In recent years, there has been growing public concern about the welfare of livestock. Dairy farmers are, and should be, chief among those concerned about the well-being of their animals. Uncomfortable animals are not productive animals.

The first and best way to care for your herd is to reduce discomfort and stress caused by husbandry procedures, and this requires early recognition of any pain. Since cows do not communicate verbally, veterinarians and dairy producers have to pay close attention to changes in cow behavior. Teeth grinding, vocalizing, head pressing or, less frequently, colic behavior are clear signs of severe discomfort. Earlier identification of less severe behavioral changes in the cow will help detect illness, leading to better treatment options and improved health outcomes, including milk yield.         

In this video, Dr. Silivo Miranda explains his 5-minute facial assessment. To hear it in Spanish, click here.

Understanding cow discomfort by facial expression

We are developing new guides to facial expression to help farmers detect if their cows are experiencing pain. This program is based on identifying and recognizing specific features on the cow’s face. Cows change their facial expression when stressed, and this spontaneous facial expression is considered an innate response, which is very difficult to suppress.

With a little practice, this evaluation can be done quickly in five minutes, and the farmer, with help from his veterinarian, can decide if the cow needs treatment or not.

Nose: It is a good sign if she lets you get close to the nose. If the facial muscles are relaxed, it means she isn’t in pain.

Strained nostrils dilated with lines above the nostrils and tension of the facial muscle suggest pain. Also, an increase of tonus of the lips could indicate pain.

Eyes: A cow has incredible peripheral vision and relies on vision for many things, from navigating the barn to finding feed. That is why bright, clear eyes, free of any crusting, are important for a healthy cow. A stare/withdrawn appearance and tension of the muscles above the eyes that may be seen as “furrow lines” indicate pain.

Ears: Should be forward. If the ears are tense and backward or low, also called “lambs ears,” this might indicate discomfort or pain.

Pain evaluation is an essential tool to ensure animal welfare in the modern dairy industry. Remember, happy, pain-free cows mean more milk and better reproductive health.  

As growers look to the next season and plan their spring planting, they will be watching for the first signals of how their crops will succeed throughout the spring and summer and into harvest.

Crop emergence is the first predictor of crop success. The number of seeds that germinate and grow has a direct correlation to the total yield and quality. Therefore, it is important to take steps not only during the pre-emergence, but also in the previous growing and harvest periods, that will benefit the plants throughout the growing season.

Soil preparation

Preparing your soil begins during the previous season. The use of practices that promote the improvement and biological balance in the soil, such as cover crops, crop rotation and natural fertilizers, improves the soil. Optimal soil quality will help plants reach their full genetic potential and better face environmental stressors. 

The amount of crop residue can also affect emergence since it can keep the temperature of the soil significantly lower. Growers should take the time to break down the material, which will also provide additional nutrients to the soil. 

Field preparation

After improving soil health, it is time to properly prepare the field itself for planting. A soil test is recommended to check what nutrients — both macro and micro — may be low.

During the pre-emergence period, it is also time to begin scouting the fields for early signs of weeds. Growers should not only look for weeds that are beginning to break through, but also dig for weed seeds as well. Field borders can be a good place to check for signs of potential weed problems.

Seed selection

To make sure the crop emerges properly and in a timely fashion, the right variety of seed should be used. The chosen variety should work well for the soil type, the growing environment and the grower’s end market goals. For example, if the area is prone to stressors like temperature fluctuations, a seed that is rated for emergence stressors should be used. 

Timing

Timing is integral to ensure that the crop emerges correctly. Planting too early or too late can be detrimental to the overall yield and crop quality. Some crops, such as soybeans, perform better if they are planted a bit early.

Temperature

Keeping an eye on soil temperature will ensure a better emergence of your plants. Cold temperatures will stress the seeds and decrease the number of plants that will reach maturity. Growers should monitor the temperature at planting depth, and if it is a cold and wet period, planting should be stopped, if possible, until more favorable conditions are present. 

The attention in preparing the soil and field, finding the right seeds and ensuring correct timing and weather conditions will help growers get a leg up in ensuring that their seeds emerge into viable plants. To learn about more ways to improve soil and provide a strong start for your crops, contact Cropscience@alltech.com.  

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The brooding period is a critical time of development for many systems within a bird, and it occurs from the time of placement — even beforehand as the farm prepares for the new flock — to around two weeks of life for the young chicken (chick) or turkey (poult).

Getting the flock off to the right start during brooding can help to positively impact health and performance throughout the flock’s life. There are five areas that must be monitored carefully during the brooding period:

1. Regulation of body temperature

Chicks and poults are unable to regulate their internal body temperature during the first four to six days post-hatch (poults: 39.4–40°C or 103–104°F; chicks: 40–41°C or 104–106°F).

While environmental temperature control is important for the entire flock, it is particularly critical during brooding, as it is important to not overheat nor overcool birds, which can greatly impact performance. Management guidelines for the breed will include the appropriate temperatures for the flock, and these temperatures may differ depending on whether the flock is from younger or older breeder hens. The producer must also consider the temperature of the floor and litter so that the entire environment, and not just the air, is at the correct temperature. 

2. Skeletal and muscle system

During their first week of life, poults and chicks gain around four times their original body weight. This significant increase in weight suggests rapid growth of the bird. A large part of this growth is aided by the first feeding phases given to the bird, which focus on nutrients to help with growth, as opposed to the end of the flock, when nutrients are focused on body maintenance. Nutrients such as protein, calcium, phosphorus and various minerals are required to help with this growth. Using minerals that are more bioavailable to the bird (e.g., Bioplex^® and Sel-Plex^®) and highly digestible proteins (e.g., NuPro^®) can optimize growth during this time and the life of the flock.  

3. Immune system

Some breeder hen antibodies are passed on to the offspring through the yolk. These maternal antibodies help to protect the chick/poult during their first two to three weeks of age. However, these maternal antibodies do not complete the immune system of the young bird. Immune organs and immune tissue start developing in the embryo and the hatched bird. Additionally, active immunity is developing in the young bird from in ovo to the field through vaccinations and exposure to pathogens. If there is any stress on the bird, the immune system can be suppressed, negatively impacting health and performance. Depending on the situation, supporting the immune system during this period with various feed additives, such as Actigen^®, Natustat^®, Bioplex and Sel-Plex, can be beneficial to encourage the building of natural defenses.

4. Gastrointestinal system

The gastrointestinal tract has many purposes, including barrier and immune function for disease protection, as well as the breakdown, digestion and absorption of feed and water that can be translated into production parameters. The small intestine is the main area where most of the feed is digested and absorbed. To efficiently absorb feed, there must be a large surface area in the intestinal tract. Increased villi numbers and villi height help to increase the surface area for absorption. The small intestine has rapid development from 17 days of incubation to about 10 days post-placement. During this critical time, the bird’s ability to efficiently digest and absorb nutrients, in addition to mounting strong disease defenses, is developed.

5. Microbiome

Different areas of the bird have different microbiomes, such as the skin and intestinal tract. The intestinal tract microbiome is a part of the barrier function of the intestine. The stability of the microbiome involves a balancing act between the beneficial and opportunistic microbes, the latter of which are disease-causing under stress. Within a few hours of hatching, the small intestine is colonized by different bacterial groups. As the bird ages, the intestinal microflora population changes from immature to mature, reaching a stable balance within two to three weeks in the small intestine and up to six weeks in the ceca. Supporting the early establishment of a beneficial microflora community will allow villi to flourish, absorption to be maximized and the presence of pathogenic bacteria to be minimized. The diet of the bird, including nutrients and feed additives (such as Actigen, All-Lac^® XCL and Acid-Pak 4-Way^® 2X), as well as the water the bird drinks, can have an impact on the intestinal microflora. The poultry barn, especially the litter, has its own microflora that is highly influenced by the gut microflora, and vice versa. It may take several flock cycles to positively change the populations and profile of the poultry barn microflora.

When the birds are first placed in the barn, it is critical that they gain immediate access to feed and water. Supplemental feed and water are generally used to allow for easy transition to the permanent feeding and water system.

Many factors must be taken into consideration to help the birds get off to the right start during brooding, including best management practices, with particular attention to biosecurity, nutrition and health status.  

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2017 was an extremely hot and dry year in Portugal, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Fahrenheit above average and summer temperatures extending through the end of October. Precipitation levels were 70 percent below previous years. These climatic conditions led to weak pollination, which predicted substantial production losses.

In the south of Portugal, an already hot and dry region, Rui Barros, a producer of corn for popcorn, was looking for solutions to help him keep his farm productivity at a normal level.

Vasco Stubner, sales representative for Alltech Portugal, proposed a simple program aimed at helping plants maintain their vital functions so production isn't lost. Grain-Set^® was applied through fertigation on June 15, and the corn was harvested three months later at the end of September.

The harvest numbers tell the story of Barros’ success:

• Increased cob weight

• Yield increased by 793 kg/ha (12.7 bu/acre) versus the control, which represented a return of investment around 5 to 1 

“We have only intervened on a small parcel of this farm,” said Stubner. “With productivity results that exceeded all the farmer’s best expectations, we are definitely looking into broadening the area of application for next season.”  

Beringel Farm, where the program was applied, has a total area of over 200 acres.

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Eggs have long been regarded as an excellent source of high-quality “complete” protein, as they contain all of the essential amino acids — dubbed “essential” because our bodies cannot synthesize them and we must get them from our diet.

But eggs are not only a great (and inexpensive!) source of protein; they have a high nutrient density, because they provide a number of nutrients in proportion to their calorie count. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals in varying amounts, high-quality protein and antioxidants, all for just 70 calories.¹

Additionally, the enrichment of eggs has made it possible for consumers to get even more nutrition from each egg. Producers have begun increasing key nutrients — like selenium — in layer diets in order to increase the nutrient content of eggs. By increasing the amount of this essential mineral in the layer diet, farmers have the opportunity to naturally increase the nutritional value of the eggs that they produce.

What does this mean for consumers?

Selenium is nutritionally essential for humans — it plays a role in healthy reproduction and metabolism and may help maintain a strong immune system.^2-6 Selenium is also being studied for its potential role in reducing both the risk of cardiovascular disease and age-related decline in brain function. ^8-10  

Selenium-enriched eggs can help to fill the “nutritional gap” in our diets, delivering this essential nutrient through a food that’s delicious, inexpensive, readily accessible and easy to prepare. 

Sel-Plex® is Alltech's proprietary organic form of selenium yeast and is the first European Union-approved and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-reviewed form of organic selenium. Sel-Plex is supported by more than 19 years of research and is now being used to enrich layer diets.

References:

1.  Egg Nutrition Center of the American Egg Board 2017
2. Sunde RA. Selenium. In: Ross AC, Caballero B, Cousins RJ, Tucker KL, Ziegler TR, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012:225-37
3. Sunde RA. Selenium. In: Bowman B, Russell R, eds. Present Knowledge in Nutrition. 9th ed. Washington, DC: International Life Sciences Institute; 2006:480-97
4. Rayman MP. Selenium and human health. Lancet 2012;379:1256-68.
5. Allen NE, Appleby PN, Roddam AW, Tjonneland A, Johnsen NF, Overvad K, et al. Plasma selenium concentration and prostate cancer risk: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88:1567-75.
6. Combs GF, Jr and Gray WP. Chemopreventive agents: Selenium. Pharmacol Ther 1998; 79:179-92.
7. Dennert G, Zwahlen M, Brinkman M, Vinceti M, Zeegers MP, Horneber M. Selenium for preventing cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011:CD005195.
8. Rayman MP. Selenium and human health. Lancet 2012;379:1256-68.
9. Akbaraly TN, Hininger-Favier I, Carriere I, Arnaud J, Gourlet V, Roussel AM, et al. Plasma selenium over time and cognitive decline in the elderly. Epidemiology 2007;18:52-8.
10. Shahar A, Patel KV, Semba RD, Bandinelli S, Shahar DR, Ferrucci L, et al. Plasma selenium is positively related to performance in neurological tasks assessing coordination and motor speed. Mov Disord 2010;25:1909-15.

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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.

In the U.S., pet food safety is overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These organizations each have different roles but are closely linked. The FDA is charged by federal laws to ensure that pet food is safe and truthfully labeled.

Misbranded pet food labels are prohibited under state and federal law. According to the FDA, a truthfully labeled pet food product contains:

1. An ingredients list: everything used to make the pet food product must be listed as an ingredient and must be deemed by the FDA as safe for use.
2. Appropriate identification of the product: for example, puppy food must be formulated for the nutritional requirements of a puppy.  
3. Quantity: how much product is contained in the packaging.
4. The manufacturer’s or distributor’s name and address: to ensure traceability of the pet food product and its ingredients.

Safety and quality starts with ingredient sourcing

The pet food ingredient panel may list cereal grains such as corn, barley, rice and also seeds, legumes and fruits, ingredients that are susceptible to mold growth. If mold is present, the risk for mycotoxin presence increases significantly, and certain types of mycotoxins cause a health threat to pets through acute toxicity and chronic health issues.

Trace minerals are also listed in the ingredient panel, but the form of the trace mineral used is very important. Are they sulfates, oxides or proteinates? Inorganic trace minerals (sulfates and oxides) may be contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and lead, as well as environmental pollutants like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxins, carcinogenic substances that pose a health risk to pets.

Peace of mind: When it comes to safety, a step forward is better

Ingredient contamination throughout the supply chain is always possible, and avoidance and minimization of risk is achieved by checks, verifications and validation processes. These processes are all part of a food safety system designed to ensure high standards of ingredients used and total transparency from suppliers to pet food manufacturers.

Manufacturers should ensure pet food safety by sourcing ingredients from approved suppliers — those who have passed rigorous quality and food safety audits and are able to demonstrate a thorough traceability system.

Know your supplier inside out

Quality assurance control programs such as the Alltech Q+™ (Quality Plus) program and the Alltech 37+^® mycotoxin analysis are examples of programs developed by Alltech.

Alltech 37+ is designed to reduce the risk of mycotoxin contamination and improve food safety. It tests for more than 40 types of mycotoxins in one sample.

Alltech Q+ is a quality control system unique to Alltech Bioplex^® and Sel-Plex^® trace minerals. It guarantees that all incoming raw material ingredients (and final products) are tested for heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs and are rejected if they do not comply with Alltech’s standards.

When it comes to our beloved pets’ food, traceably sourced ingredients matter.

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It is hard to believe that it is that time of year again: The combines are rolling and farmers across Canada, where I am based, are starting to pack, or have just finished packing, their bunks and silos. To better prepare producers — both livestock and grain farms — for next year’s growing season, I had the chance to discuss managing mycotoxins from the field with Dr. Art Schaafsma, a researcher at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

My name is Dr. Art Schaafsma, and I am a researcher at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. I have a Ph.D. in crop protection and have been involved with field crop pest management at Ridgetown for just over 30 years. My main area of emphasis and research has been mycotoxins in both corn and wheat. I look at agronomic practices, sampling, detection and how to deal with mycotoxins along the value chain.

Is there a way to mitigate the risk of mycotoxins from the field, whether during planting, growing or harvesting? If so, how?

Mycotoxins are really complicated to manage, and it takes a multi-faceted approach and several tools to address them.

The typical rotation after wheat is corn, and wheat does not seem to be as large a source of inoculum as corn is. This is seen often in minimum till and no-till systems, as there is a lot of corn residue left.

Some pork producers use wheat as a way to manage mycotoxins. They will grow both corn and wheat and hope that one of those crops is clean and mix them if one is not as clean. They prefer corn, but if it is a bad year, then they will sell the wheat.

Also, pay attention to hybrid selection and look for hybrids that are less susceptible to mycotoxins. You want to look for a hybrid that will mature on time, because if you push the hybrid, you can increase the risk of mycotoxins forming. In wheat, it is much the same when it comes to variety selection.

During flowering in both corn and wheat is when the crop is most susceptible to the fungi that produce mycotoxins. In order to help combat this, producers should use a fungicide spray. The only group that is available are the triazoles to control Fusarium on both corn and wheat, and it is very important to get the timing right and get good coverage.

In corn, it is important to control western bean cutworm and other pests that can contribute to furthering the risk of mycotoxin contamination.

When it comes to harvest, some producers have started to take their wheat or corn off as soon as it can be taken off so that they can then dry it. This helps because they can control how fast the grain dries to stop the infection.

During the growing season, what are some visible signs of mycotoxin contamination?

In wheat, it is a bit easier to see the signs of deoxynivalenol (DON) because you look for head blight symptoms. These symptoms include the spikelets looking bleached. In corn, however, it is a bit more difficult, because there are a number of different species of Fusarium, and a lot don’t produce mycotoxins.

The main mycotoxin we deal with is DON. You can tell if you have DON if you have white mold accompanied by a purple or pink color anywhere on the cob. It is always better to test the grain, especially if you see any pink or purple color or white mold. Green molds and black molds are not associated with mycotoxins.

Many people worry about toxins increasing during storage; however, DON won’t increase if corn is stored below 18 percent moisture. However, this is when the mycotoxin zearalenone can be produced. Zearalenone is a late-season toxin, and there is an increased risk of zearalenone if the crop is late to harvest, stored incorrectly or not dried quickly enough. DON needs warm conditions to keep growing.  Zearalenone can form under cooler and damper conditions.

Are there certain types of mycotoxins that become more prevalent based on the type of growing season? For example, if it is a very wet year, do you see more DON versus in a dry year?

Depending on the type of year you may be experiencing, you could get different types of mycotoxins contaminating your corn or wheat. For example, DON forms in a moderately warm temperature, with its optimum temperature being 28 degrees Celsius, and if there is a lot of rain, DON can become a big issue. Also, in August, when we sometimes get the foggy mornings and then the rest of the day is warm, DON can be an issue.

DON is a complicated type of toxin and has several forms.  Most producers tend to use an ELISA test to test for DON in their crops, but it only measures a few forms of DON, not all its forms.  The other forms are just as toxic as DON.  DON can sometimes also be masked or hidden. This happens when DON is conjugated with a sugar and is then overlooked by an ELISA test. This is why sometimes you may run an ELISA test, think there are no problems, then discover a mycotoxin.

Fumonisin, another type of mycotoxin, shows up when there is heat stress, with low- to mid-30s degree Celsius weather and drought. In Ontario, we do not get this one too much because it isn’t hot and dry enough.

Zearalenone does not show up in wheat because it is too warm during flowering, as wheat heads out in June or July. However, it does show up in corn in the fall.

One toxin producers should be aware of is T-2 toxin. T-2 is related to a late harvest, and we find it regularly in corn that is left in the field too long and when corn lodges. The danger with this one is that it is 10 times more toxic than DON.

Where do you think the next advancements will come from in reducing/protecting against Fusarium-produced mycotoxins?

In corn, we are working on a sustainable way to manage western bean cutworm. I would like for there to be an incentive for farmers to grow less susceptible hybrids. This may happen soon because other end markets that buy a lot of corn are getting frustrated by mycotoxins as well. It is not just livestock producers that should be looking at their corn this way. More often now, there is a penalty applied for how much DON is brought into the processing plant. Awareness is growing and will lead us to change.

In wheat, the industry continues to improve the genetics. There is more progress in managing mycotoxins in wheat than in corn. We can manage it reasonably well in wheat. 

Have a question or comment?

Luther:                        Dr. Kayla Price is the poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada. In addition to sales and technical support, Price engages in research and is an avid follower of the constant changes taking place in the poultry industry. Thank you for joining us.

Kayla:                          Thank you very much. 

Luther:                        First question out of the gate: Why is gut and intestinal health in birds so important? 

Kayla:                          Whenever I think of the bird, I always think of it as a gut with lots of stuff attached to it. For the bird to do anything in terms of performance, the gut must be working to access all the feed ingredients — the nutrition — that you’re putting into the bird.  

                                    Nutrition must be absorbed so it translates into either kilos or pounds of meat, if you’re talking about meat birds such as broilers or turkeys. On the egg side, gut health must translate into egg production.

                                    For broilers, gut health must translate into egg production and, ultimately, hatchability. Really, the question for me is, why isn’t it important? Gut and intestinal health are extremely important.   

Luther:                        What issues do antibiotics pose to the gut and intestinal health of birds? 

Kayla:                          That’s a loaded question. With antibiotics, it’s not necessarily that they pose issues. They’re an incredible invention; an incredible innovation in the treatment of birds. When they’re very sick, they really need to be treated with antibiotics to become healthy.

                                    At the same time, when we’re using antibiotics at low-level preventative measures, they do the same thing as when they’re administered at high treatment levels: They’re looking to kill bacteria. The problem, or the conversation or debate, happens because antibiotics are killing any bacteria, good or bad. Antibiotics don’t decide whether bacteria are good or bad. They just kill them because that’s their job.

                                    Some bacteria are naturally resistant. They have those resistant genes no matter what. Other bacteria become resistant because they “learn” to become resistant. As antibiotics are injected, they kill bacteria that can be killed but leave the resistant bacteria. It’s those resistant bacteria that are really the problem, as they potentially move along the food chain. That’s what people are concerned about.

                                    We want to be able to prevent that resistance from going up and down the food chain. We want to reduce the potential for drug-resistant bacteria that show up in hospitals. It’s a complicated issue. There are a lot of sides of the debate, but it’s an issue that needs to be talked about. 

Luther:                        It sounds like it isn’t the antibiotic itself; it’s the application, the use or overuse, or the fact that it does leave antibiotic-resistant bacteria behind.

Kayla:                          Yes.

Luther:                        That said, what is the future of antibiotic use in the poultry industry?

Kayla:                          You have some people saying that poultry should only be raised without antibiotics in production. But at the end of the day, I think there’s still room for conventional production. Again, we’re not looking to completely get rid of it.

                                    It’s important to have a choice in the marketplace. Consumers should have the choice to get something that is raised without antibiotics if that is what they choose to purchase, and if that is what the retailer chooses to sell.

                                    On the other side, there’s also the importance of the ability to choose good-quality, antibiotic-residue-free, conventional meat or eggs that are still very good for you and are affordable.

                                    You’ll see in the marketplace that some options lean more toward poultry that is raised without antibiotics, but there are still more conventional options.

                                    Understanding where antibiotics fit within the system is important. Again, we still need to be able to treat our birds if they need to be treated, and we also need to be able to have that choice in the marketplace.

Luther:                        What are the key questions and items that should be considered before pursuing an antibiotic-free program?

Kayla:                          I talk about it from the producer level. But from an integrated perspective, we look at things from a grand integrator level. I think one of the first things to start thinking about is your plan moving forward, and the need to have a plan. Understand what you can do when things go wrong, because inevitably, as much as we’re trying to do everything perfectly and well, something will still go wrong.  

                                    You need to have a line for birds that can ultimately be treated with antibiotics — and they will still provide good meat — and to also have a line for birds that are antibiotic-free. Then, understand what needs to happen within your system as you integrate with antibiotic-free, or “never-ever” free production, as it’s called in the U.S.

                                    I always think of it as a holistic approach: moving from the breeder system into the hatching system and then ultimately moving down to those market birds. Think of that whole system and then, depending on where you fall in the system, consider the details. Go back to the basics of actual poultry production and rethink the details, whether you’re focusing on management in the barn, feed going into the birds or even water in the barn. 

Luther:                        What are mycotoxins, and how much of an issue are they for birds?

Kayla:                          Mycotoxins come from fungi. As grain is grown, there is the potential for fungi to form on it. As the fungi start growing, they release mycotoxins. As we grind grain for feed, mycotoxins get into the feed and ultimately get into the birds.

                                    When we’re talking about poultry production, I think one of the biggest misconceptions is the potential impact that mycotoxins can have on poultry, especially on short-lived poultry such as broilers, or even turkeys, to an extent. There’s a misconception that mycotoxins do not really have much of an impact. But mycotoxins are gut irritators. You have something at a very low level that’s irritating the gut and that you, as the producer or as the technical manager, may not recognize initially.

                                    Longer-living birds such as layers and broiler breeds are also affected because they’re potentially exposed to mycotoxins for much longer.

Luther:                        What are the effects on the broilers and turkeys, specifically? There are side effects from mycotoxins. What are those side effects?

Kayla:                          There’s a long range of side effects from mycotoxins. When people think about indicators of mycotoxins, the initial tendency is to only consider visible side effects. Those may include huge lesions on the mouth, the side of the mouth, on the tongue or inside of the mouth. Other visual indicators appear as scabs on the combs or the wattles or could show up as lesions, erosions or ulcers along the intestinal tract.

                                    People often overlook indicators of low-level irritation. Those indicators may be less visually obvious but may emerge as lower weights in broilers and turkeys, for example. Or, the gut irritation may create an environment for other problems. You may see another disease or another problem happening in the bird without necessarily relating it to a mycotoxin issue.

                                    Side effects can really be a whole range of things that you may or may not see visually in the bird.

Luther:                        It sounds very similar to human beings, where you’ll see symptoms but not the root cause. In this instance, the mycotoxins could be the root cause. They’re causing some of these downstream symptoms.

Kayla:                          Yes, exactly.  

Luther:                        What about layers and broiler breeders? What effects do mycotoxins have on them?

Kayla:                          Many people don’t think of layers, broiler breeders, broilers and turkeys as being similar. It would be an overgeneralization to say that they are similar, but they may show similar reactions to mycotoxins. The look of mycotoxins in layers and broiler breeders could be very similar in the sense that birds get mouth lesions, erosions, ulcers all the way down the gut and then impacting the liver.

                                    On the low-level side, again you’re seeing gut irritation. These birds can’t translate nutrients into eggs, so your peak production could come down. Your eggshell quality could also decline.  

                                    Layers and broiler breeders are vaccinated quite a bit, so perhaps their immune system is suppressed or decreased. Then they’re not able to respond to the vaccine as they should.

                                    In broiler breeds, you have an added factor of impacting the chicks. Then you’re dealing with a range of health issues for them.

                                    With low-level toxin challenges, those are some indicators you may not have considered initially, but they could potentially lead to other diseases as the immune system is weakened.  

Luther:                        Since we know that mycotoxins cause issues downstream — some of them obvious and some of them subtle — what can farmers do to take a holistic approach with a multilayered program to control the risks of mycotoxins?

Kayla:                          On a prevention level, whether you’re talking about low-level, moderate or even high challenges, it’s important to have a mycotoxin absorbent in the feed. Specifically, the mycotoxin absorbent you want is an inner yeast cell wall, which has a very strong static bond and a large surface area. This combination allows for relatively low levels of product — or technology —to be used to bind a very large amount of mycotoxin. You’re able to eliminate or at least greatly reduce mycotoxins in the feed. Using something like a mycotoxin absorbent is very important, as these birds run into low, medium, or high-level challenges.

Luther:                        So, that’s all part of what you’re calling a multilayered program.

Kayla:                          Absolutely. I’m talking specifically about mycotoxins, but we can’t forget that they are only a small snippet of the picture of poultry production in general. When I say multilayered, we’re not just considering potential mycotoxin challenges, whether they’re low, medium or high, but also taking into consideration all components. We’re considering management, biosecurity, feed, water and so on. You take all these factors into consideration to make sure you have the best production and most successful production.

Luther:                        You’ve talked about considerations for mycotoxin management and going all the way back to the source; making sure that you have high-quality ingredients, high-quality feed. It sounds like how you handle the feed is also vitally important.

Kayla:                          Absolutely.

Luther:                        Can you address that a little bit?

Kayla:                          Let’s say you have feed coming into your production system. If we’re talking about feed processed by a feed company, their manufacturing is highly controlled. This is a low-level challenge. However, toxins may still appear in the feed later. For example, if you place feed in a bin and there’s a humid spot for some reason, now there is a potential for fungi to grow. Suddenly, that little challenge becomes a big challenge.

                                    It’s important to understand how feed is handled early, either at a manufacturer or feed mill, and then how it’s handled throughout the barn or facility itself. All those components can really influence how well birds of any feather perform.

Luther:                        What consumer demands have influenced or made significant changes in the industry?

Kayla:                          Consumers want to understand more about production. Maybe not necessarily at the farm level, but about the production process overall. More and more companies are moving in the direction of responding to consumer inquiries. In Canada, for example, A&W has made “raised without antibiotics” part of their retail strategy. Chick-fil-A has done the same in the U.S. As more groups promote chicken without antibiotics, it brings up more questions and people are more curious about certain aspects of their food. It can be debated one way or the other, but it’s certainly something that’s happening and something we must address, regardless.

Luther:                        Last question. What’s the favorite part of your job?

Kayla:                          That’s a hard question to answer! I think my favorite part of my job is being able to work with producers. Understanding how proud they are of what they do and being able to learn about their process is so exciting.

                                    I also get to travel across Canada from the East Coast to the West Coast. A farm on the East Coast could have issues or successes similar to a farm all the way out in Alberta or even in my hometown of Ontario. The farms may not necessarily be able to converse, so I get to be this middle person saying, “I saw that somewhere else; maybe you should try this…” or “I’ve seen this problem somewhere else and this is what they tried.” Being that conversation starter is a wonderful thing. I get so much out of it, and I think the farmers get so much out of it. I enjoy being able to help them improve and be successful. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.

Luther:                        Kayla Price is poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada. Thank you very much.

Kayla:                          Thank you very much.

Dr. Kayla Price spoke at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear more talks from the conference, sign up for the Alltech Idea Lab.

Fall is here, and that means calving season is starting up again for some producers. Dr. Shelby Roberts, postdoctoral research fellow in Alltech’s beef nutrition research department, shares her tips on scours prevention in your calves this season.

1. Stop calf scours early

Early detection of scours is essential so that fluids and electrolytes can be restored in order to correct dehydration as soon as possible. Some common symptoms associated with scours include depression, weak suckling reflex, dehydration (sunken eyes) and abnormal breathing.

2. Manage your herd to minimize risk

Manage your cow herd to minimize calf exposure to pathogens and stress. For example, try to keep calving areas as clean as possible to reduce the calves’ pathogen exposure. If possible, isolate sick calves and their dams from the cow herd to prevent the spread of the pathogen. 

3. Manage nutrient requirements for mother cows

Make sure the dams’ nutritional requirements are being met. Colostrum quality and quantity can be negatively affected by inadequate dam nutrition. Remember, when managing your fall calving herd: Fall calving cows will be lactating throughout the winter, so they will have higher nutritional requirements compared to spring calvers.

4. Use the fecal scoring guide

Check your fecal score using the guide below. If you have a fecal score of less than 2.5 for more than five days, your calves have a problem.

% diarrhea = Total number of calves with a fecal score of “4” x 100 / Number of calves in pen

Duration of diarrhea = Total days from weaning in which calves exhibit a fecal score of “4”

Have a question or comment?