website to learn more about the program. Contact graduatecareers@alltech.com with any questions.

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin’s interview with Dr. Jud Chalkley, a practicing physician with St. Joseph Hospital KentuckyOne Health in Lexington, Kentucky.

Tom:                            To suggest that there is disruption in the healthcare market is an understatement these days. Joining us is Dr. Jud Chalkley, a practicing physician with St. Joseph Hospital KentuckyOne Health in Lexington, Kentucky. We thank you so much for joining us.

Jud:                              Thank you for having me.

Tom:                            Dr. Chalkley, you talk about disruption in the medical hierarchy. What do you mean by that?

Jud:                              I think as we look around and see what’s going on in the healthcare industry in the United States, we see a big chaotic mess.

Last year, we spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare in the United States. About 10 percent of it went to primary care, which is the area that I’m going to be talking about at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. I think we all saw the animosity, the lack of understanding, the infighting and the politics of the Obamacare legislation. And now, we see it again in the Trump legislation. So, I’m not picking on either political party in this discussion, but looking at alternative ways to provide care in a much more dignified way for the patient.

In Mexico at SuKarne — a beef manufacturer — I learned of a healthcare network called Salud Digna, which is Spanish for “healthcare with dignity.” I think we need to restore that in American healthcare. I also think we need to restore the idea of the doctor-patient relationship where your doctor is your friend and your confidante — not just somebody who’s filling out forms, typing away on his iPad and spending an inordinate amount of time in electronic medicine rather than real medicine while taking care of a patient.

There was a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) from December of 2015 where they followed the interns at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. They discovered that, as they followed them through their entire week, they spent 1 percent of their time eating and going to the restroom. They spent 7 percent of their time actually in contact with a patient and 43 percent of their time with the computer.

Tom:                            Let’s talk about Salud Digna. What about Salud Digna do you consider to be a model for healthcare?

Jud:                              The gentleman who owns SuKarne had a son who was very, very sick. He tried to get his son scheduled for diagnostic testing, and the wait was five months. Fortunately, he had the money necessary to bypass the system, but he thought, “Wait a minute. What’s everybody else going to do? Could I help them?” So, as a philanthropic effort, he started this healthcare delivery system. Fourteen years ago, when his son got sick, there were no resources. This program benefited 6.5 million patients in 2016.

He started by focusing on the things he could impact. He focused on imaging, radiology, laboratory and eyeglasses. He provides eyeglasses for $20, and the bifocals, like I have, would cost $30. I visited their glasses factory, and it would be considered state-of-the-art even for Sydney, Australia, or New York City or Los Angeles. Their laboratory has polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines so that they can do the most recent state-of-the-art testing for a laboratory in microbiology. And their imaging is second to none. They have the same imaging that we have. In fact, they even have some nicer facilities in mammography. They have complete suites with mood music and visualization areas for the women because this can be a very painful procedure for women. A mammogram is $15. A chest x-ray is $15. An EKG is $10. The most expensive test they have is a CT (or CAT) scan, which is $140. It’s performed with a spiral scanner, which is state-of-the-art anywhere in the world.

Tom:                            I was at a recent conference of medical professionals in Washington, D.C., and the buzz was about how we get the costs of healthcare down in this country. And the numbers you’ve just been citing to me are pretty remarkable. How do they do that?

Jud:                              In SuKarne’s case, it is revenue-neutral now, and that was the goal. The owner of SuKarne partnered with General Electric, Fuji and several other major corporations to get the initial hardware and, subsequently, some of the software. Then, they found price points that allowed them to still pay their employees, provide reasonable salaries for radiologists, obstetricians — for the people who were involved in the system, so that they could keep them in the system without overcharging the patient. There was no profit incentive in the SuKarne model. They got their cost down to about a tenth of what we would pay for the same things here in the United States.

I reviewed another healthcare model that exemplified “salud digna.” Its mantra is the English translation of salud digna, “healthcare with dignity.” It’s called Atlas Medical and was started by Dr. Josh Umbehr in Wichita, Kansas.  It’s a direct-care model, and, basically, you pay him $50 a month for your primary care. If you need an EKG, stitches, a routine physical, if you develop a cough or sore throat — whatever — you just go in and see him. The normal overhead for a physician in the United States is about 50–60 percent. His overhead is 30 percent. Most of his overhead is the cost of medicine because he’s taken the pharmaceutical industry out of the equation — you get your medicine directly from him. A treatment round of penicillin is about $3. A treatment course of antibiotics is $10 or less. They dispense the medication right there during your appointment.

Let’s say you have a sore throat: You call the doctor and get an appointment. Then you get to the doctor and see the receptionist to fill out all the forms. Somebody looks at your throat, maybe not even the doctor, maybe it’s the physician assistant — which is fine because physician extenders are an integral part of medicine at this time. You may get the strep screen. You get a prescription for the antibiotic, if that’s appropriate, and then you take it to the pharmacy and get it filled. You spend a good deal of time in the process, and it’s much more difficult as you get older or if you’re caring for aging parents. Or, let’s say your parents are entering a nursing home. It’s a very difficult undertaking.

With Dr. Umbehr’s model, you call him up. You text him a picture of your throat. He says, “Run by the office and get a strep screen, and if it’s positive, we’ll put you on antibiotics.” You get the antibiotics at the office for less than a couple of dollars. I think the strep screen in his office is $1.43. The appropriate antibiotics are about $4. So, for less than $5, you’ve walked away with appropriate treatment and a good level of care.

The other convenience is that you can call him anytime, 24/7. The maximum number of patients that each primary care doctor has in Atlas Medical is 600, as opposed to 3,000 patients that the primary care physician normally has. They guarantee that you can have up to 30 minutes of their time at any 24-hour period during the day. So, it just makes your doctor accessible. You know exactly what the costs are. You pay $50 a month. Just multiply that times 12 to get whatever it is. Thirty percent of that is overhead. The rest of it is profit. And that profit is paying for his salary, which is about $200,000 a year — more than the average family practice doctor makes, which in that part of the country is about $150,000 a year.

So, everything is very transparent. It’s very open and patient-centered.

There are some other advantages to this, too: Let’s say you’re too sick to go to the doctor, so he comes to you and makes a house call. Well, what about things like stroke or heart attack and you have to go to the hospital? Or your wife is pregnant, or you’re pregnant? What do you do in those situations? Well, you buy insurance on top of this, but you buy it for catastrophic or more substantive, more serious medical problems. So, if you’re pregnant, you go to the obstetrician and the obstetrician manages your pregnancy and delivery, and then Dr. Umbehr takes over your care again at that time.

                                   The way the Kansas system is set up, it costs you about a total of $200 a month per capita for health insurance. So, $150 of that is going to the insurance company and $50 of it is going to Dr. Umbehr. The average per capita around the country is over $600. So you see, there’s a $400 savings per person right there in primary care, which is about 10 percent of the overall medical expense in the United States.

Tom:                            Okay. Absorbing all this and thinking about our present national system, if this is ideal, why isn’t this what we’re doing?

Jud:                              I don’t know. It sounds too good to be true, but it is for real and it works. It’s working very well in Wichita, Kansas. In fact, it’s working so well that some specialty care centers in the Wichita area are adopting a similar direct upfront payment system so that there’s no insurance company, there’s no third party to reject going to the doctor or reject this or reject that. You just go to the doctor and get most problems taken care of and then referred on, if need be, from there. There are some dermatological, orthopedic and cardiology practices that are doing a similar thing as Dr. Umbehr in Wichita. They’ve also negotiated rates down so that they can provide specialty care when needed at a reduced cost.

Another interesting thing is they’re being creative. They’re people on the ground trying to figure it out. They’re not beholden to some huge bureaucracy telling them what to do. For example, when they were figuring out how to handle chest x-rays and they considered their options: “Should we buy an x-ray machine for our office? Then we have to lead line the office. It’s going to be cost-prohibitive. So, what should we do?” Well, they talked to the orthopedic surgeons next door and said, “Hey, can you take our chest x-rays for us?"

They said, “Sure.”

So, a chest x-ray from Dr. Umbehr is $25. For SuKarne in Western Mexico, it’s $15. You can’t get a chest x-ray for under $150 anywhere else in the U.S. that I know of.

Tom:                            What about pharmaceuticals? You mentioned that, basically, they’re cutting out the middleman.

Jud:                              There’s a reason there’s a Rite Aid, CVS or a Walgreens on practically every corner. They make a lot of money.

Tom:                            They do, but those are profound savings we’re talking about.

Jud:                              Yes. They are.

Tom:                            So, the markup, is that incredible on the retail side?

Jud:                              Yes.

Tom:                            I’m dumbfounded, because it seems to me as though we’re just scouring this country for this very idea. Has this concept been presented on a national level? Has it been forwarded to—

Jud:                              It’s gaining an audience.

Tom:                            …policymakers?

Jud:                              Dr. Umbehr has been on “The Sean Hannity Show.” His model, Atlas Medical, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal.

Tom:                            Is it such that it could be compatible with what we have in place already, the Affordable Care Act? Could it be integrated with the Affordable Care Act, or would that have to be completely dismantled and replaced with this kind of system?  

Jud:                              I thought a lot about that. With both the Trump proposal, which is over 10,000 pages — and I don’t pretend to understand or to have read all of it — and with Obamacare — which I don’t pretend to have read or understand either — I’m not taking sides on this political issue. I think with either one — either a federally funded or private insurance, or simply an out-of-pocket payment — the Atlas model and the SuKarne model both work extremely well. With the Atlas model, if someone couldn’t pay, either the government or the insurance company — however they wanted to do it — could pay the $50, and they could integrate into the system. If the person just didn’t want to have the coverage, then they pay out-of-pocket when they need care. The same with the SuKarne model. You just know upfront what you’re going to get and what the costs are.

Tom:                            Well, thank you for laying that out. I think that a lot of people are going to be really interested in hearing about that model, and perhaps another time we can talk about it at more length. I want to make sure that we touch on a few other things in this conversation. One of them being our physician resources. Do we have enough doctors in rural areas in particular?

Jud:                              According to the American Medical Association, by the year 2020, we’re going to be about 100,000 doctors short nationwide — and most of the shortage is in rural primary care.

Tom:                            And why is that?

Jud:                              I don’t, again, pretend to have all the answers. The cost of medical education is astounding right now. The average medical student finishes with $150,000 in debt. The average medical resident, by the time he’s finished his training, is over $250,000 in debt total. That really affects your decision-making process when you’re 30 years old and you’re a quarter of a million dollars in debt and you haven’t earned a penny. It’s kind of a difficult situation.

I think we’ve got to get more people interested in becoming doctors and we’ve got to better utilize our physician extenders, our nurse practitioners and our physician’s assistants in meaningful ways that they can provide good care for our patients.

Tom:                            What significant technology innovations on the delivery side or on the regulatory side do you think could transform the healthcare scene? 

Jud:                              I think the biggest problem facing doctors right now is the shortage and the burnout. To address the burnout, there’s a recent study that shows that half of the internal medicine board-certified doctors are burned out by age 35. The reason they give is, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” There isn’t a doctor-patient relationship. It’s more a doctor-computer, doctor-insurance company, doctor-administration kind of relationship. So, I think anything that will help restore the doctor-patient relationship — which I think is the primary motivation for most people going into medicine — is one thing that really needs to be done.

One of the things that’s also hurting is the amount of regulation on doctors. We’re so heavily regulated by things that we’re supposed to do, that we have to do and dotting I’s and cross T’s. Some of those things are probably worthwhile and probably began with good intentions, but when you start piling them on and they become requirements of practice and requirements for the insurance company to pay, it becomes very, very onerous.     

For example, we changed over to ICD-10, which is a coding mechanism for diagnosis. You now have to code for so many things on ICD-10 that any one mistake could mean no payment, either from the insurance company or from the government. So, you spend so much time with problems like coding that you have to hire somebody to code, to be sure that you get paid, and you find yourself supporting four to six people in an office, which is the average nationwide that a physician supports.

Tom:                            Dr. Jud Chalkley is with St. Joseph Hospital KentuckyOne Health in Lexington. We thank you so much for being with us.

Dr. Jud Chalkley spoke at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear more talks from the conference, sign up for the  Alltech Idea Lab. For access, click on the button below.

[GREEN BAY, Wis.] – More than 220 dairy farmers, nutritionists and industry professionals gathered at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, on Nov. 30 to discuss preparing for the next generation of dairy farming. The theme of the event was “Traditions That Last: Finding Your Team’s Competitive Advantage.”

The day kicked off with a pre-conference breakfast, during which three dairy producers and one industry professional from the Midwest shared how they use technology within their operations:

• Zoey Brooks of Brooks Farms presented on the advantages of the operation’s automatic calf feeder barn. This automated system has resulted in healthier calves and provides opportunities for public education and a youth apprenticeship program. 
• Craig Fietzer of Fietzer Farms discussed the collar-mounted cow identification, rumination and activity tracking sensors used on his dairy. The data from these sensors is used to determine the best times to breed each cow, resulting in improved labor efficiency on the farm.
• Craig Finke of Finke Farm spoke on his farm’s automated feeding system, which delivers fresh feed six times a day. Feeding and milking automation systems allow him to spend more time with his cows in a herd management capacity.
• Jack Hippen, North American and European Sales Director of STgenetics, shared how sexing technology and genomic testing allow for production of higher-value products and services.

Dr. Bob James, owner of Down Home Heifer Solutions and professor emeritus in the dairy science department at Virginia Tech, opened the main conference, speaking on strategies to care for calves and heifers. He encouraged the audience to adopt new technologies that can improve calf care, calf health and labor management.

Dr. Roger Hagevoort of New Mexico State University’s Agriculture Science Center focused on how best to train the next generation of farm workers. He encouraged producers to work with third-party resources such as extension and industry organizations to provide the necessary training. Hagevoort stressed the importance of hands-on training and having managers spend time with their on-farm employees.

Robert Walker, CEO of KEENAN, closed out the morning session with a discussion on how technology is disrupting agriculture worldwide. Walker explained that agriculture is in the midst of a technological revolution that will disrupt current business models.

The afternoon continued with Dr. Roger Scaletti, who supports the Alltech^® Mineral Management team, addressing the crowd on mineral use in the diet to capture more profits. Scaletti provided research results indicating that the inclusion of organic trace minerals such as those in Bioplex^® and Sel-Plex^® improves milk production and the transfer of immunity from cow to calf as well as increasing heifer performance.

Carl Babler concluded the main conference with a market update. He shared his insights on the future of the dairy market in the Midwest, the United States and the world. According to Babler, the United States is positioned to be the animal protein provider of the world, and dairy products will play a factor in this position. There is a need for dairy producers who produce milk as a product and milk as a commodity, but it is important for operations to determine to which group they belong.

Larry McCarren, former Green Bay Packer and current host of “The Mike McCarthy Show,” then shared insight into past and current Packers team members, and how the team’s veteran players take it upon themselves to guide rookie players on how to be successful in Green Bay both on and off the field.  

Held each year in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Alltech Wisconsin Dairy School is a long-standing tradition within the Wisconsin dairy industry. More than 2,700 dairy industry professionals have attended since it was first held in 2003. 

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland] – Last week, during Nov. 20 to 24, a group of 130 dairy farmers from seven countries embarked on a European tour of dairy farms with Alltech to learn about new innovations and different approaches being adopted by farmers.

Visiting seven different dairy farms in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Ireland over the four-day journey, the tour also provided a networking opportunity for farmers to discuss and share ideas about the future of dairy production.

The host farms included a German farm near Berlin called Milsana, which has 3,600 cows. Herd health and performance are paramount at this large-scale operation, and it currently achieves 12,000 kilograms per lactation and 27.5 kilograms of dry matter intake. In the Netherlands, the group visited two family farms, one of which is outsourcing heifer rearing and calving at 22 months as well as placing emphasis on excellent silage management and quality to drive farm efficiency and performance.

Farm diversification was a common theme in each country, with biogas plants present on several farms in order to generate alternative sources of revenue and sustainable energy. In addition, a German farm showcased how it is developing its own brand of milk and selling it on-farm as well as a Dutch farm that welcomed the group to it’s very impressive new B&B facility.

In France, the group had the opportunity to visit Drakkar Holstein, a well-known genetics specialist selling high-genetic value animals, embryos and semen around the world. It also hosts an annual on-farm auction. On the final day of the Alltech Euro Tour, the group learned about Ireland’s unique grass-based system and seasonal calving at John Wynne’s impressive unit in County Wicklow, which is currently achieving a 72 percent conception rate to first service.

In addition to farm tours, the group heard presentations on the global dairy market outlook from Dr. Markus Fahlbusch from the University of Göttingen in Germany as well as the impact of digital technologies on dairy farming from David Hunt, CEO of Cainthus.

“The Alltech Euro Tour is a clear reminder of the desire for farmers to meet with, learn from and share experiences with neighbouring farmers across Europe,” said Julien Martin, Alltech regional director for Northwest Europe. “With many changes and uncertainties across the agricultural industry, the benefits of travelling to see what other farmers are doing, engaging in group discussion and idea sharing on occasions such as this are so invaluable.”

The tour experiences made a strong impression on the participating farmers, with one farmer in his 60s admitting that, instead of looking to retirement, he is now eager to take on some new projects, including a biogas plant, on the family farm.

“Alltech is extremely proud to have brought together this fantastic group of seven different nationalities,” added Martin. "We hope each attendee has walked away with at least one new idea to improve or change their business for future sustainability.”

Advanced education contributes to Alltech’s expertise in yeast fermentation technologies for animal, crop and human health

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – Specializing in brewing and distilling may sound like a hobby — or even a covert practice — but it is indeed a formal degree, and biotechnology leader Alltech considers master’s degree graduates of the program to be essential to its core business. For that reason, the company is proud to congratulate Kendon Jacobson, Alltech’s 21^st employee to receive a master’s degree in brewing and distilling from Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University, known for graduating some of the foremost brewing and yeast fermentation experts in the world.

According to Becky Timmons, global director of applications research and quality assurance at Alltech, Heriot-Watt’s course offers the most practical advanced education for employees given Alltech’s focus on yeast fermentation technology.

“We are very excited to add Kendon to our growing list of Heriot-Watt graduates,” said Timmons. “Yeast fermentation is fundamental to our core business in animal health and nutrition, and I have found that this unique program provides background on a range of subject matter that is beneficial in our industry.”

Alltech is currently collaborating with Western Kentucky University to offer a similar degree. The program would serve the rising craft beer industry in the U.S. as well as the burgeoning bourbon industry.

Such a partnership is not uncommon for Alltech, a company that considers education to be the foundation of both the present and future. This emphasis is reflected in Alltech’s current work with universities globally to collaborate on research, create further educational opportunities for its employees and provide work experiences to the universities’ current students.