A cost-effective solution to improve rumen efficiency and enhance gut health

Yea-Sacc^® 1026 BAC provides continual support to the entire GI tract, conditioning the rumen for optimal efficiency and protecting against the growth of undesirable organisms. Yea-Sacc^® 1026 BAC combines the proven rumen modifier Yea-Sacc^® 1026 with the combined powers of Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis to optimize total gut health and efficiency.

Benefits of Yea-Sacc^® 1026 BAC:

• Increases milk production
• Stabilize rumen pH
• Improves defense against undesirable organisms
• Increase ruminal nutrient digestion

Combination of two technologies working together to boost efficiency

A healthy intestinal tract, including a high-functioning rumen, is critical for dairy operations to take advantage of the benefits of good management and feeding programs. To keep your herd performing at the highest level, you must maintain the right amounts of beneficial bacteria in both the rumen and lower digestive tract.

Leveraging the unique benefits of Yea-Sacc^® 1026

Different strains of yeast have different metabolic activity. The yeast strain specifically selected for Yea-Sacc^® 1026 was chosen specifically for its ability to increase both total viable and cellulolytic bacteria. This makes Yea-Sacc^® 1026 ideal for conditioning the rumen to be more effective in nutrient digestion while maintaining a consistent pH.

Impact of Yea-Sacc^® 1026 compared to other yeast strains (Newbold et al.)

Optimizing the entire intestinal tract with the inclusion of beneficial Bacilli

Bacillus can combat undesirable organisms linked to potentially deadly issues such as hemorrhagic bowl syndrome, abdominal distension, and mastitis. Specifically, bacillus has been proven to target Clostridium perfringens by producing organic acids that inhibit the growth of this bacteria. Making it an ideal combination with Yea-Sacc® 1026 for optimal GI track support.

What if you could meet sustainability goals while also improving performance?

Agolin^® Ruminant, an Alltech technology, empowers farmers and ranchers to reach their sustainability and profitability goals.

Agolin Ruminant’s sensory additives are a proprietary blend of essential oils added to animal feed to improve its organoleptic properties, thereby elevating the appeal of the feed to animals. Its ingredients adhere to global regulations and have undergone pre-market approvals in major regulatory jurisdictions to ensure safety.

Silage inoculants to maximize nutrient and dry matter protection

We know that silage-making is at the core of what you do. However, not all of the silage produced will make it to the feed passage. From fresh crop to harvest and through storage, the feed value drops, as does the physical quantity of the silage — by as much as 25%! This can hurt animal performance and increase your feed costs.

Egalis^® is a new range of high-quality silage inoculants from Alltech^® that maximizes nutrient quality retention and reduces dry matter loss. This means you have more silage to feed, better silage to feed and fewer concerns about wasting feed. Through enhanced palatability and increased dry matter intake, Egalis contributes to more profitable milk and meat production.

The Egalis range of silage inoculants

Egalis drives quick and proper fermentation, which helps epiphytic bacteria control fermentation through the use of other specific bacteria.

The Egalis product line is available in several variations and packaging options for farms of all sizes to provide you the flexibility and ease of application needed for a stress-free silage season.

For more information on specific products, contact your local Alltech representative or complete the form below.

Fibrozyme enhances the ruminant digestive system in high-fiber diets

High-fiber diets can be difficult for animals to digest. Increasing the digestion of ruminal fiber in higher-forage rations — even by a small amount — can significantly impact both intake and production. Fibrolytic enzymes can boost an animal’s ability to extract nutrients from the feed, improving ruminal efficiency. Fibrozyme is a unique enzyme feed technology designed to maximize feed efficiency in high-fiber diets by better breaking down the cell wall fractions in plant fibers, encouraging intake to support productivity for both beef and dairy cattle.

Safeguarding herd health by supporting a balanced microbial profile to target complete gut health

Sustaining a healthy gut involves much more than protecting your dairy herd from potentially deadly issues, such as hemorrhagic bowl syndrome; it means maintaining the right amount of beneficial bacteria in both the rumen and the lower digestive tract to improve performance and reduce the need for costly therapeutic treatments. Select BAC includes a blend of Alltech’s technologies, along with Bacillus licheniformis and other direct-fed microbials, to target complete gut health and stability.

By Brian Springer, CCA

Sixty percent of a dairy cow’s diet is forage. With so much of the diet dependent on the nutrients a cow receives from forage, it is important to make sure the crop reaches its nutrient and energy potential. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the major components of fertilizer, are essential for soil nutrient content and are controlled by pH. We test and fertilize for these nutrients regularly, and they are often the first place we look for a solution if a problem arises in crop health.

However, critical elements — like calcium, magnesium, and sulfur — are often seen as secondary in importance in terms of soil content, and, in turn, plant health. For example, with current industry practices, recent findings show that sulfur deficiency of 10 to 20 pounds per acre is common in much of the United States. Of these elements, sulfur in particular might be the missing piece in your forage puzzle as it increases nutrient quality and aids in balancing the microflora in the rumen.

What is sulfur?  

Sulfur is one of the 17 elements essential to crop production. This is because, according to the International Plant Nutrition Institute, plants almost exclusively use sulfate as their primary source of nutrition. It can be found in high levels in salt domes and volcanic deposits, typically in its elemental form. But it is also present in almost all soil types in smaller quantities.

Plants receive sulfur through two primary mediums:

• Soil: The sulfur found in soil is typically organic sulfate that has been converted from elemental sulfur by soil bacteria. Ninety-five percent of plant sulfur uptake is in the organic form of sulfate.

• Air: Inorganic sulfur dioxide is often absorbed through the leaves and stoma.  

What role does sulfur play in forage plant and dairy cow processes?

Required by both plants and animals, sulfur appears in every living cell and is essential for the synthesis of certain amino acids and proteins.

A deficiency of sulfur in the soil can lead to deficiencies in the cow. Nutritionists recommend 0.2 percent of sulfur or sulfate in the diet of cattle, and ensuring your forage has enough sulfur is the easiest and most cost-effective way to manage sulfur requirements for the ration. Most of the dietary sulfur required by the cow is actually utilized by the rumen microbes for amino acid production. By feeding the microbes, the cow can produce amino acids, enzymes and proteins that then contribute to cow health, milk production and quality.

Not only will the sulfate aid the cow, but plants use sulfate for chlorophyll formation, which contributes to higher sugar content and nutrients, resulting in greener, fuller foliage.

What does our current sulfur landscape look like?

In recent years, there has been a decrease in soil sulfur content as well as an increased demand on the soil for higher crop yields, and the fact that many fertilizers contain little to no sulfur is the primary reason for our current depletion of sulfur in the top soil. Secondary causes include erosion and mineralization.

How to recognize a sulfur deficiency

Since high-yielding crops often don’t receive adequate amounts of sulfur or receive it at inopportune times, it is important to be able to recognize a sulfur deficiency. Thankfully, if presented in its organic form, sulfate can quickly be absorbed in two to three days, which helps avoid leaching as you fertilize. If you notice some of the following signs of sulfate deficiency, it is recommended to provide a sulfur treatment two to four days before cutting forage to increase chlorophyll, resulting in a fuller, energy-rich harvest.  This short-term solution can be done by applying biostimulant products, as a sulfur application would need to take place much earlier in order to keep the plant healthy and growing well. Signs of sulfur deficiency include:

• Yellowing of young growth; yellowing of old growth indicates a nitrogen shortage.

• Curling of young leaves.

• Diminished foliage.

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Photo is provided courtesy of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI).

Although sulfur is present in the soil, it is often below recommended standards. Furthermore, in its inorganic sulfur state, it cannot be properly taken up by the plant until it has been converted to organic sulfate. By checking your forage crop for sulfur deficiency and treating as needed, you can increase the sugar and nutrient quality of your forage and provide sulfur to your herd to support rumen microflora health.

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Big data is ready for the farm. But is the farm ready for big data?

84 percent of U.S. farmers who responded to a recent Stratus Ag Research survey said they have high-tech equipment that captures reams of data from livestock, planting, harvesting or crop protection operations. Yet, only 42 percent of them are transferring this information to a field data management software program for further analysis. 

The question is: How can producers harness all of this information to drive efficiency and profitability once it has been collected?

KEENAN, a technological entrepreneur of diet feeders, stepped up to this challenge by expanding into farm data analysis with InTouch technology, which delivers solutions on-farm in real time.

“We've been involved with the internet of things (IoT) since about 2011,” said Conan Condon, director of KEENAN’s InTouch system. “At that stage, there wasn't much connectivity. There were about 12 million connected devices. Today, there are about 6.4 billion connected devices.” 

At present, more than 2,000 livestock operations, ranging in size from tens to thousands of cows, use the InTouch system, a live review and support service that helps producers apply actionable intelligence to their operations, giving them the benefit of KEENAN’s access to data on more than 1.3 million monitored cows.

InTouch technology: Acting on data today

KEENAN InTouch is a simple, cloud-based communications platform that offers real-time performance monitoring. The system allows for all feed ingredients to be added to the diet feeder in consistent orders and ratios, thereby promoting feeding consistency and improving livestock performance and profitability.  

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Producers are looking for easy alternatives to interpreting and actioning data. InTouch supports that process, as data is automatically transferred and received after completion of every load. Not only are paperwork and time delays eliminated, but the InTouch platform also allows for instant feedback. This means that producers can make informed decisions on maintaining and/or improving ration accuracy, consistency and presentation, thereby maximizing livestock performance. InTouch can also incorporate data from other herd management software programs and services such as the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, resulting in better quality analysis. 

Convenience is also a key feature of InTouch. Ration changes can be made from a computer or smartphone, through the InTouch customer service center or programmed directly to the KEENAN diet feeder. Nutritionists can also send ration changes directly to the weigh scale on the diet feeder.

The pre-self-loading order and mixing time takes the guesswork out of loading accuracy, suggesting a mixing order based on type, length of cut and moisture levels of the ingredients. It also calculates the required number of mixing revolutions needed to maximize effective fiber and delivers a consistent, uniform mix, based on 17 years of data gathered from farms all around the world.

To maximize profits for producers, InTouch’s support services help them monitor everything from feed costs and diet feeder performance to proper inclusion rate accuracy in order to maximize profits. Daily, monthly and annual performance reports for feed efficiency, the cost to produce 100 pounds of milk, profit margin per cow and production trends are automatically produced. This means no more combing through data or handwritten notes to find patterns that might unlock efficiency — using InTouch, farm consultants can generate benchmark summary reports that can reveal management practices to improve livestock performance and profitability.

The MechFiber difference

Based on years of data from more than 1 million cows, KEENAN has developed a range of products tailored to the needs of farmers, including reel, self-propelled, vertical and static machines for small- to medium-sized farms and pro-mixers for high-volume feed manufacturing and larger farms. These machines are designed to improve rumen health, resulting in improved feed efficiency and livestock production.

They are durable and easy to maintain, with a low daily operating cost and stationary blades for controlled chopping. They have a simple drive system, with no gearbox required and they empty completely, so no ration ingredients intended for one group of animals are fed to another.

Each diet feeder has two chambers (mixing and dispensing) and, together with a six-paddle reel and patented fixed-knives system, is engineered to produce a consistent, uniform, fluffy mix called MechFiber, which is unique to KEENAN machines.

Independent trials have consistently shown that MechFiber retains the fiber structure needed to stimulate rumination, allowing greater absorption of energy and maximizing feed conversion efficiency.

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KEENAN diet feeders produce consistent rations from as little as five percent capacity up to 22,000 pounds. They easily handle and deliver a consistent, uniform mix for smaller dry cows, post-fresh cows and heifer groups. KEENAN customers can purchase separate ingredients to prepare their own premixes.  

Additionally, the low-power requirement design saves up to 50 percent in fuel consumption and reduces tractor and KEENAN diet feeder maintenance costs. Larger, more expensive tractors are not required compared to equivalent capacity vertical mixers, as a 120-horsepower tractor will operate a 1,000-cubic-foot diet feeder at recommended speeds of 1,200–1,500 revolutions per minute.

KEENAN started manufacturing quality diet feeders with cutting-edge designs and technology in 1978. In 2016, Alltech acquired KEENAN and is re-establishing the diet feeder in the U.S. market with a fresh approach to innovation that builds on KEENAN’s strong reputation for quality and performance.

Manufactured in Borris, County Carlow in Ireland, KEENAN products are available for purchase in the U.S. For more information about KEENAN, visit www.keenansystem.com. 

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Select GH^® is a blend of Alltech's technologies formed to support proper microbial profile.

Select GH^®:

• Supports gut integrity, health and stability
• Promotes good bacteria and builds defenses
• Can help maintain a healthy gut

Mold-Zap^® is designed to inhibit mold growth, to retain dry matter and nutrients, for less top spoilage and it is also designed for less deterioration (dry matter loss).

Mold-Zap is for use in:

• Stored raw materials, forages and animal feed.