Alltech, a leading global animal health and nutrition company, is celebrating 30 years of operations in Brazil and Peru. Alltech’s foundation and growth in South America is linked to the vision of its late founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, to support the success of agricultural producers and improve the health and performance of the animal, consumer and environment through nutrition and scientific innovation.

“My father saw a lot of potential when he visited South America in the early 1990s,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “He understood that countries like Brazil and Peru would become key markets for agriculture and established our offices. Over the past 30 years, we have continued our development through new investments, construction of new manufacturing plants, acquisitions and organic growth.”

Brazil is the company’s third-largest market in the world and is home to six manufacturing facilities and 1,356 team members. Dr. Mark Lyons led the team in Brazil during construction of Alltech’s largest yeast fermentation plant for animal and agricultural nutrition. Located in São Pedro do Ivaí, Paraná, the plant began operating in 2007 and exports products to 80 countries. Today with 270 employees, the facility produces yeast solutions (Mycosorb®, Bio-Mos®, Actigen®, Nupro®, Bioplex® and Sel-Plex®), organic acids, non-protein nitrogen (Optigen®) and other blends. In 2022, it received the “A” certification of the Paraná Climate Seal from the state government for voluntarily reducing its carbon footprint and adhering to the State Public Registry of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions to combat climate change.

Alltech Crop Science, initially called Improcrop, started its activities in Brazil in 2000. In 2016, the Alltech Crop Science plant in Uberlândia, MG was launched. Alltech Brazil continued to expand and in 2018, the administrative headquarters of Alltech Brazil, which had operated in Araucária, in Greater Curitiba, was transferred to Maringá, Paraná. Then in 2019, Alltech acquired Guabi, a producer of high-quality feed and premix for a variety of species at four manufacturing facilities in Brazil.

“We started as an innovative company in a consolidated market, but we grew along with Brazil’s search for the international market,” said Paulo Rigolin, Alltech’s vice president for Latin America. “Alltech’s culture fits very well with the Brazilian one; we have learned how to use technologies and global knowledge to adapt to the reality of our customers. It is a very successful story.” 

Alltech began operations in Peru in June 1993, in an office located in the Lima district of Miraflores with four employees. Today, this team has grown to 17 top-level professionals, who are responsible for meeting the needs of Peruvian agricultural producers, both in terms of optimizing animal nutrition and health and maximizing crop yields. Alltech Crop Science began its commercial activities in Peru in 2018. Today, these solutions help address the main challenges of local farmers in the production of blueberries, grapes, avocados, among other products.

"We are very pleased to have supported Peruvian producers over the past 30 years to address their main challenges through Alltech solutions and services that are backed by more than 40 years of research and proven effectiveness," said Luiz Folgate, general manager of Alltech Peru. "Today's challenges for the industry are increasingly diverse, complex and unpredictable, so we will continue to contribute to a more efficient agriculture sector and Alltech’s purpose of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™."

“We are celebrating the first 30 years, but we are already thinking about the next 30 years and the opportunities to continue supporting Brazilian and Peruvian agribusinesses as they positively impact the communities in which we live and work,” said Dr. Mark Lyons. “We export our technologies globally, but we are also very well aligned with the needs of local producers, providing natural solutions and supporting them to be competitive in the world market.”

For more information, visit Alltech.com.

Acutia Gut Health joins a line of human health supplements designed

to support sustainable wellness

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – As both the scientific community and consumers continue to recognize the significance of gut health and its impact on overall wellness, Acutia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alltech, has announced the launch of Acutia Gut Health. The daily supplement combines the synergistic power of a postbiotic, a prebiotic and L-glutamine to relieve digestive upset quickly and promote good gut health over time.

Acutia Gut Health provides multiple benefits that include:

• Working quickly to help calm digestive upset
• Supporting overall digestive and colon health
• Supporting a healthy gut barrier and gut immunity
• Promoting a healthy bacterial balance in the digestive system
   

“We are excited to introduce a supplement that supports gut health from several angles, rather than targeting just one specific issue,” said Nikki Putnam Badding, MS, RDN, LD, managing director and chief dietitian at Acutia.  

“Not only does a healthy gut microbiota help improve digestion and nutrient absorption, but it also supports the immune system, metabolic health, brain function and mental health via the gut-brain axis,” said Putnam Badding. “Acutia Gut Health is a natural addition to our line of supplements and our commitment to supporting people in their pursuit of sustainable wellness.”    

While the wider supplement industry grapples with the issue of waste from packaging, Acutia promotes sustainability through its unique packaging and refill system, which empowers customers to reduce their waste and recycle. When placing an order, customers have the option to receive a complimentary starter kit that includes a refillable glass storage jar and a refillable travel container, thereby helping to reduce the usage of single-use plastic. The capsules are provided in compostable pouches and envelopes made of post-consumer waste, and the kit itself is packaged in a recyclable box that is made from partially recycled material and certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).  

To offset emissions from shipping, Acutia partners with Nori to reward regenerative farming practices that sequester carbon in the soil. In 2022, Acutia supported the removal of 116.3 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Acutia initially launched in March 2021, when Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, announced that it was applying its more than 40 years of scientific innovation and proven nutrition expertise to human health.

“Digestive health plays a pivotal role in immune function and overall health, and it has long been a focus of Alltech’s research,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “Acutia’s supplements leverage decades of our pioneering research and proven scientific expertise to advance human nutrition. It is immensely gratifying to utilize our understanding of the gut microbiome to support people in their pursuit of improved wellness through Acutia Gut Health.”

Acutia’s portfolio of supplements also includes Acutia Selenium, which supports the immune system, helps protect cells from free radicals as an antioxidant and aids healthy thyroid function. Additionally, Acutia Brain Health promotes cognitive health and brain function by supporting the synthesis of neurotransmitters while also providing antioxidant benefits and essential nutrients by combining selenium, vitamin C and plant-based omega-3 DHA.

Acutia prioritizes the quality, efficacy and sustainability of ingredients and is supported by the Alltech Life Sciences division, which conducts research on digestive health, cognitive health, brain function and cellular health.

For more information, visit acutia.com.

In the cow-calf production system, forage is the primary source of feed and plays a significant role in cattle health and productivity; however, forage digestion is limited by the interaction of different fiber components. Nevertheless, fiber contributes a major source of energy, regulates feed intake, and stimulates chewing, salivation and gut motility (Adesogan et al., 2019). Fiber is digested by rumen microbial populations that are responsible for breaking down digestible fiber, hemicellulose and cellulose, then converting those to energy. However, fiber digestion can be limited by the associations between hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, and other acids in the plant cell wall.

Additionally, forage type, quality and length can have an impact on fiber digestibility, depending on the amounts of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin the plant contains. Different approaches can be taken to ensure that cattle are digesting the maximum amount of forage.

Providing a balanced diet

Understanding how forage matures is fundamental in making sure a balanced diet is provided year-round. Young, growing forages will typically provide enough protein and energy and require no protein supplementation. As the forage matures, however, its nutrient content and digestibility decline. This decline is associated with an increase in lignin, resulting in less digestible fiber available for use. Reduced fiber digestion will reduce feed intake, rumen microbial function and overall digestion, making less energy available to the cow. However, providing the correct amount of protein, an essential nutrient, will help to optimize rumen microbial function and increase fiber digestion.

Trace mineral sources have also been demonstrated to have an impact on rumen fermentation. Research has revealed that steers with sulfate sources of trace minerals added to their diets had reduced fiber digestibility and overall dry matter digestibility from their diets when compared to steers supplemented with complexed trace minerals (Guimaraes et al., 2022). Alltech’s Bioplex® offers proteinate trace minerals, a specific type of complexed trace minerals, as an optimal alternative to sulfate-sourced trace minerals. In a study comparing these two types of minerals, the authors suggested that rumen bacteria that ferment carbohydrates use more Bioplex trace minerals, at a faster rate, than sulfate-sourced trace minerals, thus maximizing rumen fermentation (Pino and Heinrichs, 2016).

Mechanical processing

The process of forage digestion starts with cattle chewing and breaking down forage. The act of chewing reduces forage particle size, resulting in a greater inside surface area for rumen microbes to attach to, which is important because the bacteria’s digestion process works from the inside out. Cattle further reduce forage particle size by chewing their cud, a process of regurgitating a bolus of forage and chewing it again; however, there is an energy cost associated with the process.

Chopping forage prior to feeding it is a cost-effective way for producers to increase fiber digestion. This process decreases the amount of time cattle spend chewing their cud, thus helping to increase feed intake. Producers need to be aware, though, that hay chopped too finely may have negative effects on rumen health. Therefore, the recommended chop length is no smaller than ½ inch. In situations where hay is fed on the ground, a longer chop length can be used to minimize waste.

Natural feed additives

Natural feed additives, including live yeast cultures and yeast fermentation products, have been around for several years and have been shown to have positive effects on animal digestion, health and performance. Yea-Sacc® 1026 is a live yeast culture by Alltech that has demonstrated the ability to stimulate the growth of rumen bacteria, resulting in a positive effect on feed intake, nutrient availability and rumen pH. More specifically, Yea-Sacc 1026 stimulates the growth of fiber-digesting bacteria. This leads to a more efficient breakdown of fiber in the rumen and an increase in the amount of nutrients available to the cow.

Fibrolytic enzymes are other feed additives that have shown positive results at improving fiber digestion. Based on fermentation extracts from fungal or bacterial sources, these enzymes provide high activity that breaks down cellulose and hemicellulose more efficiently (Mendoza et al., 2014). Fibrozyme®, a fibrolytic enzyme by Alltech, has been shown to support better fiber digestion and feed efficiency by promoting early digestion rates of fiber.

Summary

A producer can improve fiber digestion in many ways. It is important to investigate which method will work best for a particular operation to maximize animal health, productivity and profitability.

References are available upon request. 

I want to learn more about beef nutrition. 

Agri-food leaders around the world believe the industry can work together to create a better, more sustainable food system, according to the Alltech Sustainability Insights report, released today.

Alltech conducted a global, industry-wide survey to gather insights on the issues that matter most to the agri-food value chain and its stakeholders. In collaboration with Opinions, an independent research agency based in Ireland, Alltech collected insights through 26 interviews with industry leaders and via a comprehensive survey completed by more than 2,500 members of the agri-food industry. This effort presented an exciting opportunity to quantify attitudes and perceptions about sustainability from stakeholders across the agri-food value chain and identify tangible actions to build a more sustainable future.

“Our goal was to listen to the voices of our industry and its stakeholders and develop a robust, future-facing program of insights that are relevant, ambitious and genuinely impactful,” said Tara McCarthy, global vice president of ESG at Alltech. “Our industry is navigating unprecedented disruption, yet it remains confident and committed to evolving toward a more sustainable food system. The key to success will be the development of innovative solutions, but even more critical is the capacity of the industry to work together across the value chain.”

The survey questions were focused on five areas: challenges and opportunities; drivers and priorities; attitudes toward change; support and guidance; and who they believe is going to pay for sustainability. The key findings of the survey include:

• While four out of five respondents agree that “climate change will make food production much more difficult in the future,” perspectives differ across the regions. A very real series of crises faces the agri-food industry and, for the most part, survey respondents acknowledged the gravity of those challenges and the fragility of our food system. There is a strong level of optimism and positivity however, with 85% of respondents agreeing that the food system can rise to the challenge.
   
• Almost three in four respondents reported feeling that a lot more guidance is needed to support their improvements in environmental sustainability. The need for guidance is expressed most strongly at the latter end of the value chain (e.g., retailers, food-service operators and manufacturers).
   
• Most respondents agree that regulation is putting pressure on all areas of the supply chain. Respondents were similarly realistic about the need for support for the primary producers of the food that the 8 billion people on this planet eat: 66% agree that until the farmer is incentivized financially, things will never change.
   
• Many recognize that we will not be able to resolve the challenges ahead without a huge degree of innovation and harnessing technology to enable us to feed ourselves sustainably, with 92% of respondents believing that technology and innovation are key to more sustainable food systems.
   
• There is a near-universal recognition that we need a collaborative conversation and effort across the value chain, with 93% of respondents agreeing that we all must work together to create a better food system for the future.

“Our industry is navigating extraordinary times, but the opportunities for positive impact are even more unprecedented,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “Imagine what is possible when we all work toward the shared goals of providing nutrition for all, revitalizing local economies and replenishing the planet’s natural resources.”

For more information and survey results, visit alltech.com/sustainability-insights.

Leveraging the strength of a global marketing team embedded within local markets throughout the world, Alltech is enhancing its marketing capabilities and establishing new teams to deliver greater strategic partnership across the business for Alltech’s customers.

“We are capitalizing on the geographical and value chain differentiators of our global marketing structure, providing more pathways for our field-based team members to bring the voice of the customer back into the business,” said Susanna Elliott, chief marketing and communications officer at Alltech. “Our globally connected yet locally focused marketing strategy is aligning to deliver more relevance – and competitive edge – to our customers.”

Within marketing, the company is establishing a new Data & Insights function, positioning its creative team to take a global creative agency approach and building new pathways for market and customer engagement. To champion these enhanced capabilities, new appointments within Alltech’s global marketing team include:

Creative team:

• Lisa Smith (USA), Director of Creative Operations & Marketing Development
• Alan Henthorne (USA), Creative Director
• Irene MacHugh (Ireland), Associate Creative Director
• Jennifer Allen (USA), Global Art Director
• Ruth Kelly (Ireland), Design Manager for Europe and Asia-Pacific

Data & Insights team:

• Amanda Stumbo (USA), Director of Business Insights
• Roel Coenders (USA), Associate Director of Data
• Leona Shaojing Luo (Ireland), Associate Director of Business Intelligence
• Clare Fahey (Ireland), Director of Customer Insights

Communications team:

• Lorie Hailey (USA), Director of Communications
• Liana Dobler (Spain), Spanish & Portuguese Communications Manager

Species teams:

• Danieke Ewalts (Netherlands), Global Aqua Marketing Lead
• Species marketing councils have been created that include regional marketing experts in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

For more information about Alltech, visit alltech.com.

Setting up an effective supplement program is more than simply finding the right mineral at the right price. Knowing your herd’s needs and thoughtfully comparing them to supplement labels will go a long way toward increasing profitability.

Here are the steps you can take to choose the right mineral supplement for your herd.

1. Define your goal

Beef animals require protein, energy, certain vitamins, and both macrominerals and microminerals on a regular basis.

Though minerals are needed at much lower levels than protein, they do perform vital functions directly correlated to animal health, growth and reproductive efficiency. Even microminerals, also known as trace minerals, are essential to health, growth and reproductive function, even though the amounts needed are very small.

The problem is that mineral amounts within cultivated forages vary between forage types and even from season to season, and they are often insufficient for the animal’s needs. Therefore, there is a need to supplement, and selecting a proper mineral supplementation strategy can become quite complicated with all the different product offerings and brands available.

In selecting the right program for your herd, it is helpful not only to understand your forage quality but also to think about what goals you want to achieve. Choosing a supplement merely to prevent a deficiency is a completely different strategy — at a completely different price point — than supplementing for optimized performance, health and profitability.

So, how can you compare and evaluate supplementation programs and then select the appropriate program to support your herds’ nutritional needs and match your goals?

2. Look at the product tag

The first step will be to take a good look at the tag or tags of the products you are interested in. Product tags can be a wealth of information, as they can help you to understand not only the composition of the product but the quality of ingredients, to a certain extent. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulates the information that has to be included, and the minimum requirements for a cattle supplement tag include:

• Product and brand name
• Purpose statement: This identifies the species and class of animal the product was created for.
• Guaranteed analysis: This gives you an idea of which minerals might be included and at what rates.
• List of ingredients: All ingredients included in the formulation must be listed in descending order of predominance by weight, though they may not be included in the guaranteed analysis. This is where additives, such as enzymes or yeast cultures, are listed if they are included in the formulation. 
• Directions for use, or any limitations/precautions
• Manufacturer and/or distributor information

Let’s start by focusing on the guaranteed analysis section of the tag.

First, keep in mind that various factors will affect how much of any given mineral an animal will need across its lifespan. Requirements will vary by age, stage of production, and mineral availability in forages. To find out a particular animal’s needs, you can consult references readily available online, or your Alltech rep will be glad to advise you.

Next, calculate whether the animal’s needs will be met by this particular supplement. Note that these calculations can be confusing since vitamins are listed in international units — per kilogram (kg) or pound (lb.) — while macrominerals are listed as percentages (%) and trace minerals are listed as parts per million (ppm).

Again, your Alltech rep can help you evaluate this, but here’s an example: If you see phosphorus (P) listed on the tag at 7% and the product is a 4-ounce mineral, then you can quickly calculate that since 4 ounces is 0.25 lb., 7% of that is 0.0175 lb. You can then easily compare this to the phosphorus requirement for the animal and decide whether, with the addition of the basal levels of phosphorus found in its forages and feedstuffs, the animal will be getting all the necessary phosphorus.

When comparing the pricing of different programs, also be sure to look at feeding rates, monitoring actual consumption if possible. When comparing two different brands, if one is a 4-ounce mineral and one is a 2-ounce mineral, you can divide the cost of a 50-pound bag by the number of feedings, which will tell you the cost per animal per day — an easier comparison than just looking at the cost per bag.

3. Know the differences between forms of minerals

Another thing the tag can tell you is what form each mineral is in. This is vital information, because when it comes to minerals, especially trace minerals, the form makes a big difference. In fact, it’s much more important than the amount. This has to do with bioavailability, meaning how readily available the mineral is to be utilized by the animal’s body.

Trace minerals can be offered in both inorganic and organic forms.

• Inorganic trace minerals are often byproducts from the mining industry and other industrial processes. They are less expensive than organic options, which require the manufacturer to bind the mineral to peptides and amino acids. However, that doesn’t always translate to cost savings in the long run, as inorganics must be fed at higher levels to overcome their poor bioavailability.
• Organic forms, which are more representative of what the animal would find in nature or forages and are thus more bioavailable, protecting profitability in the long run.

To know what sources of trace minerals are included in a particular supplement, check the ingredient list. The terms “sulfate,” “oxide” or “chloride” will indicate inorganic forms, while “proteinate” indicates organic forms such as Bioplex® trace minerals, which provide zinc, manganese, copper, iron and cobalt in a bioavailable form that can be provided at lower levels while seeing better results.

Level of supplementation is extremely important. We have seen the negative health impacts associated with mineral deficiencies, but over-supplementation, especially with inorganic trace mineral sources, can be detrimental as well, leading to mineral-to-mineral interactions and the degradation of other essential nutrients, including vitamins. Also, trace minerals that are not absorbed and utilized by the animal are simply excreted, causing not only waste but potential environmental harm.

Conclusion

While carefully reading a product’s tag and then comparing it to your animals’ specific needs across seasons and life cycles takes a little time, it quickly becomes second nature, and the payoff in herd health, profitability and sustainability is substantial.

For example, optimizing trace mineral status in stressed animals such as stockers and receiving cattle can amplify their immunity and their responses to vaccines and certain health challenges, including bovine respiratory disease.

The benefits to reproductive efficiency have also been well documented: getting more cows bred earlier in the cycle, higher conception rates, improvements in the number of embryos harvested and in embryo quality, better passive immune transfer, and heavier calves at weaning.

Supplementation with organic trace minerals such as Bioplex minerals can even affect fetal programming during gestation, boosting the reproductive development and performance of the developing calf, even while in utero.

Keep in mind that just as there are differences between inorganic and organic trace minerals, there are also different categories and brands of organic trace minerals. Not all brands are equal in quality, and that can translate to major impacts on overall bioavailability and animal performance. Always ask for product-specific research when you make your decision. Alltech’s decades of research and expertise are a great resource. Just contact your Alltech rep or email the Mineral Management team at knowyourminerals@alltech.com. We look forward to helping you select the perfect mineral supplementation program for your needs.

I want to learn more about beef nutrition. 

A groundbreaking new study suggests that agriculture could be carbon-negative by 2050, reinforcing Alltech’s long-held belief that agriculture has the greatest potential to shape the future of our planet.

Changes to agricultural technology and management have the potential to not only slow down the growth of greenhouse gas emissions from the global food system but actually achieve net negative emissions, according to the study, published earlier this month in PLOS Climate. These changes could result in an annual removal of 13 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) by 2050. To put this into context, the world currently emits about 50 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent each year.

“Our study recognizes the food system as one of the most powerful weapons in the battle against global climate change,” said co-lead author Professor Benjamin Houlton, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. “We need to move beyond silver-bullet thinking and rapidly test, verify and scale local solutions by leveraging market-based incentives.”

The study, led by Houlton and Maya Almaraz of Princeton University, was organized by the World Wildlife Fund in collaboration with the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and funded by The Rockefeller Foundation.

Using a global food system model, the researchers explored the influence of consumer choice, climate-smart agro-industrial technologies, and reductions in food waste as means to achieve net negative emissions by 2050. They also examined various scenarios under the conditions of full yield gap closures and caloric demands in a world projected to have a population of 10 billion.

Dietary changes and agricultural technologies were examined as options for reducing GHG emissions, including an analysis of carbon sequestration — the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While state-of-the-art agricultural technologies have the potential for substantial sector-wide negative emissions, the research team found that dietary changes had little effect on carbon sequestration.

The study identified several promising technologies for achieving net negative emissions, such as hydrogen-powered fertilizer production, innovative livestock feeds, organic and inorganic soil modifications, agroforestry and sustainable seafood harvesting practices.

A research alliance between Alltech and Archbold Expeditions is measuring the carbon emissions of beef production and carbon sequestration potential at Buck Island Ranch in Florida. 

Scaling solutions to capitalize on carbon sequestration potential

Focusing on soil health, leading-edge nutrition and pasture management practices, and use of and climate-smart technologies will allow the agriculture industry to capture more carbon each year, according to Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech.

“The biggest carbon sink that we can have is our land,” he said. “Agriculture is the answer.”

While agriculture currently contributes about a quarter of global GHG emissions, it possesses a unique capability to reduce its own emissions and capture and sequester emissions released by other industries. This makes agriculture a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

“We are the only industry that captures carbon for a living,” said Dr. Vaughn Holder, Alltech’s director of ruminant research. “We’re the only industry that exists at the scale that is required to pull gigatons of carbon out of the environment and put it back into the soil. That’s our moral responsibility.”

Reducing emissions is important, but it won’t solve climate change, he said. Carbon sequestration is the ultimate solution. The challenge ahead lies in confirming and scaling technologies that enhance sequestration.

Agricultural technologies and practices required to increase carbon capture could be “regionally down-scaled according to local culture, economics, technology readiness and agricultural management capacities,” the PLOS Climate study concluded. “This makes agriculture a unique economic sector and reiterates that it should be a key focus when discussing climate targets.”

Alltech has been studying the agriculture industry’s ability to sequester carbon through a research alliance based at the 10,000-acre Buck Island Ranch in Lake Placid, Florida. The researchers have learned that grazing ruminant animals on land actually benefits the environment and improves carbon cycling. The team is measuring the carbon emissions of beef production and evaluating the effects of pasture management, grazing strategies, mineral supplementation and other nutritional strategies.

The results have confirmed that carbon-neutral – and even net-positive – beef production is possible at Buck Island, and that same potential likely extends to environments around the world.

“What Buck Island shows us is that with animals on the land, we capture more carbon than without them,” said Dr. Lyons.

Scientists at Buck Island are also working with Alltech E-CO₂ and various partners to create precision tools designed to measure methane yields and intensity. The next step is the inclusion of advanced sequestering measurements that will evaluate how grazing practices, pasture management, nutritional strategies and other techniques affect the carbon cycle and make it possible for beef operations to sequester carbon.

The soil’s ability to sequester carbon is a critical part of the story. Alltech Crop Science and Ideagro, a recent addition to Alltech’s family of companies, are studying how microbial populations can enrich soil chemistry and nutrient density, leading to increased carbon sequestration in the soil.

The potential to capture carbon in the soil presents a significant opportunity for the agri-food community to embrace our critical role in combatting climate change while simultaneously improving soil health, boosting crop yields and promoting biodiversity.

“One of the most powerful weapons against global climate change is our food system,” said Dr. Lyons. “If we produce our food in the right way, we can deliver on some of those big objectives of having the right nutrition, of creating new economic opportunities, and protecting and renewing our natural resources. It's very exciting.”

RELATED: Blog/podcast with Dr. Vaughn Holder — Beef’s contribution to global food security

RELATED: Feeding people while preserving the planet

RELATED: Agriculture is vital to meeting the world's climate change goals

[Serdán, Mexico] – Alltech, a leading global animal health and nutrition company, celebrated 30 years of operations at its production facility in the Mexican city of Serdán, in a ceremony on Tuesday that included Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of the company, guests from around the world, local officials and Alltech team members.

Thirty years ago, Alltech’s research into the benefits of Yucca schidigera extract for animal health, performance and welfare paved the way for the company to establish a Yucca schidigera processor in the city of Serdán. The place was chosen for its semi-desert climate, where the yucca plant grows naturally. Serdán is located 190 kilometres southeast of Mexico City and has access to one of the most important ports in the country: Veracruz; from which two of its most important technologies are exported: De-Odorase® and Allzyme® SFF.

Alltech’s investment in Serdán increased Alltech’s operational footprint and offered new nutritional solutions that improve animal health and production efficiency. However, the resulting partnership between Alltech and the community of Serdán has been even more significant.

“The way the community and our company work together is incredible,” said Dr. Mark Lyons. “From the very beginning, we have been linked, as the success of one builds the success of the other.”

Alltech and the residents of Serdán have worked together on numerous community engagement projects that support underserved families and vulnerable populations. The collaboration began with supporting a local children's home, Casa Hogar, and has now grown to 23 active projects.

“Serdán has served as a template for Alltech’s community involvement activities all around the world,” Lyons said. “We ask our colleagues in 350 communities around the world to ‘make a difference’ as our founder Dr. Pearse Lyons encouraged us, and Alltech Serdán is the best example of this spirit. This is a place where the culture of Alltech is truly alive.”

Making a difference is one of Alltech’s core values — a founding principle of the company.

“Dr. Pearse Lyons would be traveling the world and might call at any time to ask how things were going at the plant,” said Paul Kilgallen, Latin America fermentation facilities director. “A call from Dr. Lyons never ended without him asking, ‘And what are we doing for the community. How are the projects going?’”

Alltech Serdán has received numerous recognitions for its community involvement, including being certified by Empresa Socialmente Responsable (ESR) for the past five years. This award recognizes the company’s commitment to implement socially responsible management practices and promote community projects, including supporting schools, orphanages, health centers and more. Alltech Serdán’s community activities are complemented by the constant application of responsible business practices with suppliers, customers and workers.

“Alltech takes great pride in this manufacturing facility and its 30 years of making a positive impact on the community,” Lyons said. “A visit with our team members in Serdán always reminds me of the meaningful impact we can have when we work together.”

Harnessing the power of yucca — and solid-state fermentation

Since the 1990s, Alltech’s research on Yucca schidigera had shown that the glycocomponents it contains can significantly reduce ammonia emissions from the livestock industry. The company designed De-Odorase, a solution made from an extract of the yucca plant that helps reduce the levels of harmful gases from animal waste. When Alltech Serdán began operations in 1993, the facility had the capacity to process 40 tons of yucca per month. This figure has since grown tenfold.

Years later, in 2000, thanks to a project led by Kilgallen and Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech Serdán also became the company’s first production plant to take charge of the solid-state fermentation process to produce Allzyme SSF. This natural enzyme complex, which maximizes the release of nutrients from the feed, allows agricultural producers to reduce the cost of their diets by making their formulations more flexible.

Replenishing the planet’s resources

Alltech Serdán’s commitment to sustainability aligns with the company’s purpose of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™, which begins locally with the replanting of Yucca schidigera. For every yucca tree harvested for Alltech’s nutritional solutions, the company plants three new trees using seedlings from the facility’s on-site nursery, which has grown more than 200,000 seedlings thus far.

In addition, Alltech inaugurated its first global renewable energy project in Serdán in 2022: a photovoltaic solar energy system that covers 46% of the energy requirements of its operations. With the new system, Alltech has seen energy cost-savings of 22% in the first year the system has been used and a reduction of 650 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions per year. That reduction is equivalent to 11,000 tree seedlings growing for 10 years.

The facility also switched from using liquefied petroleum gas to compressed natural gas, reducing its annual CO₂ emissions by 17%. Likewise, the implementation of an economizer in steam boilers allowed the plant to reduce 240 tons of CO₂ per year.

Alltech Serdán’s anniversary reinforces the company’s global commitment to continue seeking the success of local producers, promoting animal welfare, and having a positive impact on the communities in which it is present.

For more information, visit alltech.com/es-mx.  

The following blog is a summary of an Ag Future podcast episode with Dr. Vaughn Holder, hosted by Tom Martin. Click below to hear the full audio, or listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

The research behind food security suggests that only a handful of nations are protein-insecure. But is the data overlooking the importance of protein quality? Dr. Vaughn Holder, ruminant research director at Alltech, joined the Ag Future podcast in 2022 to discuss the role digestibility plays in getting an accurate gauge of global protein security and the positive impact that cattle have on the health of people and the planet.

Rethinking protein security: a paradigm shift

Dr. Holder kicked off the conversation by challenging the conventional approach to evaluating food security. The existing framework primarily focuses on the quantity of protein consumption in different nations, overlooking the crucial factor of protein digestibility.

Not all proteins are created equal. Animal-derived proteins tend to be complete proteins with high digestibility, closely aligned with the human body’s needs. In contrast, plant proteins often have lower digestibility, making them less efficient sources of nutrition.

Dr. Holder referenced the groundbreaking work of Paul Moughan, a researcher from a university in New Zealand, who highlighted the necessity of adjusting protein intake based on the body’s ability to absorb and utilize it effectively. By factoring in protein quality and digestibility, the scope of protein insecurity expands significantly, potentially affecting a much larger portion of the global population.

Impacts on human health and development

Protein malnutrition has far-reaching implications for human health, particularly in terms of its effects on brain development in infants and on overall physical development. Dr. Holder cited research suggesting that addressing protein insufficiency could potentially elevate the global population’s average IQ by ten points. This underscores the profound impact of protein quality on societal progress and well-being.

Plant-based alternatives and food production

In discussing the rise of plant-based meats and milks as alternatives to conventional animal products, Dr. Holder acknowledged the value of these products in terms of taste and consumer preferences. However, he raises a critical point: While plant-based options can be part of a nutritious diet, they should not replace actual protein production. The distinction lies in the fact that plant-based alternatives are essentially processed foods.

Ruminants as nature’s recyclers

Annually, about 40 metric tons of byproducts are being fed into the dairy industry. Dr. Holder described ruminants as natural recycling centers, converting both food waste and nutrient-rich plant byproducts that humans can’t use into valuable protein sources.

What’s more, cattle are reducing the greenhouse-gas footprint of those byproducts.

“If there aren’t cattle utilizing those byproducts, those byproducts end up in compost heaps or landfills,” Dr. Holder explained. “As byproducts entering compost heaps, they will end up generating five times the amount of greenhouse gases that they would if they went through a cow, and they’d generate 49 times as many greenhouse gases if they went into a landfill than if they went into a cow.”

The path forward: an ecosystem-centric approach

Dr. Holder concluded with an exciting glimpse into the future of ruminant research. He introduces a paradigm shift in viewing protein production, emphasizing the importance of ecosystems as units of production. This holistic approach considers not only the role of cattle in protein production but also the broader impact on carbon capture and nutrient cycling within ecosystems.

[PALM SPRINGS, Ca.] – During the 2023 Ag Media Summit (AMS), held in Palm Springs, California, Jul. 30–Aug. 2, agricultural communications students were honored for their excellence, professionalism and leadership. The Livestock Publications Council (LPC) Student Award Program, sponsored by Alltech, provides travel scholarships for four students to attend AMS. This year’s finalists were Molly Biggs, Kansas State University; Tessa Erdmann, South Dakota State University; Maddy Rohr, Kansas State University; and Carlye Winfrey, Texas Tech University.

Following a competitive application and interview process, Carlye Winfrey from Texas Tech University was awarded the LPC Forrest Bassford Student Award. She is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Communications with a minor in political science.

“This award is more than my name or college receiving recognition but showcases the contributions Forrest Bassford made so agricultural communications students like me can achieve success,” Winfrey said. “I am thankful to the faculty at Texas Tech for encouraging me to apply and am grateful for the countless mentors I have in this field.”

Winfrey is currently interning in Washington, D.C., through her college’s congressional internship program. She was previously editor for The Agriculturist, a student-led publication produced by the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Winfrey also completed internships with the United States Department of State in their Global Public Affairs Bureau and with the Merck Animal Health Public Policy Team, and she was a student assistant on campus for the Texas Tech University System.

“In my future career, I want to help shape policy to best serve the people of rural America,” Winfrey said. “My agricultural communications degree will allow me to walk through the halls of the U.S. Congress and share the stories that rural America is so desperately needing to be told. The narrative of agricultural communications is changing, and I am responsible to help change it.”

“Alltech is proud to support the next generation of agricultural communicators as the ambassadors and voice of our industry,” said Jenn Norrie, Alltech’s communications manager for North America and Europe. “These young leaders are playing an instrumental role in sharing stories of farmers and ranchers and helping to educate the urban population on where and whom their food comes from.”

The Forrest Bassford Student Award was established in 1992 to honor Bassford’s contributions to the Livestock Publications Council and passion for supporting young people in the agricultural communications field. To learn more about this award and past recipients, click here.