By 2067, the per capita consumption of dairy is expected to increase from 87 kilograms (kg)/person to 119 kg (projections). Compounded by a growing population, the dairy industry will need to produce 600 billion kilograms more milk. This means today’s dairy cow will either need to double her production, or we will need to dramatically increase cow numbers! Over the last 25 years, we have increased milk production by 61 percent (about 2 percent per annum) — but can we continue to grow sustainably?

The difference between a high and low performing cow can be considerable. Milk production —  judged by weight — is influenced by genetics and nutrition, but also by inconsistency in mixing of feed, eating behaviors (such as sifting), other cows’ bullying, water quality (or lack thereof!) and environmental factors, such as heat. In ever larger and more intensive production environments, with fewer people wanting to work on farms, management is emerging as an even more significant challenge. In such a setting, dairy farming has focused on managing the average cow, not the individual.

A glaring gap for dairy farmers is data. Farms, especially large ones, don’t know how much an individual cow eats, how much she drinks, how much she moves, her body temperature, stress levels, sickness, etc. Even individual milk production isn’t always recorded in a consistent manner.

How can farmers manage cow comfort, select the best animals for breeding and retaining, judge true profitability, meet prosumer demands for animal welfare and sustainability and raise the bar in terms of milk production? Without precise, real-time, smart data, the task of managing individual cows is nearly impossible. But emerging digital technologies could fill that data gap.

Sensors

More than any other technological advancement, sensors can fill the data gap in dairy farming, particularly when animals are outside in a field. Before the use of technology, monitoring an individual cow’s health was difficult, time consuming and cost-intensive. However, the use of sensors and wearable technologies allows farmers to monitor individual cows. No longer do producers have to work from herd averages; they are now able to determine individual illness or lameness more effectively and react accordingly, quite possibly before milk production or the rest of the herd is affected.

Wearable sensors have proven valuable in managing a cow’s health, and there is no shortage of companies producing this type of technology. Leaders — such as SCR Dairy, which is assessed to have about 80 percent of the market share — produce all manner of wearables worn on a cow’s ears, neck, legs or tail. They can even be implanted subcutaneously or inside the rumen.

Sensors help monitor cow comfort and welfare. Cows need to rest for an average of 11 hours per day; any less than that affects blood flow to the udder and can negatively impact milk yield. Sensors can detect a lack of locomotion and alert producers when to circumvent these negative effects.

Sensors can be used to detect disease signals that are otherwise hard for farmers to notice, such as mastitis. AfiMilk, Agricam, Fullwood, DeLaval, Lely, LIC Automation, MastiLine and Wakaito all claim to detect mastitis in cows and provide producers with early opportunities to combat the issue.

Rumination is also vital to a cow’s production, and sensors designed to be located inside the rumen can monitor acidity levels through a digitally connected bolus. Companies that offer acid monitors — like Smartbow, which was a participant in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator — allow farmers to detect digestive problems, such as ruminal acidosis. 

Livestock Labs has created a tracking technology called EmbediVet, which is implanted underneath the cow’s skin using a local anesthetic. This tracker claims to be less bothersome than wearable sensors and more accurate in gathering data and monitoring behavior.Ingenera offers a line of various sensor products designed to measure cow conformation, weight, udder health and other body metrics.

Moocall, also a participant in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator, produces sensors that detect the heat cycle of the cow by evaluating her responsiveness to a teaser bull. His proximity and behavior can determine her receptivity and alert the farmer's smart device if she is in heat. Afimilk makes a pedometer for cows, alerting farmers of the best time for insemination on the basis that cows walk and move more as they come into estrus.

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Image courtesy of MooCall

Moocall also makes the Moocall Calving sensor, a wearable that attaches to the cow’s tail and monitors her contractions. Connected to the producer’s mobile phone, it sends an alert one hour before active calving, allowing farmers to minimize time spent checking pregnant cows and increase efficiency in time management.

Outside of wearables on cows, there are other examples of sensors in the dairy industry. The startup SomaDetect has developed a sensor that enables farmers to know what is in the milk they produce. Specifically, there is an in-line sensor that measures milk fat, protein, somatic cell counts, progesterone and antibiotic residues (not allowed for human consumption) at every milking. Danish company Foss Analytics has a similar business model, using sensors and NIR.

ENGS systems is implementing their free-flow technology through the Advanced Milk Meter. It collects data on the cow’s individual milk flow rate, quantity, temperature and electrical conductivity and transfers the data to a milk management program for farmers to use.

Artificial intelligence

Big data promises precision agriculture; however, if farmers can’t interpret the data and use it to take action, the data is useless. Artificial intelligence allows producers to analyze the data collected by sensors and other hardware technologies and can provide interpretations and solutions by mimicking human decision-making — potentially transforming how a dairy farm operates.

SCR Dairy is implementing cow, milk and herd intelligence through their sensors and artificial intelligence technologies. They offer sensors ranging from heat detection and calving to health monitoring sensors — including the SenseTime Solution sensor, which detects and charts a cow’s daily activities, such as ruminating, eating and walking patterns. When paired with artificial intelligence software, this sensor provides users with early, proactive solutions to problems. Along with the capability to record information about reproduction, health and nutrition, the sensor also provides farmers with solutions for each individual cow. 

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Image courtesy of Cainthus

Cainthus has developed algorithms for facial recognition software that can monitor a cow’s activity. There is no need for the cows to wear any sort of tracking device, and this software may eliminate the need for wearables all together, particularly for animals raised indoors. Using cameras stationed throughout the barn, the software alerts farmers when their cows show early signs of lameness. Cargill has a significant minority investment in Cainthus, capitalizing on the notion that this “machine vision” approach will allow AI to supplant many of the sensor systems. 

Developed by Connecterra, Ida, “The Intelligent Dairy Farmer’s Assistant,” is a cow neck tag that gathers activity data on cows, such as time spent eating, ruminating, idling, walking and lying down. Connecterra says it uses AI to interpret individual deviations in the cow’s behavior and provide alerts or recommendations to the farmer.

Drones

There are opportunities for drones in the dairy industry, but they often require additional technologies. Drones can be used to generally inspect the herd or fences or to aid in herding cows from fields to barns.

The inclusion of other technologies presents greater opportunities. Visual sensors have proven to be instrumental in surveying land and measuring pasture growth. PrecisionHawk is using drones to map, inspect and photograph pastures in order to detect growth. 

Algorithms enable drones to identify cows specifically and avoid confusing them with deer or similar animals. When combined with thermal imaging, the opportunities to locate and track cows increases dramatically, particularly in fields spotted with trees or dense foliage. Temperature detection would allow farmers to identify abnormal behavior in the cow, such as lameness, illness or calving. Drones may become more useful in these areas, particularly if battery life is prolonged and autonomous flying ability is improved.

Robots

Robotic milking machines are probably the most well-known application for robots in the dairy industry, increasing efficiencies and replacing expensive or unavailable labor. Lely’s Astronaut A5 and DeLaval’s Voluntary Milking System not only cut labor costs, they also allow cows to decide when they want to be milked. Robotic milkers (milkbots) clean the udders, identify the cow’s teats and milk automatically.

DeLaval offers other robotic milking technologies, such as the rotary platform, which allows farmers to maximize a herd’s milking performance while providing a comfortable and safe environment for both cows and operators. miRobot provides a milking system also designed for larger operations. Both companies offer multi-stall, automated milking operations to milk cows simultaneously, completing full parlors with only one operator. This new technology has allowed farmers to cut back on labor costs and achieve more milkings per day.

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Image courtesy of Lely

The Lely Grazeway system acts as a gateway to the pasture that only allows cows to graze after they have been milked. The cows step into the selection box, and the Lely Qwes cow-recognition system determines whether or not the cow can be let out to graze.

Before robots, cows were typically milked twice a day because of labor and time constraints. Now, cows can be milked three times a day or more, greatly increasing production and profits. In addition, while the cows are stationary for several minutes during milking, there is also an opportunity for medical and health assessments using transponders or sensors — which can not only analyze the speed, amount and quality of milk produced but also how much the cow has eaten, its heat cycle and more.

Another possible use for robots includes cleaning and sanitizing the barn, allowing for better biosecurity measures that will lead to healthier conditions for the cows. There might also be a place for robots in the calving process. While this might not be as useful for an outdoor herd, there is the potential for robotic assistance for cows kept indoors.

3D printing

There are multitudinous applications for 3D printing in the dairy industry. A primary application of 3D printing is for machine parts, which may be of particular interest to rural farmers, saving valuable time and even possibly money, depending on the part needed.

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Image courtesy of Perfect Day

In some ways, 3D printing is already challenging the dairy industry, through 3D-printed foods. Cheese is one of the easier foods to duplicate through 3D printing, due to its easily changeable state from solid to liquid. Studies suggest that printed cheese is less sticky, softer and has better meltability than non-printed cheese. The concept of printed food may not appeal to all consumers, though, so the challenge is to produce food that offers an advantage, such as lower cost, improved taste or better nutritional content.

Such is the case with “Perfect Day,” a startup company from San Francisco using 3D printing combined with gene sequencing to create a yeast fermentation product that looks and tastes like milk. The product is portrayed as a non-dairy alternative for vegans or dairy-intolerant individuals. 

Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) can be defined as the integration of digital information with the user’s environment in real time. A recent report stated that sales for augmented reality are expected to rise from $2.4 billion in 2018 to $48.2 billion in 2025.

Studies have found that AR can be used to make food more visually appealing or to effectively estimate proper serving sizes. Apple’s ARKit can also be used to provide consumers with nutritional knowledge, as this video demonstrates. Should this technology become more common, these applications could affect the dairy industry, as certain aspects of food products — both good and bad — would be more readily available to the consumer. 

Outside of the consumer focus, augmented reality can be used to allow producers an alternative way to monitor and evaluate cows. This video (skip to the 2:22 mark) demonstrates how AR can allow a farmer to immediately see stats relating to the farm through the use of goggles. Information relating to each individual cow is overlaid through the glasses into the farmer’s field of vision. He can see information on everything in the facility and even evaluate the quality of the milk.

Could this technology not also be used in the veterinary field for inspection and observation? Perhaps if combined with reliable sensor data, the vet could be able to deliver appropriate recommendations for disease management and reduce the need for direct farm call visits, thus lowering costs.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) is defined as a digital environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way through electronic equipment. Applications in the dairy industry vary from farm tours to veterinary training, with positive impacts on safety and efficiency. 

New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra and solutions company Beca have partnered to develop a virtual reality health and safety training technology that allows employees to navigate the manufacturing and distribution sites without actually setting foot on the physical site, thus reducing onboarding times. Fonterra employees learn to identify potential hazards and experience hazardous situations in a realistic simulated environment, enhancing learning experiences without the risk of being in harm’s way. This technology also reduces labor costs by replacing a number of hands-on health and safety training positions.

Virtual reality is being used to teach veterinary students about the reproductive and rectal tracts of the cow. Created by former vet Sarah Baillie, the Haptic Cow is a fiberglass model of the rear of a cow that combines virtual reality with robotics. The VR aspect is provided by a computer that allows students to visualize an object within the cow — virtually enabling them to practice fertility examinations, such as pregnancy detection, or determine reproductive concerns without putting them in a situation that could be dangerous for both the cow and the student.

DeLaval is creating virtual reality films of farms available in 360 degrees, allowing viewers to scroll from side to side to view the entirety of the dairy barn. The Hamra Farm in Sweden, for instance, showcases the innovative techniques they implement on their farm, such as robotic milking machines, robotic brushes, robotic cleaners and more, in their VR film. These "farm tours" will allow consumers to better understand where their dairy comes from. There is much discussion about animal welfare, and giving consumers an opportunity to experience firsthand how a dairy farm operates is an important component of influencing perception the industry.

Blockchain

It is well known that consumers are increasingly becoming interested in where their food comes from and how it is produced. Blockchain can connect all aspects of the supply chain from producer to consumer and allow for food traceability and safety. From an agriculture and food perspective, offering this type of information to consumers will become a competitive advantage and may not prove as challenging in dairy as in other areas of agriculture, such as beef, which exchanges ownership more frequently.

Internet of Things

Together these eight technologies are creating opportunities within the dairy industry for increased efficiencies, profitability and production. The connectivity of these technologies is made possible through the Internet of Things (IoT).

Agriwebb is a company using IoT for full farm recordkeeping, including field management, inventory, operations, grazing and even biosecurity. Stellapps in India leverages IoT to offer all manner of products, from general herd management to milk evaluation, payment processing and cold chain monitoring. Dell Technologies is also heavily involved in IoT applications and is working with dairy producer Chitale.

Cargill is working with SCiO (Consumer Physics) to create Reveal, an app designed to deliver content of feed within minutes. Previously, this type of technology was either time-intensive (waiting on lab results) or expensive (specialized equipment cost thousands of dollars). Using a micro spectrometer with NIR calibrations, Cargill and SCiO offer this simple service using producers' own devices, and results are available in a minute's time.

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IoT technology is how the KEENAN InTouch system is able to provide farmers with the nutritional information they need to ensure the best formulation possible. KEENAN’s feed mixers are designed to give uniformity to feed, allowing for improved digestion in the ruminant and creating rations that are both chemically and physically balanced. The cloud-based system enables producers to monitor feed waste and make necessary changes to improve efficiencies and decrease costs.

Using the data

In the past, farm management applications have allowed farmers to make strategic management decisions based on the collection of farm data. Inevitably once nutritional decisions are being made, sciences such as nutrigenomics and decisions about smart nutrition are critical to taking advantage of this enhanced data and management information systems. Nutrigenomics research has shown that specific nutrients and inclusion of enzymes can greatly impact milk yield.

Previously, collected data was generalized for an entire dairy farm. Through the use of sensors, AI and other technologies, farm management apps like FarmWizard can provide individual data for each cow, allowing farmers to improve precision and accuracy when making managerial decisions. 

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Dairying in 2067 won’t look anything like the dairy farming of the recent past, let alone the era when the first cow was domesticated. Changes are happening so fast that the connected farm is likely to be the norm within the next 10 years. By implementing the eight technologies described here, along with the interconnectivity of IoT, farmers will be able to capture and have direct access to individual cow data, both current and historical. This will enable farmers to bridge the data gap and improve dairy production through digitization. The winners will be those who embrace this disrupted digital dairy landscape.

I want to learn more about implementing new technologies on my dairy farm.

A new type of cow’s milk is appearing in supermarkets across the globe: “A2 milk.” Supporters of A2 milk, including consumers who report they cannot drink cow’s milk without suffering digestive issues, indicate that A2 milk may be easier to digest than traditional cow’s milk.

What is A2, and how can it affect me?

Cow’s milk is a good source of protein, containing 8 grams of protein per 8-ounce glass. The primary proteins in milk are casein and whey, with casein accounting for about 80 percent of the total protein. There are different types of casein, with one of the three major casein proteins being beta-casein. A1 and A2 are two variants of beta-casein.

Depending on a cow’s genetic makeup, it can produce A1 beta-casein only, A1 and A2 beta-casein, or A2 beta-casein only. Commonly, unless otherwise labeled, both A1 and A2 are expressed in the traditional cow’s milk found on supermarket shelves. There are small variations between the two proteins — they’re nearly identical — and while there is no strong scientific research on the topic, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest milk containing only A2 beta-casein is easier for some people to digest.

When A1 protein is digested in the small intestine, it produces beta-casomorphin-7 (BCM-7), a peptide that has been linked to stomach discomfort and symptoms similar to those experienced by people with lactose intolerance. 

Experiencing stomach discomfort (symptoms such as gas, bloating and diarrhea) after consuming dairy products is often attributed to lactose intolerance. However, a few researchers now believe that it may be BCM-7, not lactose, that is producing these symptoms in some people.1-3

A2 milk

The a2 Milk Company was founded in 2000 in New Zealand, providing milk from cows that only produce the A2 protein. The a2 Milk Company tests the DNA of its cows using a strand of hair from the tail of each cow to ensure the animals produce milk that contains the A2 protein only. These cows are then segregated and milked separately. The milk is also tested after production to ensure it does not contain A1 protein. The company owns the patent to the method for identifying the A2 milk cows, meaning it’s the only brand that can sell milk with the A2 label.4

Should I choose A2 milk over traditional cow’s milk?

For consumers who do not experience any digestive issues with milk consumption, there is no evidence to suggest benefits in drinking A2 milk over traditional cow’s milk, which contains both the A1 and A2 proteins.

But, for consumers who report digestive discomfort when drinking traditional cow’s milk, it may be a suitable option to be able to enjoy milk and its health benefits without symptoms.

It is important to note that A2 milk still contains lactose and milk protein, so it is not an appropriate alternative for people with diagnosed lactose intolerance, galactosemia or a milk allergy.

References:

1. Nutrition Journal. 2016 Apr;15(35). Effects of milk containing only A2 beta casein versus milk containing both A1 and A2 beta casein proteins on gastrointestinal physiology, symptoms of discomfort, and cognitive behavior of people with self-reported intolerance to traditional cows' milk.  Jianqin, S., Leiming, X., Lu, X., Yelland, G. W., Ni, J., & Clarke, A. J.
2. Eur J Nutr. 2014 Jun;53(4):1039-49. Comparative evaluation of cow β-casein variants (A1/A2) consumption on Th2-mediated inflammatory response in mouse gut. Ul Haq MR1, Kapila R, Sharma R, Saliganti V, Kapila S.
3. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2014 Sep;65(6):720-7. Dietary A1 β-casein affects gastrointestinal transit time, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 activity, and inflammatory status relative to A2 β-casein in Wistar rats. Barnett MP1, McNabb WC, Roy NC, Woodford KB, Clarke AJ.
4. https://thea2milkcompany.com/about-us/about-our-products/

I want to learn more about nutrition for dairy cows.

Marieke Penterman will proudly tell you that she hails from the small town of Thorp, located in central Wisconsin. But upon speaking with her further, you’ll discover that she actually grew up on a 60-cow dairy farm in the Netherlands, the birthplace of Gouda cheese. When her husband, Rolf, also from the Netherlands, came to America to become a dairyman in May 2002, he and his brother started with 350 cows. Since then, the business has expanded to include 900 cows and a booming direct-to-consumer business, all of which started with a dream and a particular fondness for cheese.

A truly cheesy idea

In the years that followed her move to the cold Midwestern state, Marieke and Rolf grew both farm and family, and they are now parents to five children. Though she already had a great deal on her plate, Marieke wanted to utilize her skills and degree in dairy business but wasn’t sure how. Then, late one evening as she was contemplating opportunities, Marieke realized how much she missed authentic Dutch Gouda. After waking her husband with her idea and being told to wait until morning, Marieke set to work. She began her research and obtained a cheese license (required in the state of Wisconsin), then studied cheese crafting in Wisconsin and Holland. And in November of 2006, with an original recipe and a set of ideals, Marieke Gouda was born.

The business was practically an overnight success. Marieke won her first of many awards just four months after opening her doors. Since then, Marieke Gouda has grown to include a cheese store and gift shop — which sells specialty items from both Wisconsin and Holland — as well as a restaurant, aptly named Café Dutchess.

Located near a major Wisconsin highway, Penterman Farm and Marieke Gouda give visitors an opportunity to watch cheese being made on-site. The barn sits just a few hundred yards from the store. Raw milk is piped straight from the parlor bulk tank to the cheese floor. Guests can watch through observation windows as the milk is first turned into curds, then washed, drained, pressed, brined, coated and aged. The Marieke Gouda experience is both welcoming and educational. 

For the love of cheese

When it comes to cheese, Marieke feels there is a special kind of magic in the industry. Good food has a way of bringing people together, and that is something she is happy to encourage through distribution of her products. She truly enjoys the people she works with in her business — and throughout the rest of the industry. She relies on the support of fellow cheese-makers and cheesemongers (independent cheese salesmen) to learn, teach and share her passion. There is something delightful about Marieke Penterman, seen in her passion for the cheese she makes, the staff she works with, the industry she supports, the customers who enjoy her product and her love for the cows and farmer. When you walk into Marieke’s shop, there is a sense of welcome, home and comfort. The entire team is filled with excitement to share their delicious product and share the story of Marieke Gouda.  

When Marieke first thought of starting a creamery, she knew she didn’t want to fail. She believes there are two versions of failure: one is trying something and not succeeding long term, and the other — in her view — is not even trying. As the dairy industry continues to develop, it is important that people like Marieke continue to take risks to grow the dairy market and educate the public about the hard work that goes into the food we all consume daily.

For more about this impressive entrepreneur and her true farmstead cheese, visit mariekegouda.com.

I want to learn more about supporting nutrition in my dairy herd.

The following is an edited transcript of Nicole Erwin's interview with Laura Daniels, president and founder of Dairy Girl Network. Click below to hear the full interview:

Nicole:           Dairy farming has changed considerably in the last 20 years, but the consumer view of the industry has not adjusted as quickly. I'm talking with Laura Daniels, president and founder of Dairy Girl Network. She is also a mother, wife, farmer, dairy consultant and agriculture advocate. Laura, thank you for joining us.

Laura:             I'm really glad to be here.

Nicole:           How do you balance all of these roles?

Laura:             I don't really believe in balance. I believe in giving your all to what you're doing right now and then switching gears and focusing on what you need to focus on next. I think it's a misnomer to think that we can put all of those different parts of our lives into neat little balanced bits. It doesn't work that way in my world. That’s how I balance: I just don't!

Nicole:           You just do!

Laura:             Yeah, that's right.

Nicole:           It is no secret that the dairy industry in the U.S. is in a crisis, along with other struggling markets in Europe and elsewhere. The National Family Farm Coalition, along with dozens of others, are calling for significant changes to the current system, from advocating for new markets to asking for price controls and even a quota-based system. Laura, what role does the consumer play in helping to move this industry forward and verbalizing the needs on the farm?

Laura:             I think that the consumer has been contributing to this conversation all along. Sometimes, I think we forget to recognize the part that they have played and will continue to play. Consumers want something specific from farmers — dairy farmers, crop farmers — depending on what they produce. It's our job to segment that market. If someone wants to buy organic milk, we should produce it. If someone wants to buy a grass-fed milk, I believe we should produce it. If someone wants to have confidence that the milk they buy is healthy and it came from a family farm but it's cheap and they can feed their family for a good price, we should give that to the consumer.

                        I think that the consumer has been entering into this conversation for a long time, and it might be the dairy industry that's behind when it comes to responding to this. We have to remain nimble — we have to be able to identify new markets and fill them quickly. This is something we haven’t always been good at, but we have to get better because the consumer is going to continue to make, not demands, but requests — and I really think that's what they are; they’re requests. The sooner we fill that need, the more milk is going to be sold in the U.S. and worldwide.

Nicole:           When did you realize that you had a voice that could be heard, and what message motivated you to get started as an “agvocate?”

Laura:             I feel like I found my voice probably when I was in college. I was active with a lot of leadership responsibilities. But the first time I really stepped up as an agvocate — or maybe even an activist, depending on how you use that term — would have been when author Michael Pollan came to the campus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is my alma mater, and gave a free speech. There was a statewide book club about one of his books. I really felt like the full story wasn't being told. I agreed with a lot of what Pollan said, but I most certainly disagreed with part of it. I felt like my story as a farmer was left out of his pages. So, I gathered a lot of other farmers who I thought were also left out and mobilized them. We had a huge impact on the discussion in Wisconsin. That was the first time that I really found my voice and realized I could use it.

Nicole:           Do you think that your direct connection to the farm provides more credibility in a time when consumers are looking for that transparency or that missing piece?

Laura:             Absolutely. There is just no question about that. It’s important that whoever makes the decisions on the farm be the one who shares the reasons why they have made those decisions. For example, if it’s someone on a farm who's responsible for animal care, if they're the decision-maker, they are the most compelling person to tell the story. Sometimes that's the leadership of the farm, but it can also be the people who are side-by-side with the animals making those decisions day to day. But the decision-making, in my mind, is what makes someone incredibly compelling.

Nicole:           What are you seeing happening in dairy and around your own farm, and how does the dairy market today compare to 2014, when it was doing really well?

Laura:             Farmers — dairy farmers, all farmers — are these incredibly resilient people. I see my neighbors digging deep, doing a lot of research, figuring out if continuing to be a farmer is what's right for them and their families. In dairy right now, there are a lot of really honest conversations — hard conversations — happening at kitchen tables across the Midwest and across the nation, and I'm sad about that. The answer to that needs to come from so many directions, and every little bit helps.

                        My hope is that we don't lose some of the farmers who are uniquely positioned to meet those requests from the consumers. Right now, that is something I'm very worried about. The young farmers — the people who are first-generation and put it all on the line to start farming, the ones who are farming because they believe in the value of raising their family on a farm, the ones who are in some of those unique niche markets — if they go out of business now, it'll be harder for us to fill that need with the consumer. My hope is that they can hang on until the market is developed.

Nicole:           You were talking about finding new markets. Are you thinking in terms of export, or are you thinking in terms of just changing the way that milk is consumed — a lot of people grew up eating cereal, but now there's more yogurt on the table — in what markets do you see a future?

Laura:             Yes, yes and yes. All of the above. We as dairy farmers have been looking to this international market. I've been a farmer for 12 years, and I can remember going to conferences even before I was farming — I was involved as a dairy cattle nutritionist — and we all kept waiting for these international markets. We thought once they were developed, there was going to be this skyrocketing demand for dairy products. I feel like we've increased exports, but we haven't really seen that accelerated increase that was predicted. I'm hoping that the potential is still there. I believe that it is.

                        I also think that we have a great chance to increase domestic demand. When I go to the grocery store, I see more people buying whole milk than ever. I can't see many people buying skim milk anymore. I know that's good for the dairy markets. I also believe it's good for those families who are consuming that healthy fat. I happen to milk Jerseys, so I'm really excited about people consuming more fat! I think that those shifts are going to continue to create more markets for us. Once again, we just have to be nimble and be ready to fill it.

Nicole:           How can producers effectively educate the public about the passion, which you clearly have, behind dairy, and what's needed to keep it going — the health benefits or whatever you think is needed?

Laura:             I think that consumers want to hear the individual stories of the people behind the care of the animals. There are a lot of similarities behind our individual stories, but consumers want to hear the unique components of it. They want to know that the people caring for the cows and caring for the land are truly entrepreneurs who are looking for a better way to do that job every day. That means that we have to do things differently because creativity can't come from a cookie cutter.

                        For example, I graze my cows, whereas one of my good friends has a large barn with lots of mechanical ventilation and a controlled environment. Both are good environments, and both are important for ingenuity and generating great new ideas. That's what I want consumers to know. That's why I'm always urging farmers to get brave and tell their story even if their voice cracks or they don't know exactly what to say. I find consumers to be incredibly compassionate when you are honest. I think that's one of my main messages: Just be honest and tell the good stuff, talk about what drives you and what your values are, because they’re probably pretty similar to their values as well.

Nicole:           How do you think they should do that? Is it by going to meetings, social media or seeking out someone who can help them tell the story? Where would be a great place to start?

Laura:             I think social media is a nice place to start because it gives you the chance to dip your toe in — you can create a Facebook page for your farm and just post some photos. You don't have to do it every week. I know there are lots of really smart people on social media, and they'll tell you to build your audience, you've got to post so often, and you've got to do this a certain way. But, really, it's about practice. It's about practicing telling your story, and I think social media is a good place to get a start.

                        However, I think what have really been underestimated are one-on-one conversations. Even in my rural community, we are some of the only farmers in my kids’ class at school. They are the only farm kids, and the school is in the middle of a cornfield! So, we need to remember that there are people out there who we can talk to, and we need to remember to tell them about what we're doing on the farm because they might not know.

Nicole:           I remember when I was young, there were milk campaigns all over the place. “Got Milk?” was on posters, in schools and in libraries — the milk mustache was everywhere. Would something like this work to help the dairy industry again? If it would, why hasn't that happened?

Laura:             I really trust the people who we have hired to market milk, whether it's by our state organizations or the national dairy checkoff program — it’s their job to find the best way to promote milk — I think they're doing some of that, but I also know that what consumers want to hear is not as universal as it once was. Marketers really need to break down the messaging into those more farmer-specific categories. That's what they're working on, and I think that's good. It's also really hard to compete with dollars in comparison to other beverages, and even with other large food companies. So, we have to stretch our dollar when it comes to promotion, just like we have to on the farm.

                        That just really shifts the importance to individual farmers getting involved and reaching their own audience. It just makes it that much more important. That's what we have as dairy farmers that many other national food conglomerates don't have — literally thousands of farmers who care and who can really spread that message and explain what we're doing. So, it puts more pressure on us, but I think that farmers are up to the charge. I really think that they're ready to do that and they understand it's part of their responsibilities — it’s not only caring for the land, their animals and their employees, but also explaining to the public what they're doing, that social license to farm is a real thing. Farmers are believing it, and they're stepping up more than ever.

Nicole:           Laura Daniels is president and founder of Dairy Girl Network. Thank you so much.

Laura:             Thanks for having me.

Laura Daniels spoke at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18). Click here for more sights and sounds from ONE18. 

Cows exhibit heat stress in many ways, and the impact can be seen in both the short and long term. Understanding heat stress is critical for producers managing herds in warmer, more humid climates or farms located in areas that experience intense heat spells in summer. There are appropriate management practices to help herds avoid some of the heat and strategies that work with the animal to help a herd manage stress during the summer months.

Often the simplest solutions for heat stress are cheap, only requiring good herd management. Here are 10 heat stress management tips to help your herd stay cool.

1. Provide shade. 

Cows will experience lower respiration rates, decreased body temperature and less aggression when provided with adequate shade.

2. Clean water tanks. 

Cows can drink 30–50 gallons of water on a normal day, but that number can double when cows experience heat stress. By providing fresh, clean water, cows will drink more and stay hydrated.

3. Feed during cooler hours. 

Cows don’t like to consume hot feed, and TMRs are prone to heating when left out. By unloading, mixing and feeding in the morning, cows can eat before the feed gets hot and ruminate during the warmer hours of the day.

4. Watch for inconsistent manure. 

Decreased rumen fermentation efficiency occurs when the cow is experiencing heat stress, leading to lost nutrient utilization. Reformulating the ration can help achieve optimum nutrition potential during phases when dry matter intake drops. 

5. Ensure access to feed. 

Depressed intake is common during heat stress periods. By providing feed at all times, cows will eat small amounts throughout the day to reduce thermal heating from large meals.

6. Use sprinklers, soakers and fans. 

Observe where the cows are congregating. Why are they there? Is a sprinkler out elsewhere in the barn? Are the fans providing air flow? Even if you have cooling equipment, ensure it is optimally located and functioning properly.

7. Reduce time in holding pens. 

The key issue with heat stress is that the environment is too warm to dissipate the heat coming from the cows. Keeping cows in close holding pens for prolonged periods of time reduces space and airflow. 

8. Don’t lock up during midday. 

Cows are smart and will move away from areas that are too hot, but only if they have the space to do so. By allowing them to move during the hottest time of the day, you allow them to move to cooler locations in the barn.

9. Feed more digestible high-quality forages. 

Since cows are prone to eat less when hot, efficiently accessing nutrients is essential to health and production. First cutting or fermented forages provide energy without requiring as much rumination as more fibrous feeds, reducing provisional heating.

10. Utilize a yeast culture additive. 

Yeast cultures have been found to stimulate the bacteria in the rumen responsible for both fiber digestion and acid removal. This will aid in improved fermentation efficiency and prevent acidosis, which can decrease body temperature.

A happy cow makes for a productive cow. Cow comfort is important year-round, but it’s a much bigger challenge in seasons of heat. Proper management of feed, water and shelter can help your herd stay comfortable and productive. Learn more about designing your barn for cow comfort year-round in Tom Lorenzen’s article “Designing dairy free stalls for cow comfort.”  

I want to learn more about improving efficiency in my dairy herd. 

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin's interview with Tom Lorenzen, on-farm dairy specialist with Alltech. Click below to hear the full interview:

Tom:                          The heat and humidity of summer can take a substantial toll on herd health and productivity. Understanding heat stress is critical for producers managing herds in warm, humid climates. Alltech’s Tom Lorenzen is an on-farm dairy specialist with a focus on dairy audits and education through milking technician schools and presentations on milk quality. He's with us to talk about nutritional approaches to the prevention of heat stress during the summer months. Thanks for being with us, Tom.

Tom L:                        Thank you.

Tom:                          First, for reference, can you define the characteristics of a heat wave?

Tom L:                        Well, that's a great question. The people in Wisconsin had almost 20 to 30 inches of snow this past weekend, so they’re probably not going to talk about a heat wave! But we're talking about heat stress with the dairy cow. That's when the environmental conditions are out of the optimal range for the cow, which is between 25 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tom:                          What factors determine when it’s severe? How do you know when it's really bad?

Tom L:                        Air temperature, relative humidity and air movement, solar radiation —they all affect heat stress. Under mild heat stress, we see cows breathing rapidly. As the temperature increases or the stress increases, we see the breathing rates increase in cows, too. I always say to stop, look and listen to your cows. When I watch the cows and I see that their mouths are wide open and they’re panting rapidly, you can be assured that they’re under heat stress. Cows can reduce their heat stress a little bit by sweating, but they sweat about 1 percent compared to humans.

Tom:                          What are the effects? What happens to the cow when they come under stress like this?

Tom L:                        We see cows panting and increased drooling. This reduces the amount of saliva going into the rumen, which will have a negative effect on the buffering of the rumen. This can lead to acidosis. We will see reduced feed intakes, reduced rumination and the bottom line: reduced milk yield.

Tom:                          Are there regions that tend to suffer more periods of heat stress than other areas?

Tom L:                        Yes. That’s a great question. In the United States, we're going see more heat stress with higher temperatures and humidity if you’re looking at the southeast parts of United States, including Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

Tom:                          What can happen to levels of milk production when this happens, especially during prolonged periods of heat stress?

Tom L:                        When cows suffer from heat stress, the first thing we’ll notice is reduced feed intake. They just don't go to the bunk. When we see that happen, we see reduced milk yield, as much as 8 pounds of milk per day.

Tom:                          Do you see effects on reproduction?

Tom L:                        Definitely. It affects fertility and reproduction. It leads to longer lactations or more open days. We see a compound effect where there are other health issues in regard to heat stress.

Tom:                          There are some obvious mechanical means of reducing heat stress: fans, sprinklers, those sorts of things. What about nutritional strategies?

Tom L:                        The first one I’m going to talk about is water. Water is very, very important. Water makes up about 85 percent of the content of milk. So, as the temperature goes up, so does the cow’s water requirement. Cows can drink up to 50 percent more water when the temperature and humidity index rises. Intake can go from 20 gallons to about 32 gallons of water per day when the temperature gets above 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

                                    One of the big things I notice when I’m working with dairy is making sure the water troughs are clean and scrubbed daily in order to provide adequate water for consumption. If we can’t drink it, how can we expect the cows to drink it? We need to make sure that we provide adequate water space — 3 feet of available water for at least 10 to 15 cows is important.

Tom:                          Another factor in nutritional strategies would be energy. Why is it essential to increase the energy density of the diet during heat waves?

Tom L:                        As the temperature increases, the cows decrease their feed intake. This decrease in feed intake can result in less nutrient absorption. So, by increasing energy density of the diet, we can help maintain energy requirements. A good feed source for energy is bypass fat in the diet.  

Tom:                          Let's move on to protein. How is protein intake influenced by heat stress?

Tom L:                        Like everything else, when we increase heat stress, we see less dry matter intake, which means lower protein levels during this period. This will give us a negative nitrogen balance. This leads to a dramatic decrease in milk yield, immune responses and reproduction. One way to help mitigate the decline in protein ingestion is to increase protein density in the ration as well as to make sure we provide a ruminal-digestible protein source.

Tom:                          I understand that during these periods of high heat, it’s really important to maintain fiber levels in the diet. It’s crucial, but there is this catch: the digestion of forages creates more heat. How should that conflict be mitigated?

Tom L:                        During heat stress conditions, there’s a greater risk for rumen acidosis due to slug feeding and decreased intake. To reduce this risk, maintaining fiber levels in the diet is crucial. However, forages have a higher heat increment, so the quality and degradability of the forage should be monitored. Good-quality forages that will be quickly digested in the rumen will contribute to the health of the rumen and will also help maintain milk production with a minimum impact of increased caloric diets.

Tom:                          And, finally, minerals. What are the roles of minerals in helping cows combat heat stress?

Tom L:                        As I mentioned, heat stress causes increased salivation. Saliva is one of the most important buffers that the cow creates on her own. To provide another buffer, we look at increasing sodium, potassium or magnesium to help reduce the stress during this period.

Tom:                          What management tips can you offer producers as they prepare for the hot summer months?

Tom L:                        We need to provide ample clean water at all times. Another important part is providing fans and sprinklers to help cool the cows. We also need to provide shade. One of the biggest challenges that I run into on a dairy is overcrowding. If we’re overcrowded, the cows are not going to have ample room to eat and lay down. These are all important things. Lastly, and very importantly, we want to provide some of our checks that we do during the week such as pregnancy checks, or if we’re going to move cows, or breed cows, we want to do that early in the morning to reduce cow stress.

Tom:                          Thank you, Tom. We appreciate your time.

Tom L:                        Have a great day.

Tom:  Tom Lorenzen is an on-farm dairy specialist for Alltech

Click here to download a free dairy heat stress poster.

I would like to learn more about improving efficiency on my dairy. 

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin’s interview with Eddie Daly, business development manager at InTouch. Click the link above to hear the full audio. 

Eddie Daly is the business development manager at InTouch, a live nutritional support service developed by KEENAN to provide real-time feedback on diet performance. He joins us from Dunboyne, Ireland.

Tom:                          First, what is InTouch, and what’s your role with InTouch?

Eddie:                         InTouch, in its simplest form, is a live feedback and support system for predominantly ruminant farmers — dairy farmers or beef farmers. My role as business development manager is growing the business, growing InTouch’s presence in the different regions, especially those new regions that we're going into now with Alltech as our mother company. It’s bringing new technologies to the market and tailoring InTouch’s offering for each region.

Tom:                          When InTouch first tapped into the internet in 2011, which seems like light-years ago, there wasn't much connectivity. There were maybe 12 million connected devices. How does that look now?

Eddie:                         It's changed drastically in the last seven years. Conservative estimates say there are 10 billion connected devices at the moment — some people say there are about 20 billion — so, it's huge. The number of smart devices in our everyday lives has grown astronomically. I think the goal in all of this hasn't changed. It's all about making those devices speak with each other and delivering a coherent message to the end user at the end of the day.

Tom:                          InTouch offers its farm clients real-time performance monitoring and instant feedback. What does that mean?

Eddie:                         I suppose it means, in its simplest form, that we record what is happening on a daily basis on each farm. So, farmers and nutritionists will talk about the prescribed diets of the day that they formulate and try and execute. So, what we're recording is what they actually put into that mixer wagon. So, we’re importing data back from the mixer wagon and we’re combining that with production data to give them different key performance indicators.

Tom:                          And is that information, that data, is it being obtained through sensors that are strategically placed?

Eddie:                         Yes. We’re importing data from the sensors from the mixer wagon and we're also importing different kinds of service sensors. That can be anything from chain tension, so different things that are important to the farmer for both his performance and also for his machine operability.

Tom:                          Farmers are busy people, and yet here is all this incoming data, streams of it. How do you help them interpret and harness it to their advantage?

Eddie:                         You're exactly right. You know, we’re being inundated with data from different sources. It can be very difficult for one farmer or one customer to sit down and make sense of it all. One of the most important elements of InTouch is having a human at the other end of the phone or other end of the computer. We have a trained team of InTouch nutritionists, who will interpret the data that has already been crunched. So, the data has already been interpreted by our algorithms in the InTouch system. That person at the other end of the phone will relay the information to the farmers. So, we’re always trying to make it very manageable for the farmer to make one small decision that might make an improvement on his overall operations.

Tom:                          Is a benefit of this process a reduction, or even elimination, of paperwork?

Eddie:                         Absolutely. That's the goal. We customize our approach depending on how that customer likes to be contacted. We now contact them through the phone — which can be a very brief phone call that lasts 10 seconds, or it can be a long phone call that lasts 20 minutes — or by email. And we're going mobile. We have an InTouch app from which the farmer can receive information and also send information to his mixer wagon. We're always trying to tailor our approach to exactly what the farmer needs and how he best likes to connect with us.

Tom:                          What are some ways that InTouch can turn around this data and help the farmer optimize efficiencies and accuracy in feed mixing?

Eddie:                         Our goal at InTouch is to simplify the process so that we can say that, whether you are operating the mixer wagon yourself or whether you have three different operators, with InTouch you can be guaranteed that it's being operated consistently on any given day.

                                    We’re trying to simplify the process of loading the mixer wagon. Then, at the other end, when we have the performance information, we're trying to give farmers useful management clues as to what he should be doing. We can take different producers from a particular region — take the U.K., for instance — and we can benchmark each producer against other producers in his region. He can see in a snapshot where he lies in that league table, how he is performing, and then that will give him clues as to what he should be doing or what he can do to improve.

Tom:                          We touched on the elimination of paperwork, but what other sorts of conveniences does InTouch bring to the farm?

Tom:                           Now that we’ve gone cloud-based — that was in 2011, as you mentioned — all the farmers’ information is stored securely in the cloud. That means they can access their data from anywhere, at any time. So, they can log on to their own unique producer portal through any device and access their information straight away. With the mobile app, everything is a lot simpler; you can make changes on the go. I was recently speaking to a beef producer who was importing a lot of animals on a daily basis. He was going to different sources, and from his mobile, he could update his rations based on his changing inventory of animals. So, that made his life a lot easier, and he could then spend his time better, as a result.

Tom:                          How does InTouch differ? What sets it apart from other feed management technologies and tools?

Eddie:                         I suppose it’s the alert system. We flag any discrepancies in performance in or around 10 percent. So, if we see inaccuracies of 10 percent, or reduction in performance by 10 percent — or increases in performance by 10 percent — we raise an alert.

                                    The next thing that makes InTouch different from other management tools is that there's a person who is interpreting the data and taking it to the next level. These are trained nutritionists. They can advise on a new formulation of the diet as a result or they can just simply walk through with the farmer the different management things he's doing and make suggestions. In the end, the farmer gets a very condensed bit of information. He's not having to deal with reams of data; he’s able to get to the root of the problem much more quickly.

Tom:                          And can you interface with other software programs and services?

Eddie:                         Absolutely. At the moment, we’re integrating the different herd management tools such as DairyComp and milking equipment such as DelPro. We're speaking with those feed management and herd management tools. From day one, we've always been a very open platform. We'll share our information or our portals with other platforms so we can give the farmer a better value at the end of the day.

Tom:                          There is a lot of interest these days in food chain traceability. How does InTouch facilitate that?

Eddie:                         We're working with a few retailers that are concerned about traceability. They want to guarantee that their end product is from a credible source. So, we're working with them by collecting and recording the feed data so they can then say, “This animal has been fed this diet over a certain amount of days and achieved this performance.” So, they can put a stamp on it and say, “We can verify this beef or this milk” or “This is a truly sustainable product because we know where it’s coming from — we know what it’s been fed and we know the cost of it to the environment.”

Tom:                          Any emerging technologies that you're keeping your eye on for their potential to improve efficiencies and quality for your clientele farms?

Eddie:                         Yes. There are so many smart devices coming on board now. In agriculture, it's definitely a very hot area. We’re certainly looking at incorporating things like cameras. There’s a lot of very smart technology out there monitoring cow behavior through cameras, monitoring feed behavior as well.  I suppose one of the most well-known ones out there is NIR, or “near infrared technology,” which is able to get a snapshot of the quality and the nutritional value of some ingredients. So, we’re very open to building those kind of things into the system and tailoring our approach.

                                    With Alltech coming on board and acquiring InTouch, we definitely see synergies between the two companies. We've always been about precision feeding, and with Alltech, we’re seeing potential to get to precision nutrition. Alltech has a lot of very nice solutions based on minerals and additives that can add to the performance of different producers. If we can pinpoint an area that a producer is lacking in or needs help with, we could see a lot of synergies with Alltech and fitting in different solutions.

Tom:                          Does InTouch employ blockchain technology?

Eddie:                         We're not there yet, but we have the potential to plug into one of those kinds of systems very nicely. I suppose it comes back to that conversation about retailers and an integrated system. Blockchain has very exciting possibilities for farmers. They can use blockchain to add to the value of their product at the end of the day. We're definitely interested in that arena, and we’re in talks with different partners.

Tom:                          With all this data pouring into InTouch from thousands of farm clients, do trends emerge? What are you seeing?

Eddie:                         Yes. We can break it down by markets — by country or by regions within the country. Anecdotally, you could say there is definitely a tendency for the larger farms to have the ability to make savings and become more efficient just purely through scale. But, I think one thing that we’ve seen across the last decade is that good management is key to any profitable business. Those farmers who are clued into their data and are aware of their bottom line are the farmers who are going to grow and be more profitable as a result. So, it’s very much down to the individual farmer. I wouldn’t say there's any formula to a successful agricultural enterprise, but a very clued-in, good manager goes a long way to being a successful business.

Tom:                          So, Eddie, based on the information that InTouch is gathering, do you have any advice for producers?

Eddie:                         That’s a tough one. I suppose I would always recommend casting a critical eye over your business, not to have to accept criticism or anything like that, but to definitely embrace new technologies. Farmers are the original inventors. They have come up with the best innovations in agriculture themselves. So, I'm sure there are listeners to your podcast who have thoughts on innovations that they just want to get out there. And I would just encourage them to do so because I think agriculture and ag-tech are in a golden age.

Tom:                          Thank you for joining us, Eddie.

Eddie:                         Thanks, Tom. Good to talk to you.

Below is a transcript of Tom Martin’s interview with Dr. Karl Dawson, vice president and chief scientific officer at Alltech and co-director of the Alltech Center for Animal Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition.

Click below to hear the full interview:

                                    Over the last 10 years, scientists at Alltech have been using nutrigenomics to define a variety of new nutritional concepts, manage product development and redefine our view of nutrition. What are the practical applications of the science, and what does it mean for the future of feeding and farming? Tom Martin talked with Dr. Karl Dawson, vice president and chief scientific officer at Alltech.

Tom:                          Let’s begin with the question: What is nutrigenomics?

Karl:                            Nutrigenomics is a system for looking to see how the environment, disease processes and nutrition influence gene expression in an animal. This is taking the basic information that comes in an animal’s genetic makeup, its DNA, and looking to see how that's used. This system allows us to look at numerous genes at a time. And in some of our studies, we would be looking at as many as 25,000 genes at a time. So, we get very precise in our measures of what the environment, or disease — or, in this case, nutrition — does to that animal.

Tom:                          In a recent panel discussion, the webinar “Farming the Future,” you said that nutrigenomics is really going to redefine things, if it hasn't already. Can you elaborate on that?

Karl:                            Yes. We’re going to be looking at nutritional processes in a totally different way. We could also look at things like diseases in a different way. The way we look at nutrition today is based on a narrow group of responses in an animal to a nutritional strategy. Nutrigenomics allows us to do that same kind of thing while looking at many, many different characteristics at once and very rapidly. We can look at changes induced by nutrition within several days instead of waiting for a whole production cycle, which may take anywhere from 42 days to two years.

Tom:                          The name of the field, nutrigenomics, might lead us to believe that it’s limited to exploring how nutrition influences the expression of individual genes, but is it more than that? Does the science also look at disease and environmental factors and how they’re related to nutrition?

Karl:                            Yes. We can look at all of those things and how they're related. “Nutrigenomics” may be a misnomer. In the science world, we call it “transcriptomics,” the idea of looking at these genes and how they're transcribed. But the word “nutrigenomics” has taken off, and it’s really being used to describe just about anything to do with gene expression and factors that influence gene expression.

Tom:                          How is this tool being used to define new feeding strategies?

Karl:                            We can talk about a couple of examples that have developed over the last seven or eight years. One of those is the feeding of young animals. We could take a chick during the first 96 hours after hatching and change its nutrition — by limiting its nutrients, we can change how that animal performs throughout its life or its nutrient requirements throughout its life. We would not have been able to know what that looked like until we had this nutrigenomics tool.

                                 We can show that the gene expression pattern changes in a young bird when you've limited its nutrients, but those changes that take place in that gene are reflected throughout the life of that bird. So, some 24 days later, that bird has a totally different environment that it is working with, and the types of nutrients it requires have changed. It's a totally different animal when it comes to its nutritional requirements.

Tom:                          And does this bring more consistency, more precision to farming?

Karl:                            Yes. It’s going to bring a lot of precision, but it actually gives you a new tool because, in some of those changes we’re seeing, we can decrease the amount of nutrients that animal is requiring. You condition it to a low nutrient value or nutrien. As it grows, it’s expecting that as it goes on through its life. So, for example, its mineral requirement may be decreased by as much as 50 percent. That’s a totally different world for that animal to grow in, and it changes the way we feed that animal to optimize its performance and health.

Tom:                          Let's say there's been a blood draw or a tissue sample taken from the herd or the flock on the farm and brought to the lab to process. How long does it take to get that information back to the farm?

Karl:                            It only takes about 48 hours for us to process a sample, but I don't want to mislead you here. We would not necessarily use this as a diagnostic tool at this point. Today, it's a research tool to show you what changes happen with a new trend. We can use it to screen new nutritional strategies or look at nutrients in the way they're influencing that animal. Eventually, you’re going to see some diagnostic tools coming from that. But today, that probably isn't a very realistic approach for this type of technology.

Tom:                          What are some new commercially useful feeding concepts that have come directly from the use of this molecular tool?

Karl:                            A couple come to mind immediately. One of them has been a rather surprising observation. Often, in the growth of that young animal and growing livestock, we’ll use enzyme supplements. The idea behind using an enzyme supplement is really to change what is happening to the food, how it's digested. Well, one of the surprising things that we found using nutrigenomics is, that is reflected not only in the digestion process, but actually the way the tissue develops in that animal. It changes the receptors for hormones. It changes the way that animal responds physiologically.

                                  That technology has moved forward and is the basis of a couple of different programs that we’re using in beef cattle today — to use enzymes to enhance their growth and performance. In some systems, we found that this can be worth as much as $15 to $20 per head when that animal reaches its final stages of growth or finishes out and goes on for beef production. So, it's a pretty substantial thing. We never would have seen that, or even thought about doing that, if it hadn't been for that nutrigenomic tool that allows us to see those changes in those animals.

Tom:                          I also recall from the webinar, “Farming the Future,” some discussion about the influence of minerals.

Karl:                            Absolutely. Minerals are very important, and that's one of the areas that probably was the hallmark of our nutrigenomics work when we started out. One mineral, specifically, is selenium. Selenium is a nutrient that's very important, but we had no idea of how much or what the ramifications of feeding selenium really were. We found all sorts of hidden traits that are influenced by selenium, all the way from reproduction to the development of brain tissue and the speed at which an animal grows.

                                    One of the most interesting traits is the way that animal generates energy. We found very early on that we could change the function of the mitochondria and the cell. This is the energy-producing organ within that cell. We can increase its efficiency by about 15 to 20 percent. That doesn't sound like a big number, but using a dairy cow for example, that means we can improve its energy efficiency by that same amount, which probably means 2 to 3 liters of milk a day from a cow.

                                 So, this is turning everything upside down. We've changed what we thought we knew about energy metabolism, and it's a totally different world now. We're going to have to go back now and redefine energy metabolism — not based on the energy content of the feed, but based on these minerals and the way they are interacting with that energy source.

Tom:                          Let's say there's a new feed supplement out there on the market and you want to determine its value as quickly as you possibly can. Can nutrigenomics do that?

Karl:                            Absolutely. That’s one of the most exciting examples I have right now. Several years ago, we were asked to come up with an alternative antioxidant to help us address the shortage of vitamin E. We took a nutrigenomics approach to that issue and developed what we thought was a new material to serve as a booster for vitamin E activity. Normally, to evaluate a new antioxidant system like that, we would have done it over a period of several years. It takes time to grow the animals, look to see what the vitamin E is doing, to harvest the meat product and evaluate the way that is responding to oxidative stress.

                                    With a nutrigenomics approach, we were able to do the same types of evaluation, but we can look at gene expression as our measure. In doing so, we could shorten that two-year period to about six weeks. We could actually evaluate what that new ingredient was doing during that very short time.

Tom:                          By applying this tool, you're gaining a lot of information, a lot of knowledge. How does that information influence the way you think about nutrient requirements?

Karl:                            We’ve changed a lot in terms of nutrient requirements. We talked about selenium a minute ago. We used to have a fairly standard idea of what selenium requirements were. Using nutrigenomics, we’ve been able to redefine that, and found that by changing the form of selenium — by putting it in the form of a selenium yeast, for example — we could decrease its requirements by about 50 percent.

                                    We’ve gone on to look at all sorts of different minerals. We know that we can cut back on a lot of the requirements we expect for copper and zinc in the diet. We can cut those by as much as 75 percent. So, we have really started to change that. Instead of asking what a mineral is doing, we look at the form of that mineral as well as how much we're providing it. Again, it’s turning things upside down. The old requirements we had for some of these minerals have really changed.

Tom:                          How is nutrigenomics being used to demonstrate the effects of maternal nutrition on the growth or development and the disease resistance of offspring?

Karl:                            This has been another very exciting area. We did some studies several years ago in pigs — looking to see what would happen to the offspring if we fed a particular carbohydrate or supplement to the sow. We fed the sows a particular carbohydrate called Actigen^®, which is a yeast product. Then, we looked to see what was happening in the piglets. To our surprise, by looking at the gene expression in those piglets, we could easily differentiate the piglets that came from the sow that was fed that material. In fact, we found some very specific genes were being changed. One of the more interesting effects was to the hormones that influenced the ability of that young pig to eat.

                                 We could stimulate intake in those young pigs, not by feeding the young pigs the material, but by feeding the sow. That changes what we think in terms of overall production, because now we have a different animal to work with. They have different gene expression patterns and, in fact, different nutrient requirements. Their resistance to specific diseases has changed.

Tom:                          Does this enhance that consistency that we were talking about earlier across generations?

Karl:                            Yes. That's the idea. We've always thought that consistency occurs, and we have evidence of it in the human population — that you are what your mother eats. Nutrigenomics actually gives us the tools to see what is changing specifically, and to program that into the production process.

Tom:                          We've been talking about animals here as though they were something separate and apart from us, but we're animals as well. Does nutrigenomics influence the way that we think about human nutrition?

Karl:                            Absolutely. We’ve really projected into the human population from what we've done in animals with nutrigenomics. One of the star programs that we have right now is a set of compounds that we've developed to provide a preventative for Alzheimer's disease. This program came directly from our observations of what was happening to gene expression. We realized that the genes that were being expressed — or not being expressed — in Alzheimer’s patients were, in fact, associated with Alzheimer’s and the development of neurological tissue. We were able to track that relationship down, and it’s in clinical studies today.

                                 We've done similar things with some of the yeast products that we’re using. We know that they influence animals. We are now doing the same types of nutrigenomic studies in humans to evaluate how these might be useful to address health issues.

Tom:                          I know from past conversations with you about the science of nutrigenomics that you feel that it holds a lot of promise. What is your take home message about this science?

Karl:                            That this is an extremely powerful tool. It probably gives us more information and more precision for feeding animals — and probably even humans — in the future. It’s going to be a very powerful tool for changing the way we develop our feeding strategies. So, my take home message is, “This thing is going to be something that will influence the way science changes our nutrition.”

Trace minerals are essential to maintaining health and productivity in livestock animals. Traditionally, trace minerals were fed based on the minimum level required to overcome a deficiency symptom and not necessarily to promote productivity. Feeding adequate amounts and sources of trace minerals is essential to optimize production, health and feed costs and to minimize effects on the environment.

The growing uncertainties associated with trace mineral requirements and supply puts nutritionists in the dilemma of balancing the costs of either underfeeding or overfeeding trace minerals. A deficiency will impair health in dairy cows, leading to problems such as retained placenta and mastitis, and can decrease reproduction and lactation performance. On the other hand, excess supply will inflate feed costs and increase the risk of environmental pollution and toxicity, and it may also result in unwanted antagonistic interactions among minerals, leading to poor absorption.

Dietary trace minerals are supplied from feedstuffs and mineral supplements. The National Research Council (NRC) requirements are based on both sources of trace minerals, accounting for their absorption coefficients. Feed trace minerals usually have lower absorption coefficients compared with supplements. Furthermore, mineral supplements differ in their bioavailability. The NRC (2001) requirements appear to be adequate for most minerals, except for manganese and cobalt, for which new data suggests higher concentrations.

Inorganic minerals generally have lower bioavailability compared with organic minerals. Inorganic minerals become free in the rumen and can interact with other feed components. They can also bind to other minerals and pass through the gastrointestinal tract unabsorbed. Inorganic minerals may also include a source of contaminants, such as the heavy metals cadmium and lead. The presence of inorganic trace minerals in premix feeds can negatively affect the stability of enzymes and vitamins. To circumvent these bioavailability and absorption uncertainties, inorganic minerals are often supplemented at multiples of NRC requirements, which may further reduce their absorption and may reduce animal health and performance.

The Total Replacement Technology™ (TRT) mineral program at Alltech offers trace minerals (Bioplex®, Sel-Plex®) to provide highly available and traceable sources of minerals that support the animal’s requirements.

Most lactation diets will supply adequate to excessive amounts of iron, while other trace minerals will be supplied at amounts below NRC requirements, ranging from 40 percent to 85 percent. The TRT program should accommodate most situations but may need to be adjusted for specific situations in which extreme dietary concentrations are found. Regular assessment of trace mineral levels in forages is critical to building a more efficient mineral nutrition program.

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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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