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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The new CDP members are:

Alltech Beef Career Development Program:

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

Alltech Dairy Career Development Program:

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

Alltech Quality Career Development Program:

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

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

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland] – Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech is delighted to announce the 2015 winner of the Alltech Innovation Competition hosted at its European headquarters, Dunboyne, Co. Meath. University College Dublin (UCD) students, Catherine O’Connell, Rebecca Fitzgerald and Shannon Coco, were awarded the overall prize for their outstanding competition entry – Moo Shoe. The Moo Shoe provides a solution to one of the biggest problems in the dairy cow industry – lameness, an issue that affects one in five cows on Irish dairy farms. A total of six universities battled for the prize fund of €4,000 while runners-up each received a cheque for €1,000.

The Moo Shoe is made from durable, antifungal polyurethane and rubber. The shoe slips securely over hooves, eliminating the need for glue or nails, and it prevents the primary causes of lameness. “When researching and developing our idea, we were amazed to discover that little exists on the market to prevent lameness. The average cost of lameness per cow in Ireland is a staggering €283, whereas the Moo Shoe ensures infection-free and injury-free hooves for a minimal cost per cow,” said Rebecca Fitzgerald.

Facilitated by Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives at Alltech, and Professor Damien McLoughlin, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, the competition celebrates business and entrepreneurship, and challenges the creative minds of university students. Teams from Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin, National University of Ireland Maynooth, University College Dublin and University of Limerick each presented forward-thinking business plans on their innovative ideas in the areas of agriculture, food, human health and sustainability.

The competition was judged by Dr. James Roche, emeritus professor at UCD, Constantin Gurdgiev, economist and lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, and Ross Hunt, co-founder of Agrilarity, a company dedicated to digitising and automating agricultural processes.  

“These young people are a reflection of the talent and potential that Ireland has to offer,” said Dr. Aoife Lyons. “Alltech is known for working with our customers to identify problems and provide natural solutions. This year’s competition entrants displayed real insight, talent and knowledge. By combining academic expertise with innovation, each group had a potentially viable product to bring to market.”

The concepts presented by the university finalists were as follows:

·         University College Dublin – Moo Shoe - provides a solution to lameness in dairy cows

·         National University Ireland Maynooth – Moodley Manor – manufacturing dairy-free & animal-free foods

·         Dublin City University – The Summit Shaker – stainless steel protein shaker

·         Dublin Institute of Technology – Hear Here Ltd. – assistive technology devices for the deaf and hard of hearing communities

·         Trinity College Dublin – GreenCar - a peer‐to‐peer car sharing company

·         University of Limerick – Integrated digital marketing communications platform for small and medium enterprises  

Alltech continues to work with Irish universities to ensure the development of talented and educated Irish agri-business graduates. Last year’s winner, John Kennedy, from Waterford Institute of Technology, won the overall prize for an android app using GPS technology to guide farmers while spraying and spreading fertiliser. The concept ‘Field Buddy’ is currently in development, and Kennedy is furthering his studies in the area of information technology to develop new apps for the agricultural industry.  

The Alltech Innovation Competition reflects Alltech’s commitment to lifelong education and the inspiration of innovation and entrepreneurship.

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – In a battle of brains amongst seven Kentucky universities in the 2015 Alltech Innovation Competition, it was Kentucky State University and the University of Pikeville who emerged as victors, respectively capturing the undergraduate and graduate first place designations. Each team won $10,000, the amount with which Dr. Pearse Lyons founded Alltech, now a $1 billion company operating in 128 countries.

The University of Pikeville’s team of two graduate and two undergraduate students won the graduate competition with Rhizofeed, their herbal extraction company based in Pikeville. Using bloodroot harvested in Eastern Kentucky, Rhizofeed extracts whole rhizome for use in poultry feed to improve gut health. Less expensive and more stable than probiotics, according to the student team, rhizome extract has anti-inflammatory properties and has been linked to improving the immune system, regulating digestion and promoting weight gain. Rhizofeed aims to target poultry producers looking for alternatives to probiotics or antibiotics, a market expected to grow as an increasing number of major food companies, such as McDonald’s, demand antibiotic-free production. Grown, extracted and sold from Kentucky, Rhizofeed will further diversify Eastern Kentucky’s regional economy while improving poultry production globally.

Making their inaugural appearance at the annual Alltech Innovation Competition, Kentucky State University captured first place in the undergraduate competition with an aquaponics venture. Old Kentucky Home Aquatics, focuses on in-pond aquaponic raceway systems, inspired by the regional potential for farmed catfish and vegetables as well as a drive to support small-scale farming. The business will construct raceways in established ponds, educate farmers and develop a processing route to build regional agriculture. The raceway systems will provide for easier harvesting, higher stocking densities, better water quality and waste collection while controlling overfeeding. Floating rafts enable the incorporation of aquaponics, such as the growth of Bibb lettuce and spinach, using fish waste as a nutrient source.

The winning teams’ competitors included Bellarmine University, Brescia University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University. With seven universities going head-to-head, Dr. Karl Dawson, chief scientific officer at Alltech, noted the challenge this year’s judges had in naming winners, “The quality of the work this year was several magnitudes better than ever before but what made the winning projects so innovative was the simplicity of the ideas and the quality of the presentations.”

“I have been amazed, totally amazed, over the three years we have now run this competition. The event brings out the best,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “Young people find a way to do it, and both winning projects use products from Kentucky—yet not tobacco—to build two viable Kentucky businesses.”

The Alltech Innovation Competition, now in its third year with annual competitions held in both Kentucky and Ireland, holds value to Alltech, not only in terms of the ideas and possible collaborations brought forward but also in terms of talent identification. “Recognizing the innovators and future leaders in the state is very important to us,” said Dawson.

Also central to the Alltech Innovation Competition’s founding mission is its contribution to the state’s economic engine. “To inspire these young people that you can be innovative is the real value of the Alltech Innovation Competition. We have to look for new solutions and inspiring these young people is integral,” said former Kentucky governor Paul Patton, now the interim president of the University of Pikeville.

Alltech will run a sister competition in Dunboyne, Ireland, this Wednesday. The Alltech Innovation Competition reflects Alltech’s commitment to lifelong education and the inspiration of innovation and entrepreneurship.

When most humanitarians poured into Haiti after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January 2010, what they saw was the rubble. Entrepreneur Dr. Pearse Lyons, however, saw the solution. Now, five years later, his vision is a reality.

While most aid providers focused on the obvious – the devastation in and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince, which was closest to the epicenter of the quake – Dr. Lyons’ eyes were drawn to the outlying regions of rural northern Haiti. Things looked pretty much the same there as they had before the quake, but in that obscurity lay the answer.

Acre upon acre of verdant fields, long ago home to lush, lucrative coffee bean plants, sat fallow. The same was true of the area’s young minds, which, without educational opportunities, were idle and bored. From that sprang the epiphany: Natural resources – coffee and minds – were the long-term answer to Haiti’s plight and the most effective way to turns things around.

As this week marks the five-year anniversary of the quake, pundits and aid organizations have been weighing the success of rebuild-Haiti efforts. A report released last month Dec. 2014 by the World Bank and the National Observatory on Poverty and Social Exclusion (ONPES) indicated that the biggest gains in access to basic services for the poor have been in education, with school participation rates having risen 12 percent in the past two years.

"It is clear that the metropolitan area (Port-au-Prince) received more attention in recent years, but we also note that more and more actions are directed to the provinces,” said ONPES coordinator Shirley Augustine. “If these actions are sustained and integrated into a comprehensive policy to foster development of rural areas, we will undoubtedly have a lower poverty rate."

In the immediate aftermath of the quake, millions of dollars in direct aid provided food, shelter and clothing, which, while desperately needed, was essentially triage. The more complex conundrum lay ahead: If Haiti managed to survive, would its economy and its people ever be able to thrive?

Although that question is still on the table, signs are looking far better today than they were in the early years after the quake. Haiti ap vanse (“Haiti moves forward”) is spray painted on billboards beside municipal building projects that are still unfinished in Port-au-Prince and other urban areas. In northern outreaches like Ouanaminthe and Dondon, such fanfare is missing, but evidence of real progress is unmistakable to those who are there.

Avelyne Saint Hilaire, a school teacher who also trains other teachers (and whose salary is paid by Alltech, as it has been for the last five years), has witnessed the positive impact of the company’s efforts in northeastern Haiti. “You can see it every day on the faces of the children,” she said. “I think we set an example to be followed by other NGOs in the country because the way Alltech does it is by educating the little ones. Change must start from the roots.”

After seeing firsthand in January 2010 that attention was already being focused on the capital city, Dr. Lyons turned his sights to the outlying regions. His global agribusiness company put boots on the ground in northern Haiti in the first weeks after the quake and has vowed to remain there for the long haul. The Kentucky-based company founded by Lyons, who has made dozens of visits to Haiti since the quake, promptly identified and implemented a strategy to resurrect Haiti and propel it on a fast track into the future: Help farmers grow coffee, and help educators grow minds.

By all accounts, the two-pronged approach has been working. Today the Alltech Sustainable Haiti Project includes complete financial responsibility, along with renovations and educational support, for two grade schools in northern Haiti. It has also generated the resurrection of a Haitian gem – the country’s 100% shade-grown Fair Trade Arabica coffee, which Alltech markets and sells as Alltech Café Citadelle. Haitian farmers benefit directly because Alltech buys the green coffee beans from them and imports the beans to the United States for manufacturing, packaging and sale through retail outlets. Alltech puts all profits from the sale of the coffee back into its ACE Foundation - Sustainable Haiti Project fund. The ACE Foundation is classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Linda Stephenson, who has managed the Alltech coffee project for the past three years, said additional contributions to Haiti are generated by coffee sales through local fundraisers in Kentucky. Currently, she said, there are more than a dozen ongoing fundraiser projects, with others in the planning stages.

“Haiti was once a leading coffee producer, and we believe it’s possible for the country to recapture its former prominence in the coffee marketplace,” she said. Fondly called “a cup of hope for Haiti,” Alltech Café Citadelle began with one product and became so popular that the line has now grown to include four varieties (regular ground, regular whole bean, espresso roast and French vanilla).

Hope, noted Mary Barton-Dock, World Bank special envoy in Haiti, is closely linked to economics. “Far from the capital, most families still have very limited access to basic services and often cannot afford to send their children to school,” she said. Despite significant progress since January 2010, she noted that approximately 200,000 children aged 6 to 14 are still out of school.

Saint Hilaire stated with pride that in last year’s standardized testing, one of the children in an Alltech-supported school got the top score in the entire northeastern region. The standout student, named Mednighson, was among the initial group of nearly 30 students at Haitian schools funded by Alltech. Saint Hilaire considers Mednighson “an example of positive change.” When the quake struck five years ago, he was grammar school age, but his family couldn’t afford to educate him. “It was sad,” said Saint Hilaire. “Here was a child who was intelligent enough to learn but did not have the opportunity.”

That changed when Alltech began funding schools in Ouanaminthe and Dondon, and Mednighson was not the only student who benefited. Now in high school, said Saint Hilaire,“This child is an achievement for the school, for the teachers. He sets an example for the other students, and we are following his progress step by step,” said Saint Hilaire. “We are all looking forward to the day when we see him go to college, graduate and become a professional, a dignified human being living in a society with rights. One day he may think, ‘Well, I needed something, and the best thing I could have, they gave it to me – education.’”

By: Tom Kimmerer, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Venerable Trees, Inc.

Bison graze amidst ancient trees at Alltech’s farm on Catnip Hill Road in Nicholasville, Kentucky.  Except for the fences, the scene is remarkably similar to what early settlers would have seen in 1779, when Lexington and surrounding areas were first settled.

There are more ancient trees in the Bluegrass than in any other agricultural or urban region in North America.  These trees are 200-500 years old, if not older, and make up woodland pastures -- natural landscapes of open-grown trees shading grasses and cane.  When early settlers arrived here, they did not need to clear forests in order to farm; the natural woodland pastures were ready-made for livestock farming.  After driving off the bison, the first farmers moved in with cattle and sheep, taking advantage of some of the finest grazing land in the world. 

Soon after the first livestock farms began, the thoroughbred horse industry began.  Although the thoroughbred industry is now strongly associated with the Bluegrass, the cattle industry has remained strong.  Rapid urban growth has taken up some of the pastureland, but strong land use restrictions have preserved many of the original farms.

In spite of changes in land use and farming practices in the 235 years since settlement, there are still extensive woodland pastures in the Bluegrass.  The largest woodland pastures cover thousands of acres across multiple farms.  In some cases, there are only individual trees left.  The trees are slowly disappearing not only due to old age, but also land use changes, and the fact they are not reproducing.  In another 100 years, without our intervention, they will be gone.

Natural woodland pastures are rare.  Ecologist E. Lucy Braun, in writing about the forests of eastern North America, called the Bluegrass landscape, “the most anomalous vegetation of North America.”   These are not savannas. In North America, savannas are maintained by fire and poor soils. There is no evidence, such as fire scars on old trees, to suggest that fire was ever important in the Bluegrass, and the soils are deep and rich.

Woodland pastures do exist in Europe.  There are ancient woodland pastures in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Rumania and Italy. Although biologists thought for a long time that the European woodland pastures were created by farmers, it now appears that they are older than agriculture.  Wisent - the European bison - and other animals such as red deer probably played an important role in creating this landscape.

In the Bluegrass, it is likely that a combination of long-term droughts and the arrival of bison created the woodland pasture landscape.  Bison were abundant in the Bluegrass, in herds of thousands of animals.  They would graze down the grass and cane in an area and then move off, sometimes for decades.  Bison are athletic animals, often running 20 or more miles in a night, hundreds of miles in a year.  The combination of heavy grazing, wallowing, and wandering is most likely what created our woodland pasture landscape. The bison would reduce competition from grass and cane and allow trees to grow in the intervals before they returned. 

Today, we graze livestock continuously, and trees do not have a chance to become established in our pastures.  We will lose our woodland pasture landscape soon if we do not take action.  The use of tree pens planted with native species shows some promise in allowing our woodland pasture landscape to continue.

There may be some advantages to farmers to maintain woodland pastures beyond their beauty.  Shade trees allow livestock to escape summer heat, which may be more important as summers become hotter.  Large trees over productive pastures may store as much carbon as forests.  These are speculative advantages, however, as there has been almost no research on woodland pastures and livestock in the United States.. Grazing in woodland pastures in Europe is a widely accepted practice that appears to provide some benefits. 

Trees of woodland pastures are adapted to life with grazing animals.  When grazers are removed from woodland pastures, other trees and shrubs quickly create forests.  There are several woodland pastures managed as preserves with livestock excluded, and these sites are now thick with trees and shrubs. The native woodland pastures cannot exist without grazing animals.

We have only begun to learn about the management and benefits of woodland pastures. For now, the most critical need is to ensure that this rare and magnificent landscape does not disappear.

This article is based on my forthcoming book Venerable Trees, to be published in 2015 by the University Press of Kentucky.  More information on woodland pastures and the venerable trees of the Bluegrass can be found at our website, Venerable Trees.  

Text and photographs copyright 2013-2015 Tom Kimmerer.

Time flies when you’re having fun and time is sure flying in Indiana! I spent the past week assessing and working with fresh cows. I looked at their feed, environment, milking procedure on the 72 unit rotary parlour and overall management while in the fresh cow pen and of course asked lots of questions. Even after our intense 10 weeks of training I still believe there is a lot to learn and what better way to do it than to ask questions!

As well as assessing different protocols and areas of this large dairy, I also help to carry out daily tasks that need to be done such as scanning cows and feeding calves. This week while feeding calves the lights in the barn went out and I then realised that they are timed according to production. A long-day photoperiod (LDPP) is used in the lactating cow barn. This means that the cows are exposed to 16 hours of light followed by 8 hours of darkness. A short-day photoperiod (SDPP) is used in the dry cow barn. This means that these cows are exposed to only 8 hours of light followed by 16 hours of darkness. It has been proven that lactating cows exposed to LDPP show an increase in milk production and cows exposed to SDPP in the dry period can be more relaxed and produce more milk throughout their lactation. A simple yet effective way of managing a herd of cows that are indoors at all times.  

I have already learned a lot about the American dairy industry and how it differs to the Irish one. However, one of the most confusing things in this learning process is trying to adapt to the different measurements such as milk being priced per hundred weight and being measured in pounds instead of litres. It’s all part of adapting to a new culture and country I suppose.

Over the weekend I took a trip to South Dakota to visit Drumgoon Dairy where I worked last year. It was nice to see all the changes that have taken place on the dairy since I left and to see the brand new dairy which was under construction, now up and running successfully!  

We are very excited to welcome the first ever members of our new Alltech Dairy Career Development Programme - Niall Brennan and Joseph Butler from Co. Louth, Ireland, April Higgins from Co. Mayo, Ireland and Han Longfei from Henan Province, China.

Each member will be based in Alltech European Headquarters, Dunboyne, Ireland for the next ten weeks before taking their on-farm positions in November as part of the 40 week programme. Members will be based on farms in Turkey, Vietnam, US and China.

Here is a brief bio on each of our new team members:

Niall Brennan is from county Louth, Ireland. His passion for the dairy industry came at a young age while growing up on the family farm. Brennan recently graduated from University College Dublin with an honours degree in Agricultural Science, where he specialized in Dairy Business. In 2012, Niall received a scholarship to travel to New Zealand where he spent six months working on a dairy farm in Canterbury. He will be working in Turkey.

Joseph Butler grew up in a small village in county Monaghan, Ireland. He attended Ballyhaise Agricultural College and University College Dublin where he earned an honours degree in Animal and Crop Production. Butler has a strong beef farming background, as he hails from a progressive suckler family farm. He has also previously managed a large beef farm in Loire valley, France and a large dairy farm in South Dakota, USA in 2013. Additionally he has worked with the local feed mill in Monaghan giving his additional expertise in the area of animal nutrition. He will be working in Vietnam.

April Higgins is from county Mayo, in the west of Ireland and has been very involved in the Irish agricultural industry from a young age through showing and breeding cattle. Higgins recently graduated from University College Dublin with an honours degree in Agricultural Science where she specialised in Animal Science. As part of her degree, Higgins completed a two month work experience on a large dairy farm in South Dakota, USA. She also spent four months reporting for Ireland’s leading agricultural publication, The Irish Farmer Journal. She will be working in the US.

Han Longfei grew up in Luoyang, Henan province, China. He was awarded a BSc in Animal Science and an MSc in Animal Genetics in Huazhong Agricultural University. Longfei spent the last two years of his MSc travelling around China visiting farms, talking to farmers, speaking with scientists and technicians in China and around the world. He will be working in China.

When you hear the word audit you automatically think of revenue or taxation auditors, but did you know that Alltech runs farm audits to help improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of your farm?

Alltech believes the key to unlocking greater profitability in a sustainable fashion is by increasing efficiency of production. This is the driving principle behind the Alltech E=P+S programme. Alltech can predict the probable outcome in economic value and also highlight the expected reduction in carbon emission from the added efficiencies projected. The programme helps to predict and monitor the benefits on-farm, as well as clearly demonstrating the advantages through Alltech’s unique “What if?” tool.

It’s simple, according to Kevin Dardis, global dairy marketing manager, “farmers look to the opportunities that abound in dairy and beef production, Alltech is uniquely positioned to help resolve inefficiencies and boost profitability in a more sustainable way.”

So how does it work? Alltech’s E=P+S programme is comprised of a number of components which when taken together provide farmers with a complete audit and recommendation package for any farm unit.

The first component is silage production and quality. This is combined with advice on feed formulation and mineral specifications. Then our technicians audit the management of the herd using the Alltech programme. And we carry out manure sieving to help identify the amount of undigested feed passing through the rumen in a wasteful manner.

“As farmers look to the opportunities that abound in dairy and beef production, Alltech is uniquely positioned to help resolve inefficiencies and boost profitability in a more sustainable way,” says Kevin.

Our technicians are fully trained in feed formulation using Plurimix, a dedicated formulations program. Plurimix models the existing diet and allows for a comparison of the potential benefits of alternative diets. All diets can be compared nutritionally, by cost and by carbon output of the herd’s diet. This information can then be transferred, along with the basic operating performance indicators of the farm, into the unique Alltech “What if?“ tool. Calculations indicate the degree of cost benefit from the resolved inefficiencies to the farmer with the added bonus of reduced herd carbon footprint, which is great news for the consumer who is more concerned than ever with how their food is produced.

All of these components are pulled together into a comprehensive recommendation for diet, mineral specification, alternative protein sources and if required, mycotoxin control. Following implementation, the results and performance are regularly monitored by technicians to ensure the predicted improvements are achieved or bettered. Sounds simple right? If you are interested in seeing if Alltech can help you today contact your local Alltech representative.