Our species is experiencing a technological inflection point, according to David Hunt, co-founder of Cainthus.

“Science fiction is becoming science fact,” he said.

In just the last few years, we have landed the rover Curiosity on Mars, discovered the Higgs boson particle and discovered gravitational waves. Hunt, a self-proclaimed science fiction fan, seemed especially impressed by the harpooning of a comet in 2015.

Technological advances on the farm

Hunt has worked for years on some amazing, but slightly more down-to-earth than comet capture, technologies. He and his twin brother co-founded Cainthus, a company dedicated to digitizing agriculture. He described some of the company’s projects in breakout discussions on dairy and the future of farming at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference.  

Facial recognition for cows

The audience got a glimpse into a few fascinating technologies, some of which are here now and others that are right around the corner. Digital cameras are at the core of many of these advancements. Cainthus has developed facial recognition software for dairy farms that can memorize the face of a cow in six seconds and monitor the activity of an entire herd without wearable tracking devices. They are creating algorithms that will allow their software to alert a farmer when cows show early signs of lameness or when they fight over the best feed. When cows fight, it typically disrupts the entire herd and interrupts them from feeding for up to two hours, which certainly has an impact on milk production.

Scouting fields with drones

Drones are being adopted at a rapid rate on the farm, and Hunt talked about both the potential and the limitations of their use. Self-flying drones are already very successful for monitoring crop growth. Hunt looks forward to a day when farms are photographed twice a day. He warned farmers not to accept any offers from companies offering to fly drones over their farm manually. The cost is prohibitive and would not allow frequent enough flyovers to be beneficial. Current drones are disruptive for use in animal agriculture and will not be fully effective until they are small enough to go unnoticed by animals or can fly high enough that they won’t be seen.

The future of agricultural robotics

Robots will have an enormous impact on agriculture in the next several years. Hunt showed a video of two dog-like robots walking side by side. One was large and clumsy looking, the 2010 model. The other was sleek and graceful and was released just four years later.

“Imagine what they will look like by 2050,” said Hunt.

The significance of robotics for agriculture is huge. Robotic harvesters could allow farming to return to polyculture, the practice of growing multiple crops side by side in the same field. Planting and harvesting with combines has allowed farmers to feed an ever-growing population by ramping up production, but it is dependent on monoculture planting. Polyculture is closer to the natural ecosystem, and proponents say that it results in better soil health and easier pest management.

Digitizing agricultural decisions

Digitizing agriculture will allow farmers to make decisions based on data rather than emotion or hype. Hunt stressed the importance of this, emphasizing the need to base decisions on what is happening on your own farm and not anecdotal evidence from another farm, even the one next door.

“Just because a product works incredibly well on your neighbor’s field doesn’t mean that it will work well on your field,” said Hunt. “If we have precision management observing what things work, what works, what does not work, on a meter-by-meter basis and a plant-by-plant basis, there is no emotion, there is no hype. There’s just good decisions and maximization of productivity.”

In closing, Hunt offered a challenge.

“We have an opportunity today to use the tools that are here to create a utopia by 2050,” said Hunt. “We also have the tools available today to have this planet being a desert by 2050. The choices we make today are going to determine which one we leave behind for our children.”

David Hunt was a presenter at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Audio recordings of most talks from ONE will be made available on the Alltech Idea Lab by mid-June 2016. For access, click on the button below.

Apple has created some of the most innovative products in the world. Steve Wozniak was the mastermind and engineer behind the Apple I and Apple II computers. Wozniak, recipient of the 2016 Alltech Humanitarian Award, addressed a packed house at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference to talk about his vision and how he sees computers in the future.

“I wanted to make a machine that could do what no other machine was able to do,” said Wozniak.

His main goal was to make something possible that nobody expected could happen. He accomplished this with both the Apple I and Apple II computers.

Wozniak described his early days working on computer designs and trading ideas with other members of the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California. This was before Steve Jobs was around.

 “I was trying to help all these other people in our club who wanted to start a revolution. We used the word revolution and everybody in life kind of wants to be part of a revolution because it always leads to better, supposedly. And I wanted to be part of it, so I gave away my design of this computer. I would show it off every two weeks at the club.”

Wozniak surrounded himself with people who wanted social change.

“I believed in it,” he said.

When he was young, he told his parents he wanted to be either an engineer or a fifth grade teacher. He cared a lot about education and even became a volunteer elementary school teacher for eight years.

Wozniak said his goal was to help kids get back in school and “stop kids from dropping out, because some kids are dropping out now around 8 years old or something crazy like that.”

He started working with a girl in the fourth grade during his first year of teaching.

“Her mother told me she wasn’t interested in school and learning anymore,” he said.

So Wozniak took an Apple computer to her house. The Apple computer wasn’t popular at the time, so it was something new to the girl. He continued to visit her house all throughout the year.

“We would spend about two hours a night just typing away, writing papers,” he said.

She ended up finishing college and made the dean’s list all four years.

Wozniak started Apple with Steve Jobs when they were young with no money, no savings and no business experience. He closed by recommending the three types of people that young entrepreneurs need to start a business:

1. A guider: Someone who knows business and how to make money.
2. A marketer: Someone who knows the quality of the product.
3. A very good engineer: Someone who has talent and knows what will and will not work. 

John Calipari and Alan Mulally are two key leaders in today’s world who focus on team-centered leadership.

At ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, Calipari, head men’s basketball coach at the University of Kentucky (UK), and Mulally, former CEO of Ford and the recipient of the Alltech 2016 Medal of Excellence, both spoke on the idea of building a team and working together to achieve goals within a team. Although their experiences come from different sectors, they share many of the same ideas. Calipari gave five main points that he thought best suit his style of being a leader and building a team, while Mulally explained what he did to bring Ford out of a $12.7 billion loss.
 

Calipari: Connection, communication and creating community leaders
 

Calipari talked a lot about his “one and done” athletes, who come to UK for one year to play basketball and then leave straight for the NBA.  He explained that it all starts out with “staying in the moment.”
 

“You can’t get it done in one day,” said Calipari.
 

He challenges all his teams at UK to abide by this rule. He also encourages his teams to stay steady and keep everything in perspective.
 

“You have to try stuff and fail fast,” said Calipari.
 

He emphasized building relationships based on trust that will last forever. Social media is “vital in today’s world,” he said, and you have to “connect with a lot of people, reform, act quickly.”
 

But he noted that social media can’t take the place of face-to-face contact and creating an attitude through caring. It shows his players that he is serious about his job and he wants what is best for them.
 

These are all the steps Calipari said make someone a “servant leader,” and this is important because Calipari feels it is his job to build community philanthropists in his team members. All of his former players who are now in the NBA are involved in their community in some fashion, and Calipari feels that this in particular is a personal affirmation that he has done his job well.
 

Mulally: Making working together work
 

Mulally, like Calipari recruiting for his team, recruited the best people to work at Ford. He made sure that he surrounded himself with 16 leaders, nearly all of whom were already Ford employees. He hired the best 16 for the job and made sure that they all supported each other and their teams in the workplace.
 

Coming in at a time when Ford faced a $12.6 billion loss was a challenge, but Mulally felt company unity could bring them through it.
 

“The team decided that they were going to work together and share the issue, and people were going to survive,” said Mulally.
 

That’s what was needed to overcome such a big deficit. With everyone buying in and trusting not only Mulally but their entire Ford team, it made everything run more smoothly and lifted them out of that loss.
 

“Everybody has to know what the plan is; everybody has to know what the status is,” said Mulally.
 

He shared four key points for leading a team:
 

1. Go after a compelling vision
2. Include everyone       
3. Work on strategy
4. Check it out – review the plan and make sure it’s working (i.e., goals are being achieved)
    

 “Working together always works,” he said.
 

John Calipari and Alan Mulally were presenters at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Audio recordings of most talks from ONE will be made available on the Alltech Idea Lab by mid-June 2016. For access, click on the button below.

When Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, took to the stage at the company’s annual symposium, ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, his one question to the 3,000 gathered delegates was: “What is your ONE big idea?”

“Turn on your lamp,” he said, to light the paths ahead on your journey of discovery. He reflected that his own personal journey began on Gold Rush Road, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, and that journey has taken him to meet some of the world’s most amazing people, such as Muhammad Ali and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
 

His inspirational, entrepreneurial journey started with $10,000 and a question from his mother: “What took you so long?”
 

Dr. Lyons recognized that there were many other “lamps” that lit the path on his journey to creating a now $2 billion company. Bringing his team along on this journey was important, he noted, and at ONE, Dr. Lyons shared the following insights:
 

1. Find what you love, what makes your heart sing
2. Welcome opportunity
3. Make your one choice

Dr. Lyons stressed that choices change lives, not chances. Take the decision to go down that corridor. If you don’t go down that corridor, how can you expect doors to open to you?
 

“I’d like to help you to open those doors,” said Dr. Lyons at the ONE opening plenary session. “If we share our ideas with others, we can all conspire to help to make those ideas come to pass.”
 

Opportunities are everywhere, yet those opportunities are fleeting; in fact, Dr. Lyons believes you have to grab those opportunities within a 24-hour period.
 

He posed the question: “Where do ideas come from?” In looking for those new ideas, always look for the catch — what’s the catch? Then, find the solution.

Where to look for ideas:

1. Travel
2. Create
3. Build an innovation incubator
4. Be ready
5. Search for the catch and overcome it
6. Turn setbacks into bounce-backs

Entrepreneurs are sales people; they always find the solution. Steve Jobs and Henry Ford were sellers, Dr. Lyons said. They sold dreams, dreams of communications and of transportation. He advises entrepreneurs to march right when the rest of the world marches left. In going that different route, you go down the road less traveled.

Remember: If you do things the way you’ve always done them, nothing will ever change, and Einstein defined this as insanity! 

Dr. Pearse Lyons was a presenter at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Audio recordings of most talks from ONE will be made available on the Alltech Idea Lab by mid-June 2016. For access, click on the button below.

Every year when the calendar flips to May 5, the world joins in Mexico's "Cinco de Mayo" celebration of its historic victory over the mighty French forces. In a David and Goliath battle against an army nearly three times its size, soldiers outside the city of Puebla vanquished the invaders in 1862, turning the tide on a military machine that had been undefeated for nearly 50 years.

France may have looked better on paper, but Mexico had a secret weapon that was far more powerful: sheer determination. Outnumbered but not outmaneuvered, Mexico showed the world that with the proper mindset, ambition can trump ammunition.

While the military victory it commemorates took place over 150 years ago, the spirit of the battle of Puebla lives on. Nowhere is that more evident than in Serdan, located in the same state just an hour’s drive from the battleground site. There sits a beacon of hope that reflects the nation's unflagging resolve to advance economically, technologically and societally: Alltech Serdan.

Alltech's Serdan facility is located about 120 miles southeast of Mexico City. The plant produces two main products: Allzyme ® SSF (a natural enzyme complex that maximizes nutrient release) and De-Odorase® (made from yucca extract, which reduces ammonia from animal waste). The state-of-the-art production facility, which has about 200 employees, is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. Construction of a new De-Odorase production facility is underway and is expected to more than double production capacity.

Paul Kilgallen has seen Alltech's investment in Serdan grow exponentially in recent years. The resultant benefits to the community – indeed, to the world – show in the faces of those whose lives they have touched, he said.

"You can't imagine what it feels like to see a young person who never even dreamed of having such an opportunity actually succeed," said Kilgallen, who manages Alltech's plant in Serdan. He has seen that happen many times over through Alltech's internship program, which has resulted in permanent employment for numerous candidates. "You see people here wearing 10-year pins, even 20- and some are close to 25-year. People are seeing that you can build a future at Alltech Serdan," he said.

Because Serdan is largely rural, in the past residents seeking education and employment usually had to move to urban areas, such as Mexico City, to seek career opportunities. Now, more and more residents of Serdan and the surrounding Puebla region are able to stay there after graduation, said Josefina Garcia, who manages Alltech’s community projects in Serdan.

"I'm a local girl, and it means a lot to me to see graduates be able to stay and have a successful career in their own community," she said. "Before, the only stable employment you could find was in the big cities."

Alltech's efforts in Serdan have had a ripple effect worldwide. Kilgallen offered the example of a Haitian student who, while attending the University of Kentucky, met Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech (which is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky). Lyons recruited him for a summer internship at Alltech Serdan, where the student was introduced to the company's innovative work with yucca. Afterward the student brought his knowledge and excitement about yucca back to his home country, where it generated interest. Haiti, still recovering from the massive earthquake of 2010, began exploring yucca as a means to improve its agriculture base and economy.

One of the team's most important projects is planting yucca trees throughout the region, which testifies to Alltech's commitment to sustainability. Alltech's operations in Serdan have received numerous awards for sustainability work from the governing authorities in Ciudad Serdan and in the city of Perote in the Veracruz region.

Yucca trees at Alltech Serdan, Mexico. Background: Pico De Orizaba, highest mountain (Volcano) in Mexico

Kilgallen said there are about 60,000-70,000 yucca seedlings at the Serdan facility, which are replanted in the surrounding regions until they reach full growth. About 15 years after planting, the plants are harvested and transported to Serdan, where the yucca logs are used to produce De-Odorase – always with an eye on sustainability. As Kilgallen noted, "For every tree we harvest, we replant three yucca trees."

Alltech's interns, supervised by experienced employees, are currently working on yucca products for an organic certification project. In addition, Alltech's alignment with new yucca suppliers has generated job opportunities, with about 40 new hires by a supplier in Perote.

"You can drive around and see Serdan prospering," said Kilgallen, who over the past several years has witnessed the area bloom into a commercially viable community with a higher standard of living than before.

"We even have Walmart-type stores now,” he added. "You don't see that in towns comparable to Serdan. The improvements on employees' quality of life are clear, even as exemplified by the types of cars now in the facility’s parking lot."

And, their success is paid forward. Some of Alltech's new and ongoing community projects in Serdan include aid to schools for disadvantaged and disabled children, including donations of computers and classroom furniture, as well as upgrades to buildings and play yards. Garcia and her team also help sell products made by students to raise additional funds for the schools. In addition, they make food and clothing donations to the regional prison.

El Cerrito Elementary School, supported by Alltech Serdan

For someone only at the dawn of her career, Bailey Mack has already traveled the path of many a professional’s dreams. Currently a 2016 Alltech Career Development Program member, selected as one of 11 from more than 2,000 global applicants, Mack is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has traveled the world, spending at least a month each in Taiwan, China, Indonesia and Peru.

Growing up, the Louisville, Kentucky-native and her family were active in scouting, which led to a love for all things outdoors and a particular passion for environmental and sustainability issues. She received her Girl Scout Gold Award for rehabilitating a pond at a state park in Kentucky.

“When I started to learn Chinese, I tied my background in environmental issues into it,” she said.

This led to Mack’s first application for a Fulbright research grant. She was named a semifinalist at the time.

After a second attempt for a Fulbright grant to India for an English Teaching Assistantship, Mack discovered that her third attempt, this time for Malaysia, would prove to be a charm. Recently, she was named one of 90 Fulbright grant recipients for Malaysia, where she will live and work as an English teaching assistant next year.

“My application centered around and was interested in looking at the environmental issues faced by countries and markets that want to evolve and become more economically developed,” said Mack. “They are facing a lot of pressure from other countries that want them to evolve in a sustainable manner. In Malaysia specifically, rainforest preservation and palm oil are really hot topics.”

Where exactly Mack will be located in Malaysia is yet to be determined and will depend on the needs in the school system. In addition to teaching English, Mack will serve as an ambassador of the U.S.

“They want you to do things like run afterschool clubs, whether badminton or helping set up English clubs,” said Mack.

She is also looking forward to integrating her environmental and sustainability interests into conversations and learning more from her Malaysian neighbors.

“My perspective is someone coming from the U.S. and is totally different from someone who is actually living there and understands how it is going to affect them and change certain things.”

Following her time in Malaysia, Mack plans to return to Alltech with a desire for more adventure and opportunity.

“I just see this as a natural continuation of what I’ve been doing for so long,” said Mack.

Considering the list of Fulbright alumni, it is quite a promising path for her. Mack joins an elite group; Fulbright recipients have gone on to win  Pulitzer Prizes (82 recipients) and Nobel Prizes (54 recipients), take on roles as heads of state (33), and become members of the U.S. Congress (10) and the U.N. (one secretary general).

As the distance between farmer and consumer closes around the world, we must continually adapt our methods to meet the ever-growing demand for high-quality, safe food. In the webinar, “The Path of Least Resistance,” we took a dive into the world of antibiotics, specifically how they have impacted and will continue to impact the agriculture industry. The key speaker, Dr. Richard Murphy, explained why we should worry about antibiotic resistance, where we are now with restrictions on antibiotics in livestock health and what opportunities exist for your operations.

Our three key takeaways were:

1. Worldwide, scientific evidence indicates an overall decline in the total stock of antibiotic effectiveness; resistance to all first-line and last-resort antibiotics is rising.
2. The livestock and poultry industries are not only facing increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies such as the FDA and EFSA, but, worldwide, meat processors are starting to demand change.
3. Alternative growth promotion strategies are available that utilize strategic nutritional management practices as part of an antibiotic-free strategy for animal production.

To view the webinar and get the full story behind the takeaways, click on the button below:

Today’s consumers expect very specific product information, pictures, customer reviews and ratings, all accessible within a few taps on their smartphone. More recently, they’ve come to expect the same immediacy and transparency when it comes to knowing where their food comes from, who produced it and where, as well as what went into production.

What’s in my food and is it good for me?

In recent years, many consumers have become generally uncertain about the safety and quality of their food, and their risk perception differs largely from that of those within the agriculture and food industries. Consumers sometimes display misguided and inconsistent behavior with respect to food safety and risk information. But, with widespread coverage of foodborne illness outbreaks from national chain restaurants and an abundance of seemingly credible misinformation,  it’s easy to empathize with consumers and their lacking confidence in food safety and quality.

The more consumers feel they know about food production practices, the greater the level of trust consumers have in the food production practices. In a survey conducted by Sullivan Higdon & Sink Advertising and Marketing Agency, 69% of consumers reported that that they think it’s important to know how their food was produced.¹

67% want more information on the meat packaging.

60% want to know if the animal was given growth hormones.

42% want to know what medicine the animal was given during its lifetime.

34% want to know what the animal’s living conditions were like.

34% want to know where the animal was raised.¹

Unfortunately, less than two-thirds (63%) of global consumers trust the information they receive on food packaging.² Consumers view food with a skeptical eye. In the food production industry, product quality, safety, nutritional value and consumer trust are vitally important to the success of the producer.

In the wake of this consumer doubt lies an opportunity for producers to be more transparent about the contents and source of the food they put on the market.  

What are the solutions for rebuilding consumer confidence in food safety?

1.  As industry professionals, it’s our responsibility to help consumers establish food system connections and help bridge the gap between lay and expert opinions regarding food risks, including traceability. Food producers should be the leading voice for food, giving consumers the information they crave, straight from a credible source—the person who’s growing the food to bring to their table.
2. Actively show commitment to quality, safety and traceability. It is vitally important to show your consumers that you are committed to providing them food free from bacteria that causes foodborne illness and free from contaminants like mycotoxins, heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs.
3. Be proactive with your on-farm practices to create a healthier animal and more nutritious crops, and in turn, a healthier consumer product. In food production, quality is as much about safety as it is about nutritional value.

Bottom line: Most consumers view food quality, safety and traceability as interlinked concepts. 

Reputable Resources: 

• IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center: http://www.ift.org/gftc.aspx
• Learn more about traceability as a consumer: http://globalfoodsafetyresource.com/food-safety-risk-management/food-traceability
• Of interest to those, especially producers, who’d like to read more on the topic: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/05/putting-food-traceability-at-consumers-fingertips/#.VwKRYPkrKM8
• EU Traceability Resource (also a great example of what will likely become common in other regions as well): http://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/docs/gfl_req_factsheet_traceability_2007_en.pdf

References:

1.)Building Trust in What We Eat: Consumers’ knowledge of and trust in food production and how food marketers can improve it.” Sullivan Higdon & Sink Advertising and Marketing Agency, 2012

2.)Nielsen Global Health and Wellness Survey 2014

As clean drinking water becomes an increasingly scarce commodity in the face of climate change and rapid global population growth, the relationship between Earth’s life-sustaining liquid and work will take on greater significance. With its “Jobs and Water” theme, United Nations’ (U.N.) World Water Day 2016 aims to address water sanitation and workers’ rights issues to forge solutions that benefit both individual workers and the global economy.

In the coming decades, the agriculture industry, the world’s largest employer and consumer of water, will play vital roles both in feeding a projected global population of 9 billion in 2050 and developing ways to reduce groundwater and runoff water contamination connected to food production. Between now and 2050, the World Bank projects that required food production will increase 60 percent and water withdrawal will increase 15 percent. 

Today, clean drinking water remains unavailable for almost 700 million people worldwide for various reasons, from lead in the pipes in Flint, Mich., to extreme desert conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2025, the U.N. predicts 1.8 billion people will live in areas of high water stress, potentially leading to the displacement of millions. Lack of clean water, in addition to raising risks of famine, disease and refugee crises, also causes serious detriment to a nation’s GDP, the World Bank noted in a 2015 report that labeled water security as the number one global threat in terms of development impact.  

Almost half the world’s current workforce—an estimated 1.5 billion people—participate in water-related industries. Many laborers, like the Sub-Saharan African women who walk miles to deliver their families clean water, are unpaid and are unable to develop other work skills because no clear alternative exists. Basic labor rights also remain elusive for large numbers of water-related workers, as suggested by the 340,000 workplace deaths annually attributable to water sanitation issues, according to the U.N.

Yet, amid these dark clouds, there is also cause for optimism, according to Guy Ryder, International Labor Organization (ILO) director-general and chair of UN-Water. ILO coordinated this year’s World Water Day on the U.N.’s behalf.

“Water can contribute to a greener economy and to sustainable development, but for this to happen we need more workers qualified to realize the potential of new, green technologies,” said Ryder in his official World Water Day video message last week. “The fact is that water is work.”

Across the world, the water Ryder referred to is agriculture-related.

Agriculture accounts for 80 percent of all water consumed in the United States and as much as 90 percent in some Western states, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Globally, 70 percent of withdrawals are for agriculture, an industry that employs 1.3 billion people, according to French agriculture think tank Momagri.

Water scarcity, given its impact on agriculture, can threaten even the world’s strongest economies. Case in point: India.

India’s agriculture industry employs almost half of its 1.3 billion residents and accounts for 18 percent of its $2 trillion GDP. However, a third straight lackluster monsoon season due to the weather pattern El Nino, coupled with significantly below-average reservoir levels, could lead to low crop yields, increased food prices and an economic downturn, according to a recent Bloomberg Business article.

“Water security is India’s biggest challenge,” Shashi Shekhar, secretary of India’s Ministry of Water Resources, told Bloomberg.

“What has happened in India is a warning and a lesson for the world,” Seth M. Siegel, author of New York Times bestseller “Let There Be Water,” said during a recent edition of his podcast of the same name, highlighting the juxtaposition between the country’s abundant amounts of water and enormous water problems. Siegel chronicled Israel’s rise as water innovators in his best-selling book and will share solutions to the world’s water crises during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, to be held in Lexington, Ky. from May 22-25.  

As Siegel alluded, India is not alone. Even in South America, home to 28 percent of the world’s freshwater, according to the Global Water Partnership, rising global temperatures are creating water-related issues. The continent’s largest city, Sao Paolo, Brazil, faced a critical water shortage last year due to its worst drought in 80 years, resulting in government officials imposing water rations.

Extreme drought in the American West also led California, the most populous state in the U.S., to implement water rationing in 2015 for its 38 million residents.

Managing rising water demand and costs depends upon efficient irrigation systems and improved on-farm water management, according to the USDA’s study on water and irrigation use.

Conserved water rights programs, water banks, water markets and regulated irrigation withdrawals* are examples of institutional measures that could improve watershed-scale water-management, reduce the impact of irrigated production on offshore water quality and conserve water for nonagricultural demands, the USDA noted. However, the type, size and location of irrigated farms, along with legal and institutional measures governing water use, will determine such conservation programs’ effectiveness.

Animal diets can also have a significant effect on water usage and groundwater contamination.

Alltech creates products that maximize overall efficiency by lowering agricultural production time required and the amount of animal feed excreted back into the environment. The latter results in less water used in production and less water contamination respectively.

Alltech’s Bioplex^® range of organic trace minerals meets the higher nutrient demands of modern livestock for rapid growth, maximum reproductive performance and optimal animal health. Alltech’s Allzyme SSF^® works in synergy with the animal’s digestive system to break down layers of the feed that were previously inaccessible through digestion.

Alltech takes very seriously the challenges of improving nitrogen and mineral utilization to protect groundwater and surface water, said Dr. Kate Jacques, the company’s director of nutrition.

As the world’s greater user of water and top employer, agriculture has an unparalleled opportunity to impact the sustainability of the world’s new “oil.”

Glossary:

Conserved water rights programs and water banks: State water management programs that either “bank” conserved agricultural water for future use, or share, lease or even sell conserved water (ers.usda.gov; oregon.gov).  

Water Markets: A mechanism to improve the allocation and redistribution of water as a publicly managed resource (ecy.wa.gov).

Recent graduates from nine different countries have traveled all the way to Lexington, Kentucky, to join the 4^th Annual Alltech Corporate Career Development Program (CCDP). They have varied educational backgrounds ranging from a bachelor’s degree in economics to a double master’s in animal nutrition and agrobiology. Alltech’s 2016 CCDP members are a prestigious group of 11 recent graduates from the United States, Chile, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Chile, Vietnam and Ireland. They were selected from 2123 applicants!

This program, designed to recruit future leaders within global agribusiness, kicked off with an intensive orientation and training period at Alltech’s Global Headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Their first three months at Alltech will be devoted to supporting ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, the company’s flagship annual international conference. The ONE delivers three days of inspiration and engagement with some of the most innovative thinkers, leaders and ideas of our time. The involvement of the 2016 CCDP members in the conference plan reflects Alltech’s commitment to education and professional development, and its passion for bringing fresh ideas to the table.

Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives at Alltech and a licensed clinical psychologist leads the CCDP. She has conducted psychometric testing worldwide for hiring and training at Alltech for the past 10 years.

 “These young people are chosen not just for their educational backgrounds, intelligence and experience, but perhaps more importantly for their curiosity, enthusiasm and sense of adventure.” said Dr. Aoife Lyons. “We look forward to seeing them grow professionally during the year and beyond.” 

The CCDP offers members the opportunity to work on projects in research, information systems, marketing, sales, finance, operations, regulatory and more. They will be integral in supporting Alltech’s business in animal nutrition, crop science, algae, aquaculture, life sciences and the beverage industry.

Tien Le of Vietnam said, “The CCDP has been an amazing experience for me so far. It is a world-class, fast-paced and innovative program with a focus on entrepreneurial skills – just what I was looking for.”

Following their work on ONE, CCDP members will be assigned to one of Alltech’s international offices. There, they will work with a mentor to learn how a global market leader operates. On completion of the program, members will be ready to play a key role in their field of expertise, share their acquired knowledge and take on even greater responsibilities.

“One of the very first things that struck me at Alltech was the incredible amount of effort people make to help me succeed,” said Farkhat Kassymov of Kazakhstan. “From the very first day, I knew that I am part of a team here, and I am very happy to be on board!”

The 2016 Alltech Corporate Career Development Program members are:

• Andy Montgomery, Ireland, M.A. Communications
• Andy Juhadi, Indonesia, B.A. Business and Management
• Bailey Mack, United States, B.A. International Affairs, B.A. Spanish
• Farkhat Kassymov, Kazakhstan, B.A. Economics
• Katherine Reed Calvert, Brazil, B. Sc. Business: General Management
• Kate Taylor, United Kingdom, M.Sc. Agrobiology, M.Sc. Animal Nutrition
• Macie Mattmiller, United States, B.Sc. Agricultural Economics
• Rachel Weber, United States, B.Sc. Animal Science and Biological Sciences
• Rafael Burayag, Philippines, B.A. Economics
• Tanja Marincich, Chile, B. Sc. Mathematics and Economics
• Tien Le, Vietnam, B.A. Advertising and Marketing Communications

Click to learn more about the Corporate Career Development Program.