How many of us floss daily?

How many of us are brushing our pet’s teeth?

We have good intentions. We buy the floss for ourselves but don’t use it regularly. We may even add the doggie dental care kit to our Amazon order, but we have a hard enough time taking care of our own teeth (ahem, unused floss). In fact, according to Packaged Facts, only 20 percent of dog owners and 11 percent of cat owners brush their pet’s teeth at all!

If you’re on the receiving end of doggie affection, you know why this is important. No one likes bad breath, even if the offender is your best fur friend.

Pet maladies: A malodorous cue?

But bad breath is more than just offensive to us; it can be an indication of a more serious health issue.

According to Banfield Pet Hospital’s State of Pet Health Report 2016, 76 percent of dogs and 68 percent of cats are affected by dental disease, which not only impacts the teeth, gums and mouth, but can potentially affect a pet’s heart, liver and kidneys.

Brushing and professional teeth cleaning are key to oral and dental health, but treats, chews and supplements can also play a significant role. Building a pet’s immune defenses with the right nutrition is critical for oral health.

Perfecting your pet’s pearly whites

The form of the pet diet is important. Hard kibble cleans teeth better than wet foods.

Composition is also critical. Nutrition influences tooth, bone and mucosal integrity, oral bacterial composition, resistance to infection and tooth longevity.

A nutritionally adequate diet will prevent any mineral or vitamin deficiencies, but we can do better. By providing our pets with ingredients that support immunity, prebiotics like Bio-Mos® and probiotic bacteria help support gut health and nutrient absorption. Bio-Mos is designed to feed the gastrointestinal tract, promoting beneficial bacteria and building natural defenses.

Feeding organic trace minerals like Bioplex® and Sel-Plex® ensure our pets absorb the minerals in a way that their bodies can fully utilize. Immunity starts in the gut, but it affects a pet’s entire body, including its oral and dental health.

Place that Amazon order for a doggie or kitty dental care kit, but don’t ignore what’s going into the food bowl. Supporting immunity from the inside out through nutrition is a crucial step in keeping breath fresh and preventing dental disease.

Your pets will appreciate it, and the resulting kisses will be a little more pleasant for you, too!

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WHAT: Join Dr. Roger Scaletti, Alltech mineral management program technical support and sales for North America, for a live webinar covering trace minerals, their role in livestock health and performance, and how they can be used to optimize herd health, udder health and reproduction. Scaletti will also discuss how to choose the right mineral and how form can play a substantial role in mineral retention.

Scaletti received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Pennsylvania State University in 1995 and his Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Kentucky in 2003. He has traveled around the world to discuss mineral nutrition and mastitis.

WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017

2:00 p.m. ET

WHERE: Reserve a spot now via this link. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, you can register via the link to receive the recording.

OTHER: Scaletti’s presentation will be followed by a live question-and-answer session.

The buzz of the beehive is growing silent. A mysterious grim reaper has been killing off large percentages of the insect population responsible for the majority of the food we consume.

Colony Collapse Disorder is the term scientists have coined for the little-understood cause of an approximately 30 percent annual reduction in the number of bees on our planet. The trigger of such “beecide” may be multifactoral, possibly involving pathogens, parasites, pesticides and environment stressors such as climate change and habitat loss.

The potential impact of this perplexing problem could sting much more than the bees’ own memorable pokes. Seventy-five percent of all cultivated crops are unable to produce without pollination!

Morehead State University in Kentucky is already beginning to feel that sting. The university is home to Browning Orchard, a 250-acre farm that produces 23 varieties of apples. The apples are processed by several local cider mills, are used by the University of Kentucky for hard cider research and also serve as the centerpiece of the university’s much-loved Apple Festival held each autumn.

“We use bees to pollinate our trees. For the past three years, we have lost some of the bees — not all of them, but some of them,” said Amy Poston Lentz, then-horticulture supervisor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences at Morehead State University and team advisor to the 2016 Alltech Innovation Competition undergraduate winners.

Each time they experienced bee losses, a new hive needed to be started, driving up their production costs at the orchard.

So they decided to craft a plan B.

The Pollinizer: A drone alternative to real bees

An undergraduate team of Morehead students, representing a collaboration between the school’s agriculture and business programs, designed “The Pollinizer,” a drone attachment capable of mimicking the pollination activities of a real bee.

Not only does The Pollinizer present an alternative should worst fears be realized and more of the bee population is decimated, but the team noted that their drone attachment can increase and improve yield by working in conjunction with the bees.

After winning first place in the undergraduate category of the 2016 Alltech Innovation Competition in Kentucky, the student team — Jordan Bach, Tessa Combs, Adam Lyon and Dalton Shepherd — is still considering their next steps but plan to pursue a patent. The team is being advised by Janet Ratliff, assistant professor of management/entrepreneurship, director of the Center for Economic Education and advisor for the student organization Students in Free Enterprise at Morehead State University.

Most importantly to them, they say, is the impact this project could have on their school’s orchard as well as the surrounding community. Morehead State University is located in eastern Kentucky, a region that has been hit hard economically by the decline of coal. Lentz noted that reclaimed mountain tops in the area are now becoming apple orchards and small farms.

Have a question or comment?

“Winter is coming.” While our winters don’t last as long as those in Westeros of the “Game of Thrones,” preparation is key in readying ourselves for the coming spring.

Once harvest is complete, it is the perfect time to take stock of the previous growing season and look ahead to what the next year will bring. In particular, we have four winter planning suggestions for growers to maximize the potential of their operation in the coming seasons.

Soil testing:

Post-harvest is an important time to get your soil testing done. The testing will create a baseline for spring and help you plan for nutrient applications. It can also allow for more economical alternatives to nutrient applications that are usually administered in the spring. For example, phosphorus and potassium tend to be more economical during the offseason.

“Historically, the least expensive time to buy phosphorus and potassium is late in the year,” said Chuck McKenna, Alltech Crop Science sales manager. “As soon as facilities start filling up with those ingredients, the price goes up.”

McKenna also noted that applying these nutrients in late autumn and winter frees up the grower to potentially only apply nitrogen, if needed, in the spring.

Cover cropping:

The use of cover crops in autumn and winter allows for increased aeration and water-holding capability in the soil. A growing crop will also help support microbes in the soil and allow them to break down organic matter well into the winter and spring. Depending on the blend of cover the grower chooses, it can also target compaction and weed control issues.

Weed control:

An effective weed control program will allow you to plant earlier, as the soils will tend to warm up faster if they are not affected by a weed problem. If there is a problem with breakthrough weeds or weeds that haven’t been seen before, this is a good time to plan for how to manage these challenges.

Review the information from your yield monitor:

Are you finding that there are trouble spots that you are not able to see? Is there an issue with sudden death syndrome that was not noticeable while the crop was growing? Are there areas that are more susceptible to weeds, therefore decreasing yield? Have insects caused a problem with your yields? A bird’s-eye view from the yield monitor, paired with the field record, will give you a broader image of what is going on in the field.

In order to make the most of the time between harvest and planting, gather all the information from the previous year and create a map for the upcoming year, including financial aspects such as ROI and whether or not you plan to use more acres for a particular crop. Sit down with your agronomist and talk about your issues and your plan now, because winter is coming but spring is just around the corner.

Click here to subscribe to our Top Crop newsletter

Through the incorporation of new technology, efficiency in crop production has soared; however, so has the demand for more sustainable management practices. Today, there is more scrutiny than ever before from consumers regarding conventional herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, and regulations are tightening.

“Complete replacement of synthetic chemistries is impractical for producers,” said Dr. Steven Borst, Alltech Crop Science compliance manager. “Unfortunately, however, we are running out of silver bullets.”

Borst believes the future of integrated pest management (IPM) programs will include the best tactics from a variety of approaches, including nutritional and natural technologies.

“Used in conjunction with the best conventional approaches, producers can reduce inputs while maintaining crop quality and improving sustainability measures,” he said.

Nutritionals: Giving crops the building blocks to defend themselves

A balanced plant nutritional program is a key component of an effective IPM program.

“If a plant is not healthy from a nutritional standpoint, it will not be able to defend itself against a potential pathogen attack,” said Borst.

Healthy plants can have a better chance of resisting disease pressures, and bioavailable micronutrients can naturally support plants’ inherent defenses.

“If you can trick a plant into thinking it’s going to be attacked, then the plant can develop its own metabolic pathways to fight the disease,” he explained.

However, plants are not naturally proactive.

“They are reactive organisms,” explained Brian Springer, CCA, Alltech Crop Science technical services manager. “They respond to their environments. Something has to trigger a reaction in a plant to be defensive, unlike an immune system that can react on its own. By using biologicals, such as nutritionals and activators, we can elicit a response in the plant.”

The dynamics between plants and their environment, including the complex microbial world in which they live, is being further researched by Alltech Crop Science and others. This week in an article titled “Scientists Hope to Cultivate an Immune System for Crops,” The New York Times reported that it is a dense ecological web to untangle.

Untangling the ecological web calls for a new approach

Efficient crop management is moving to a prescriptive/proactive management of inputs, rather than a reactive approach.

“We’ve been taught to scout fields, find what’s wrong and then fix it,” said Springer. “We’re moving to a new perspective where we can not only act on plant health, but also improve soil health instead of acting on disease.”

Better nutrient management, especially nitrogen, is a key component of this movement and is important to sustainability.

“The definition of soil health is different for every farmer, since every cropping system is different,” added Springer. “It’s important to find out what amounts of nutrients are going to be available during the growing season.”

This includes organic nitrogen in the soil that can be fed through amino acids. To this end, he mentioned that the University of Illinois is now including an analysis of amino acids as part of their soil sampling. The goal is to help reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to fields and hopefully improve the environment by minimizing application of excess nitrogen. An additional benefit of incorporating biologicals is that the nitrogen in the soil is not as volatile and won’t leach like nitrates.

Biofungicides are another tool in the natural crop protection arena. To read more about the use of this microbial technology in conjunction with conventional fungicides, click here.

A total systems approach

Alltech experts agree that a total systems approach will serve crop farmers best in the future.

“We continue to research how and when to use biologicals — whether it’s natural activators, foliar micronutrients, natural inoculants or biofungicides — with conventional methods in cropping systems to help producers with environmental stewardship,” said Borst.

“As any market progresses, we see increasing management of smaller and smaller pieces of the total system,” concluded Springer. “This is the next layer down that we are fine-tuning.”

Dr. Steven Borst was a presenter at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Audio recordings of most talks, including Steven's, from ONE are available by clicking the button below.

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – For three days in May, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, became the nexus of global food and agribusiness. ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference welcomed 4,000 people from nearly 80 countries to discuss breakthrough technologies and business practices that have the potential to disrupt the marketplace.

For those who missed the discussions or are yearning for a replay of their favorite talk, recordings of most presentations are now available on the Alltech Idea Lab. Access is free upon signup.

Available presentations from the 33rd international conference include:

• Boundless Potential – George Blankenship
• Can Agriculture Save the Planet? – Jack Bobo
• Why Simple Wins – Lisa Bodell
• A World of Abundance – Peter Diamandis
• Meeting the Demands of the Rising Billion – Dr. Mark Lyons
• Disruption in Washington – Damien McLoughlin
• Into the Cloud: Disruptive Digital Technologies – Robert Walker
• The Next Blockbuster Drug – Ronan Power
• Are the Disruptors Being Disrupted? – Aidan Connolly
• Pitches from The Pearse Lyons Accelerator program for agri-tech and food startups
• Special breakout sessions on beef, dairy, poultry, pig, aquaculture, crop and equine topics of interest, in addition to business and finance, health and nutrition and food and beverage

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18) will return to Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 20–23, 2018. Visit one.alltech.com for more information and to save $500 by registering before Aug. 1 for the 34th international conference.

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland] – Dairy producers strive for long-term production and productivity with their herd, right from the start, and the pre-weaning growth of a dairy calf is a good indicator. While diarrhoea is one of the most common antagonists in issues with poor digestion and weight gain in calves, supplementing with Bio-Mos® has been shown to enhance performance and improve gut health.

A recent meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Anna Catharina Berge of Berge Veterinary Consulting BVBA concluded that Bio-Mos® supplementation in milk or milk replacer increased daily weight gain in dairy calves. These trials revealed, on average, 0.14 pounds improved weight gain per head per day in pre-weaned dairy calves, which corresponded to 8.37 pounds increased weight for calves weaned at two months of age. The long-term improved performance in heifers with improved pre-weaning growth would be equivalent to 220 pounds more milk in the first lactation, generating additional farm income, and improving gut health and digestive function.

“The results are a significant improvement in average daily weight gain,” said Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and vice president of corporate accounts at Alltech. “This improvement leads to greater returns for the producer through enhanced milk production, health and development, and long-term productivity.”

The meta-analysis included 23 cohort studies performed in the U.S.A., the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, India, Japan, Peru, Poland, Spain, and Turkey between 1993 and 2012. Bio-Mos was supplemented at 2–10 grams per day, with an average inclusion of 3.8 grams per day. Twenty-one of the studies reported an increase in daily weight gain for calves fed Bio-Mos in milk or milk replacer compared to control calves.

For more information on Bio-Mos, visit http://go.alltech.com/bio-mos.

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – Two students accepted the top global awards for the 12th annual Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) program, the world’ most prestigious agriscience competition for university students.
The AYS awards, recognizing pioneering research in the agriscience sector, were presented at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), an event dedicated to inspiring innovation in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, held May 21–24. Now in its 33rd year, the annual international conference is expected to draw approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss disruptive ideas in business, technology, food and agriculture.

The global undergraduate winner was Joshua C. Gukowsky, who attends the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the U.S. Gukowsky was offered a fully funded Ph.D. position and $5,000 USD. The global graduate winner was Jonas de Souza, who attends Michigan State University in the U.S. De Souza was offered a fully funded postdoctorate position and $10,000 USD.

Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech, and Victoria Liu, Alltech Young Scientist program manager, presented the awards in the famed Rupp Arena during ONE17.

“This year, we encouraged students to think about the ONE disruptive idea that will transform the way we think and work in agriculture in order for it to thrive and be sustainable,” said Lyons. “The international panel of judges, led by Irish professor Maurice Boland, was encouraged by this group of hugely talented students, all of whom place a huge emphasis on their scientific education.

“I speak for all of the judges on this year’s panel when I congratulate the 2017 winners,” continued Lyons. “The students not only exemplified great skill, but also aptitude and curiosity, which, in our minds, demonstrate their potential as the scientific leaders of tomorrow.”

This year, the program received more than 150 nominations from 134 professors, representing the world’s top 121 universities from 36 countries. To participate, students were nominated by their professors and submitted scientific papers on topics such as animal health and nutrition, agriculture analytical methods, food chain safety and traceability, human health and nutrition, and other agriscience-related sectors. Each student’s paper first competed within their own region of North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, or Europe and Africa. The first place regional winners, eight in total, were invited to an all-expenses-paid Alltech Discovery Week in Kentucky that culminated at ONE17, where a panel of leading judges selected the winners for the 2017 program.

“Thank you, everyone — this is a great honor to receive this prize,” said de Souza, the graduate winner. “Thank you to Dr. Aoife Lyons for putting this competition together to support new and young scientists. We are all winners in this program.”

De Souza’s research focused on altering the ratio of dietary palmitic, stearic and oleic acids, or fatty acids, in diets with or without whole cottonseed and the responses of dairy cows.

“Wow, thank you so much — I was really not expecting this,” said Gukowsky, the undergraduate winner. “First and foremost, I want to thank my parents and family.”

Gukowsky’s research featured detecting antibiotic residues in the foods we consume.

Entry for the 2018 program will open in September 2017.

For more information about ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation online with #ONE17.

Former Tesla executive George Blankenship receives Alltech Medal of Excellence at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference

Innovative and influential disruptor recognised for his contributions to the customer experience

Alltech’s conference, now in its 33rd year, opened today in Lexington, Ky, USA

[LEXINGTON, Ky] – Former Tesla Motors, Apple Computer and GAP Inc. executive George Blankenship received the Alltech Medal of Excellence at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE 17), an event dedicated to inspiring innovation in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, May 21-24. Now in its 33rd year, the annual international conference is expected to draw approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss disruptive ideas in business, technology, food and agriculture.

Blankenship received the Alltech Medal of Excellence from Dr. Pearse Lyons on the main plenary stage in Rupp Arena at ONE17. Alltech’s highest accolade, the medal is awarded annually to someone of great accomplishment and leadership. Previous honorees include former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Norman Borlaug, the father of “the Green Revolution.” Blankenship received the medal in recognition of his ability to create unrivaled customer experiences with two of the most disruptive brands of our time: Apple and Tesla.

“George Blankenship is the epitome of disruption, and I pay homage to his strategies in leadership and breaking the norm,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. Businesses that think they can thrive by doing the same things again and again will not thrive and survive in this era of disruption. Our ONE conference this year is all about celebrating those who take risks and disrupt the norm.”

Blankenship pioneered Apple, Tesla and GAP’s retail philosophies, transforming the customer experience. At Apple, he crafted one of the most dominant retail growth strategies in recent history, growing brand loyalty and exponential profit. Then, at Tesla, Blankenship redefined the car buying experience, moving the Tesla brand into shopping malls, something never done before by a car manufacturer.

“I am thrilled to be here today,” said Blankenship. “Never ever let anyone get in the way of what you know is the right thing to do deep down inside. This conference is about the ONE thing that makes a difference.”

Blankenship shared his disruptive advice with the record crowd at ONE17:

• Pick ONE thing to focus on. That ONE thing could turn into something magical.
• Sometimes you have to think about doing the impossible.
• Have a simple message.
• Celebrate your successes and your failures.
• To change the world sometimes you have to do the impossible. It is not impossible; it just has not been done yet.

Follow highlights from ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference by visiting one.alltech.com, and join the conversation online with #ONE17.

Speaker presentation clips will be made available in June on the Alltech Idea Lab. Learn more and sign up for access at ideas.alltech.com.

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] — In just a few short weeks, some of the brightest scientific thinkers from colleges and universities around the world will gather under one roof for an opportunity to compete at the highest level and be rewarded for their innovative research. The Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) program, now in its 12th year, features the world’s largest agriscience competition, with 154 nominations from 134 professors representing 121 universities from 36 countries in 2017 alone.

The regional finalists will attend AYS Discovery Week, held in conjunction with ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), May 21–24 in Lexington, Kentucky, to present their papers to a panel of international judges. The prizes include a fully funded Ph.D. position for the global undergraduate winner as well as $5,000 USD and a fully funded postdoctorate position and $10,000 USD for the global graduate winner.

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

• Tanimowo Damilola, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
  • “Broiler nutritional programming using betaine”
• Syed Saad Gilani, University of Adelaide, Australia
  • “Gut health biomarkers in poultry”
• Delano Dias Schleder, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
  • “Shrimp resistance to stress and disease”
• Jonas de Souza, Michigan State University, United States
  • “Fatty acid metabolism”

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

• Sophie Hazelden, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
  • “Pre-weaning dietary supplementation in piglets”
• Sujiyanto, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
  • “Trehalose supplementation for heat-stressed broilers”
• Nicolàs Curubeto, Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Argentina
  • “Edible coatings for food applications”
• Joshua Gukowsky, University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States
  • “Detecting antibiotic residues in foods”

“The Alltech Young Scientist program provides a great opportunity for students to showcase their research talent in front of a global audience, including some of the most respected leaders within agriculture and agriscience,” said Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech. “We are rewarding the undergraduate and graduate competition winners with the opportunity to join our global team.”

For more information about the Alltech Young Scientist program and to view the regional placements from this year’s program, please visit: AlltechYoungScientist.com and stay connected through the Alltech Education Facebook page.

Tanimowo Damilola, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, has been selected as a graduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Syed Saad Gilani,University of Adelaide, Australia, has been selected as a graduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Delano Dias Schleder,Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil, has been selected as a graduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Sophie Hazelden,Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Sujiyanto,Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Nicolàs Curubeto,Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Argentina, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Joshua Gukowsky,University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.