With the changing global climate, many people are becoming more aware of how they impact the environment on a day-to-day basis. And the same goes for horse owners, as more and more equestrians explore sustainable horse farm management practices.

While achieving sustainability in the equine industry may seem daunting, the good news is that there are many avenues for us to explore, and each one makes a difference!

If your horse is boarded at a facility, you may not have control over some common environmental pitfalls, such as manure management or preventing overgrazing of horse pastures. However, almost every horse owner has some say in their horses’ nutrition, and luckily, with a few easy changes, your horses’ diet can become more environmentally friendly.

Trace mineral supplementation in horse feeds

Since they only make up around 2% of a horse’s diet, minerals are often underestimated — but they are actually responsible for hundreds of thousands of functions within the horse’s body, from the development of joint cartilage to maintaining healthy hair and hoof quality.

In the equine digestive system, the bulk of the vitamins and minerals included in the diet are absorbed in the small intestine and taken into the bloodstream to be distributed throughout the body for use.

Macrominerals or major minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur are required in larger amounts than the microminerals or trace minerals, which include copper, zinc, manganese, iron, selenium, cobalt and more. But while the requirements for trace minerals might be smaller, they are majorly important for horse health. 

While hay and pasture grass contain vitamins and minerals in varying levels, depending on the soil quality, processing, region, etc., horses often require additional supplementation for optimal health, which is why grains and other supplements are generally formulated with minerals.

Providing adequate amounts of minerals — but not too much — is best for the environment

Interestingly enough, horses are unable to store large amounts of excess minerals in their bodies, and research has shown that exceeding 100% of their mineral requirements results in higher mineral excretion (i.e., mineral-rich manure), which has important environmental implications.

In her presentation at the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference in June, Dr. Mieke Holder explained what happens when excess minerals are fed to horses. In a brief nutshell:

1. Horses produce about 50 pounds of manure per day.
2. That manure sits outside in pastures or is picked out of stalls but is then left to compost outside.
3. When fecal material gets wet from any type of precipitation, the minerals that have been excreted begin to solubilize.
4. Excess minerals can run off and join surface water or move through soil layers (which is known as “mineral leaching”) and end up joining the underground water supply.

The other piece of the mineral puzzle lies in fecal microbial organisms. Recent research from Dr. Holder’s lab has shown that the bacteria in the feces accumulate some of the minerals that are excreted. Providing minerals in a form that encourages accretion, or “feeding,” by fecal bacteria should continue to be explored, as that appears to decrease the amount of minerals leaching into soil and water.

To bring it all together, Dr. Holder’s research has shown that providing increased levels of trace minerals in horses’ diets also increases the levels of phosphorus that leach from those diets. Given that phosphorus is an element of great environmental concern, it is crucial that minerals are not only fed at the appropriate levels but in bioavailable forms as well.

Organic minerals for horses

Dr. Holder defines organic minerals as minerals that are bound to a ligand carrier, such as a protein or amino acid chelating agent. Several examples of organic trace minerals are those offered by Alltech as Bioplex® (copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt and iron) and Sel-Plex® (organic selenium). In contrast, inorganic minerals are complexed with a compound, such as a carbonate, chloride, sulfate or oxide.

While research over the years has shown varied results in terms of the differences between organic and inorganic minerals in horses’ diets, several compelling studies have shown that organic minerals are absorbed at higher levels and are more readily usable by the horse’s body than their inorganic counterparts. When organic minerals are absorbed at higher levels, that also means that fewer minerals are excreted, which can help protect the environment.

For example, glutathione peroxidase, a selenium-dependent antioxidant enzyme, showed increased activity after exercise in horses fed Sel-Plex® versus horses who received inorganic selenium (in the form of sodium selenite).

Other recent research has shown that supplementation with organic trace minerals can help improve joint cartilage indicators and antioxidant activity in growing horses.

Given that we want our horses to be around for many more years than the typical production animal, the fact that there is evidence indicating that organic trace mineral supplementation can help maintain horses’ health, development and performance is notable.

Minerals as an equine management tool

Thanks to Dr. Holder’s presentation, we know for sure that:

• Horses have mineral requirements that are often unmet by forage alone. Trace minerals, despite only being required in small amounts, have great value in preventing health problems.
• Feeding excess minerals to horses is not only financially wasteful but also has a negative impact on the environment.
• Prioritizing high-quality mineral nutrition for our animals may not be the most common or well-known route for minimizing our environmental impact, but it could make a huge difference.
• As a horse owner, you can read your horses’ feed and supplements labels to learn whether the trace minerals included are offered in an organic form, which can be identified by names that often include the words “proteinate,” “chelate,” “amino acid complex” or “methionine.”
• Seek to feed the best-quality nutrition, not only for your horses’ health and performance but to help mitigate any environmental hazards as well.

To learn more about the benefits of equine trace mineral nutrition, watch Dr. Holder’s entire presentation at the 2021 Alltech ONE Ideas Conference.

If you are interested in providing your horse with a superior nutrition program while still protecting the environment, Alltech’s Bioplex® trace minerals are a great place to start. Email equine@alltech.com with any questions.  

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

Okay, let’s get real: While nutrition is one of the most important ways to influence any animal’s health, feeding horses is not rocket science, and we tend to overcomplicate equine nutrition.

While performance horses often have more specific nutrient requirements than the average horse at maintenance, all horses have the same general needs, and keeping it simple when it comes to feeding is the best method for reaching maximum horse health.

Here, we will break it down step by step so that you can make sure your horses receive exactly what they need.

1. Determine your horses’ energy needs based on their exercise and training schedule.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, it is important to take an honest inventory of your horse’s training regimen. The key word here is “honest” — but we’ll get back to that in a moment.

According to The Nutrient Requirements of Horses (NRC), there are four categories of activity level and intensity:

• Light exercise: One to three hours per week of mostly walking and trotting.
• Moderate exercise: Three to five hours per week of mostly trotting, with some walking and cantering and some skilled work, like jumping, dressage, cutting or ranch work.
• Heavy exercise: Four to five hours per week of trotting, cantering, galloping and skilled work.
• Very heavy exercise: One hour per week of speed work and/or six to 12 hours per week.

Generally, the only horses that fit into the “very heavy” category are racehorses, elite endurance horses or three-day-eventing horses, while most other horses fit into the light or moderate exercise categories.

It’s very easy for us to overestimate our horses’ workload. Keep in mind that modern horses evolved from animals who often traveled 40 to 50 miles per day! They had to really work for their meals, which is not the case for domestic horses. The reason it is important to be honest with yourself about your horse’s activity level is that if you have a horse in the light or moderate category who you unintentionally feed at the heavy or very heavy level, you will likely be at risk for overfeeding, which can have detrimental and debilitating health consequences for your horse.

You may be surprised to learn that some horses who do light to moderate exercise do not require energy in amounts much higher than what is needed for maintenance. On the other hand, some performance horses require up to twice as much energy as a horse at maintenance. It’s all about taking each individual animal’s unique blend of genetics, age and metabolism into account, as well as their exercise intensity and duration. A qualified equine nutritionist can help you determine the winning formula for your horse.

2. Always, always, always start with hay (and a hay test).

Energy can be supplied in the diet by carbohydrates and fat. Carbohydrates fall into two categories: non-structural and structural.

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) come from sugars and starches, primarily from grain concentrates. Most performance horses require some form of NSC, and while there is no reason to fear feeding sugar and starch — sometimes glucose is necessary! — they do tend to be more problematic for our equine friends. As such, it is important to limit the NSCs in the diet to what the horse really needs based on its age and exercise intensity.

Structural carbohydrates, on the other hand, include fiber from forage sources and are one of the most critical components in making sure that the horse’s hindgut functions optimally. Remember: A happy hindgut equals a happy horse.

The large intestine in the horse’s digestive tract is home to billions of beneficial microbes that digest fiber and produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which are used as a source of energy. This is the reason why hay alone can meet the energy requirements of some horses. Fiber helps keep the large intestine at the correct pH balance and greatly reduces the risk of colic. After all, forage is what horses were designed to eat and should always be fed at a minimum of 1% of the animal’s body weight per day. The forage component of a horse’s diet also takes pasture grasses into account, so be sure to factor in how much turnout your horse receives.

If you are feeding performance horses, invest in a hay test, which will tell you the exact nutrient levels and help you determine which nutrients need to be added to the diet (based on equine requirements) in the form of grain and horse supplements.

We should also note that good-quality fat is an easy — and, often, safer — way to increase energy in a performance horse’s diet. Fats will be used by the horse’s body during aerobic exercise, which can help save the glucose from NSCs for high-intensity or long-duration exercise. 

3. Remember the importance of water and salts.

While these nutrients are often overlooked, adequate access to fresh, clean water and iodized salt is crucial for all animals, but especially for performance horses.

When exercised in hot, humid weather, horses could lose up to four gallons of sweat per hour! Additionally, horse sweat is hypertonic, meaning that it contains higher levels of electrolytes than what is circulating in the body. Human sweat, in contrast, is hypotonic, meaning that there is a higher concentration of electrolytes circulating in the body than what is in our sweat. This means that giving a sweaty horse plain water will only further dilute the concentration of electrolytes in its body. Given that electrolytes are required to maintain the fluid balance and electrical activity of each cell, they are hugely important for performance!

In normal circumstances when a horse is only emitting small amounts of sweat, an iodized white salt block or loose salt, in addition to hay and grain, will do the trick. If weather and exercise — or some other form of stress, like long-distance travel — lead to prolonged, excessive sweating, providing a high-quality electrolyte supplement with potassium, sodium and chloride is a very good idea.

4. Don’t overdo protein.

Many horse owners accidentally misunderstand how protein should be used in their horses’ diet. As mentioned above, adding energy (or extra calories) to the diet is done with carbohydrates or fat. While protein and, more specifically, levels of certain amino acids are required for growth, muscle and the maintenance of body systems, protein is an inefficient energy source.

Horses have requirements for essential amino acids, the most important of which are lysine, methionine and threonine. This is another reason why investing in a hay test will help you to balance your performance horse’s diet. 

Horses doing light work can often meet their protein requirements (approximately 10% of their diet) from hay and pasture and the use of a ration balancer. Horses doing moderate to heavy work have higher protein requirements, which can typically be met with commercially fortified grain and/or the addition of alfalfa hay.

In general, a protein deficiency is not common in most domestic horse diets; in fact, it is more common for protein to be fed in excess, which will end up as a waste product. If you begin to notice a heavy smell of ammonia in your horse’s stall, this is a telltale sign that you may be overfeeding protein.

5. Help minimize and manage stress.

It’s no secret that performance horses endure stress. What we sometimes forget, however, is that this stress can impact almost every system in an animal’s body, from its digestive system to its musculoskeletal system. A well-rounded approach to managing performance horses includes taking all of these systems into consideration.

• Joint and hoof health: The concussion and force that a performance horse’s limbs must endure is substantial. Providing joint-specific nutrients, like glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, and hoof nutrients, like organic zinc and biotin, can help protect joints and hooves before damage occurs.
• Antioxidants: Vitamin E and organic selenium are hugely important components in the performance horse’s diet to help combat muscle damage from the free radicals associated with exercise and metabolism.
• Immune function: Organic trace minerals are important constituents of joint and hoof health — not to mention that they help promote normal nervous system function and a healthy immune system.
• Gut health: The stress that performance horses are subject to in the forms of training, travel, new environments and more can absolutely impact their microbiome and cause digestive upset. Additionally, the need for glucose (i.e., NSCs) to power exercise is a reality for many performance horses. Gut nutrients, such as pre- and probiotics, can help minimize digestive distress and maximize safe feedings, travels and training days.

The key to feeding performance horses is moderation. No one ingredient or nutrient is beneficial when there is either a deficiency or an excess. Use common sense, pay attention to your horse’s behavior and cues, and seek balance with an equine nutritionist.

Alltech’s new line of premium equine supplements was formulated to assist with that balance. Lifeforce Elite Performance was designed to be the only horse supplement you’ll need in a performance setting to promote a healthy, whole-body stress response. We are certain that you will get your money’s worth — and your horse will also be able to tell the difference!

Check out Lifeforce here, and follow us on social media @lifeforcehorse for more tips on keeping your performance horse healthy and happy!

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

Alltech and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) are pleased to announce Kallee Buchanan of Australia and Craig Lester of Canada as the recipients of the 2021 IFAJ–Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism. The award recognizes excellence and leadership by young agricultural journalists and was presented today during the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference.

“IFAJ shares our commitment to supporting journalists who give a voice to the farmers and producers, the innovators and change-makers, the scientists and scholars all working toward a Planet of Plenty,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “On behalf of Alltech, I congratulate Kallee Buchanan and Craig Lester as the well-deserving recipients of the 2021 IFAJ–Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism.”

This recognition honors Alltech’s late founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, who was a passionate storyteller with a great respect for agricultural journalists. The award complements the Young Leader program that Alltech co-founded with IFAJ in 2005 in support of the mentorship and education of leaders who connect agriculture to a global audience. It’s also an endeavor that aligns with Alltech’s vision of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty^TM, in which a world of abundance is made possible through the adoption of new technologies, better farm management practices and human ingenuity within agriculture.

“As producers throughout the food supply chain are implementing more sustainable solutions, we are in the midst of a new era in agriculture led by science, data-driven decision-making and a passionate dedication to farming with the future in mind,” said Dr. Mark Lyons. “Agricultural journalists have the ability to share these stories, and through our continued partnership with the IFAJ, we are proud to support these future leaders, who are passionate about connecting our industry to a global audience.”

Kallee Buchanan started her career at a regional newspaper in 2008 before joining the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2009, where she has worked as a radio and digital journalist, presenter and producer, covering rural and regional issues. In 2010, she won a Queensland Media Award (Clarion) for Best Radio News Report, and in 2017 she won the radio and digital categories at the Queensland Rural Media Awards and was named the overall journalism winner. She went on to win both the Australian and the International Star Prize for Digital Media, and she won the Queensland radio category again in 2018. In 2019, she was highly commended in the Emergency Media and Public Affairs Awards for her coverage of the 2018 Central Queensland bushfires.

Buchanan joined the committee of the Rural Press Club of Queensland in 2016 and became its representative on the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists (ACAJ) in 2018, eventually becoming the secretary of the ACAJ in 2019 and its president in 2020. She is passionate about elevating the issues and industries of regional and rural people and supporting agricultural media communicators in that work. She is committed to developing and retaining new voices that reflect the true diversity of communities outside of the major city centers, as well as the contributions they make to a productive world. 

Craig Lester loves connecting people, ideas and resources, and he believes that there is no better place to do that than in agriculture. As president of the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association, part of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, Lester serves in two key professional roles that are dedicated to sharing information and educating the community with local and industry information. He is a managing editor of 660 NEWS, an all-news radio station in Calgary, Alberta, and is the co-owner of Rural Roots Canada, an agriculture media production and distribution company. In his free time, he works on the family farm in Rolling Hills, Alberta.

Lester is also very active as a volunteer in the community, contributing his time to the Calgary Stampede, Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture and Ronald McDonald House. He is also on the planning committee for the 2023 IFAJ World Congress, which will be held in Alberta.

With a passion for successful succession and empowering the next generation, Lester established an agricultural scholarship and travel bursary at his alma mater, Brooks Composite High School, to support a student pursuing either agricultural-related post-secondary education or an international in-person learning experience. He is an award-winning broadcast journalist and received a diploma in broadcast news from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

“In challenging times like these, reliable journalism and information is vital for farmers,” said IFAJ president Lena Johansson of Sweden. “Alltech’s commitment to professional development for agricultural journalists to promote eminent leaders within our organization is much-appreciated and contributes to enhancing the quality of agricultural journalism — which, in the long run, benefits the entire agricultural sector.”

For more information about the IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism, contact press@alltech.com.

-Ends-

Contact: press@alltech.com

Jenn Norrie

Communications Manager, North America and Europe

jnorrie@alltech.com; (403) 863-8547

Video download: Kallee Buchanan, Australia https://bcove.video/2R77y8V

Image download: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/baJbmZbnmi1n

Image caption: Kallee Buchanan of Australia is a recipient of the 2021 IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism.

Video download: Craig Lester, Canada https://bcove.video/3okZPQD

Image download: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/DZhDIiD4RGHM

Image Caption: Craig Lester of Canada is a recipient of the 2021 IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism.

Image download: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/vwvZcvXIhnod

Image Caption: Alltech is proud to partner with the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) to recognize excellence and leadership by young journalists with the IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism.

About Alltech:

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech delivers smarter, more sustainable solutions for agriculture. Our products improve the health and performance of plants and animals, resulting in better nutrition for consumers and a decreased environmental impact.

We are a global leader in the animal health industry, producing additives, premix supplements, feed and complete feed. Strengthened by more than 40 years of scientific research, we carry forward a legacy of innovation and a unique culture that views challenges through an entrepreneurial lens.

Our more than 5,000 talented team members worldwide share our vision for a Planet of Plenty™. We believe agriculture has the greatest potential to shape the future of our planet, but it will take all of us working together, led by science, technology and a shared will to make a difference.

Alltech is a private, family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to our customers’ needs and maintain focus on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For more information, visit alltech.com, or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists:

The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists, founded in 1956, is comprised of 5,000 members in 53 countries. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to global agricultural journalism. Its three pillars are professional development, youth development and global outreach. IFAJ members embrace freedom of the press. http://www.ifaj.org

The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference launched virtually today to unite thought-leaders and changemakers for an exploration of the power of science, sustainability and storytelling. Now in its 37th year, Alltech’s flagship event continues to be an invaluable industry resource, with unmatched content and innovative ideas, inspiration and motivation from world-class speakers. Registrants from 99 countries have access to a virtual platform that includes on-demand tracks, streaming keynote presentations, live workshops and an interactive networking experience, allowing attendees to connect around the world. 

“We are on the brink of a new beginning, and I don’t believe that is just a new beginning for Alltech. I think it’s a new beginning and a new golden era for agri-food, and it’s led by what we believe is a bold vision,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, in his opening remarks. “We want to deliver smarter, more sustainable solutions for our customers and for all of agri-food.”

Anna Rosling Rönnlund, vice president and head of design and user experience at Gapminder and co-author of “Factfulness,” was one of the opening keynote speakers on Tuesday, June 22. Rönnlund designed the user interface of the famous animated bubble-chart tool Trendalyzer, which helps people better understand global development trends. The tool was eventually acquired by Google and is now used by millions of students across the world. Along with her Gapminder co-founders, Rönnlund co-wrote the book “Factfulness,” sharing insights on the ten instincts that distort our perspective of the world and prevent us from seeing the truth.

“A lot of things are actually improving, but we’re very bad at seeing these slow trends on a global level,” said Rönnlund. “We need to have a fact-based worldview, and we need to remember that we need to keep upgrading our worldview, because the world changes, and so has our facts about it.”

As a professional photographer, filmmaker and former photojournalist for National Geographic, Dewitt Jones has made a career of storytelling through images and has traveled the world on a mission to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Through his compelling stories and captivating photography, Jones shared how changing your lens can change your life.

“These are turbulent times, and the waves of change seem to threaten our very survival. So, what will your vision allow you to see?” Jones asked during his keynote presentation. “Will you look out at a dim, half-colored world where dreams disappear in the distance — a world where goals don't even seem worth striving for? Or will your vision allow you to see a world still full of beauty and joy and possibility?”

The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference keynote sessions, on-demand tracks and Planet of Plenty live workshops launching this week include:

Tuesday, June 22

8:30 a.m. ET: Keynote Session

• Dr. Mark Lyons, President and CEO, Alltech
• Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Vice President and Head of Design and User Experience, Gapminder; Co-Author, "Factfulness"
• Dewitt Jones, Professional Photographer, Filmmaker and Former Photojournalist for National Geographic

10:30 a.m. ET

• All tracks on-demand content available

11:00 a.m. ET: Planet of Plenty Live Workshops

• The Inaccuracy of “Seaspiracy”
• Awarding Sustainability
• Food for Thought
• Where’s the Beef?

Wednesday, June 23

9:00 a.m. ET: Keynote Session

• David McWilliams, Economist and Professor, Trinity College Dublin
• Dr. Ruth Oniang’o, Board Chair, Sasakawa Africa Association; Professor of Nutrition; Former Member of Parliament in Kenya

11:00 a.m. ET: Planet of Plenty Live Workshops

• Minding Your Cognitive Health
• Let’s Not Waste It
• Find Your Story

Thursday, June 24

9:00 a.m. ET: Keynote Session

• Shirzad Chamine, CEO, Positive Intelligence, Inc.
• Dr. Mark Lyons, President and CEO, Alltech

11:00 a.m. ET: Planet of Plenty Live Workshops

• Innovation from the Inside
• Farm-to-Fork Sustainability
• A Tale of Two Climate Policies

1:00 p.m. ET: Planet of Plenty Workshop with Shirzad Chamine

• Explore Your Positive Intelligence

Over the course of the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference, more than 70 on-demand presentations will explore challenges and opportunities in aquaculture, beef, business, crop science, dairy, equine, health and wellness, pet, pig, and poultry sectors. Registration for the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference will remain open, offering attendees 24/7 access to all on-demand content, including keynote presentations and tracks, until April 2022.  

Registrants can engage virtually in many ways during the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference, including the ONE FUNdraising Run, the Alltech Ideas Hub and expert-led mixology sessions. All are encouraged to share their experiences on social media with the hashtag #ONEbigidea. To learn more and to register for the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference, visit one.alltech.com.  

Horse owners often wrongly believe that they are destined to put up with a high number of flies and insects. As mid-summer approaches and heat and dry weather become the norm, many parts of North America are likely to experience an onslaught of fly populations, while other parts of the country are likely to have intense mosquito issues. Additional troublesome insects, such as biting midges — often called “no-see-ums” or buffalo gnats — can make summer almost unbearable for horses.

All of this makes many of us horse owners want to resort to utilizing heavy-hitting chemicals to keep our animals comfortable. While there may be a time and a place for this type of chemical warfare, looking at some big-picture management options is the safest way to begin your warfare strategy and reduce the need for insecticides. You should waste no time in planning your attack on the coming season’s flies and insects.

In this blog, I will review some of the least-toxic, most environmentally friendly methods for reducing and managing the fly and insect population at your horse facility, including diminishing the insect habitat, using mechanical barriers, putting beneficial insects and native birds to work for you, and setting non-insecticidal traps. We will also cover the topic of insecticides so that, if using these products becomes necessary, you can make an informed decision.

Using these controls as your first line of defense will help you reduce both the amount of chemicals used around your property and your impact on the environment. Less flies and fewer chemicals will be healthier for you and your horses, all while promoting sustainability in the equine industry.

1. Practice manure management.

Insecticides and fly sprays are commonly used in livestock fly control protocols, but you can greatly reduce your dependence on them if your manure and mud are managed properly, as flies, mosquitoes and other pests depend on manure and mud as a breeding ground.

Start with picking up the manure in stalls and confinement areas on a regular basis and developing a composting or manure storage area. Composting manure is the best option, as flies are generally associated with fresh manure rather than compost. A simple cover or tarp helps prevent rain runoff, which can contaminate surface water, creating the muddier habitat in which insect pests prefer to breed.

Gutters and downspouts on farm buildings divert clean rainwater away from animal confinement areas, reducing the chance of mud and the amount of water and mud in which insects could live. 

Stagnant water — that is, water that has not been moved or added to for five to seven days — can become a breeding site for mosquitoes in levels as small as half of a teacup. Flies and other pests also need water to survive, so it’s important to eliminate unnecessary sources of water, such as leaky faucets. Get rid of anything lying around that can hold stagnant water, such as old tires, toys, flowerpots, birdbaths, dog water bowls, buckets, barrels or trash.

Some insects — including face flies, biting midges, and deer or horse flies — do not like to enter darkened barns or stables. Providing your horse with a shelter or putting them inside a barn before and during dusk (when these insects are most active) may help horses escape being attacked by these miserable creatures.

Biting midges and mosquitoes tend to be poor flyers, so offering good ventilation or safely placing a fan outside a stall can create air movement, which may help individual horses that are particularly tormented by bugs.

2. Prioritize pasture management for horses.

Whenever possible, graze horses on higher, drier pastures at the beginning of the summer to avoid creating muddy areas. Save the lower, wet pastures — which harbor mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies and biting midges — until later in the summer when those areas dry out.

Harrow (or drag) your pastures regularly to break up manure piles. Harrowing spreads manure, allowing plants to utilize the nutrients and organic materials contained therein. Spreading also dries out manure, making it a less attractive habitat for flies. 

Using footing materials — such as finely crushed gravel (sized 5/8 of an inch or less) or coarse sand — in confinement areas helps to further reduce mud. Three to six inches of footing material will help build up the area, keeping horses up out of the dirt and allowing rainwater to drain through.

3. Use physical barriers.

Most horse owners know about one wonderfully safe and effective method of fly management for horses: the fly mask. Fly masks act as a physical barrier between the horse and flies, with the added benefit of being a sunscreen for horses that are sensitive to sunburn. Most horses learn to appreciate fly masks quickly and will willingly lower their heads to have a mask put on them. Some masks only protect the eyes, while others also protect ears and jowls.

Fly sheets are an additional option. These cool, open-weave, lightweight horse blankets can be quite useful at keeping pestering flies off a horse’s body. Fly boots are also available to help protect the horse's legs and hooves by helping to greatly decrease stomping.

4. Recognize good bugs.

When it comes to pest management, we often err by approaching all insects as pests. However, according to the Xerces Society — a forty-year-old nonprofit organization that works to conserve habitats for beneficial insects worldwide — only about 2% of all insects are actually considered pests. The Xerces Society also reports that beneficial insects are worth quite a bit to agriculture economically: around $4–12 billion annually. Many insects prey on each other, and insects would rule the world if that were not the case.

One example of a beneficial insect that horse owners can put to work is the fly parasite, a gnat-sized, nocturnal wasp that lays its eggs in the developing pupae of flies, thereby reducing or nearly eliminating the fly population. Fly parasites do not harm humans or animals in any way and are rarely even noticeable, since they are tiny and are only active at night.

Commercially raised fly parasites can be purchased from several sources, which can be located by doing an internet search of the words “fly parasite”. To be most effective as a fly control program, fly parasites should be released early in the fly season and every four weeks thereafter.

5. Encourage insect-eating birds.

Encouraging insect-eating birds to move into your yard and barn area is an excellent method for reducing the flying insect population. Members of the swallow family can be a tremendous asset to a horse facility, as they dive and dart through the neighborhood collecting bugs. One adult barn swallow will consume several thousand insects per day — a number comparable with using a bug zapper via a method that is much safer than using insecticides.

Some common North American insect-eating birds include violet-green swallows, tree swallows, barn swallows, bluebirds, purple martins and cliff swallows. Nesting can be encouraged by hanging nest boxes specifically made for the types of birds in your area. Swallows, such as violet-greens, will utilize nesting material like hair that is shed by horses or dogs. For help determining the insect-eating birds specific to your part of the country and their nest box needs, consult your local Audubon Society, birding organization, extension office, wild bird store or library.

6. Accept bats.

Bats play an important part in every healthy environment by eating the nocturnal flying insects that plague both our horses and ourselves, such as mosquitoes. Bats are reported to eat up to 600 mosquitoes an hour — more than 5,000 a night! They also eat other agricultural pests, such as corn borers, cutworm moths, potato beetles and grasshoppers.

You may be able to encourage a bat family to move onto your property by hanging a bat box built specifically for the types of bats common in your region. Bat houses should be placed on the southern exposure of a barn, pole, tree or house. The best habitat is within a half-mile of a stream, lake or wetland. Place bat houses by early April and be patient, as it may take up to two years for a bat colony to find your house.

A word of caution: Because of the concern for rabies, which can be carried by bats (as well as any warm-blooded animal), consult your veterinarian for their recommendations on vaccinating your horses against rabies. And just as you would do with a stinging insect or an unfamiliar dog, always leave bats alone. Bats are not aggressive, but like any wild animal, if cornered, they may bite to defend themselves.

7. Use insect and fly traps.

Several types of simple, non-toxic insect traps can be extremely useful for reducing the flying insect population on your farm. The cheapest and easiest are sticky traps; flying insects happen across them and get stuck. Fly paper or sticky tape can be attached above doorways or from barn ceilings. Old-fashioned sticky strips — the coiled kind — are probably the cheapest and easiest to utilize. Try hanging many of them (i.e., 10 or more) from your barn ceiling. Once they are full of dead flies, remove the old pieces of tape and hang fresh ones. Choose these locations carefully to avoid snagging human hair or swishing horse tails.

Other kinds of traps include brightly colored sticky tubes, as bright colors attract flies; these tubes can also be hung up. These traps may or may not come with an attractant (i.e., an embedded scent), which flies seek out.

Several commercial brands of pesticide-free bags are available on the market. The stinky attractant used in these bags activates when dissolved in water. Lured by the scent (and perhaps also the color), flies enter the trap through the yellow cap top and drown in the water. These bags come ready to hang and use and are easy to dispose of when full by simply tossing into the trash. There are also reusable varieties.

Place attractant bags on the perimeter of your property to lure flies away from high-traffic areas. The downside to these traps is that they are smelly — which is another good reason to place them away from barn areas.

8. Understand your chemical control options.  

An insecticide is a chemical that kills insects, while a repellant is a substance that discourages flies and other insects from landing. When using insecticides, read and follow the directions carefully and avoid using more than necessary. Only use insecticides that are recommended for use on horses. Generally, insecticides are meant to be used outdoors, in well-ventilated, open places — not in an enclosed area, such as an indoor stall or barn. Indiscriminate use of insecticides may promote resistant strains of flies and could kill beneficial insects or harm birds and bats.

Equine insecticides generally fall into one of four categories (listed here in order from least to most toxic):

• Pyrethrins (a botanical insecticide made from chrysanthemums)
• Permethrins (synthetic pyrethrins)
• Carbamates
• Organophosphates

Unfortunately, “least toxic” and “most effective” don’t always go hand in hand. Even the best fly sprays containing pyrethroids do not last long.

Insecticides are usually used as premise sprays, which means that any insect they come into contact with will potentially be killed — including beneficial ones, not just pests.

Most equine fly sprays are repellents. Repellents are available as sprays, lotions, wipe-ons, gels, dusting powders, ointments, roll-ons, shampoos and towelettes. Repellents contain a substance irritating to flies, such as oil of citronella, and most contain some amount of insecticide.

Repellents also contain a product, known as a base, that helps hold the active ingredients to the horse’s body hair. The most common repellent bases are water, oil or alcohol. Oil-based repellents remain on the horse’s hair shaft longer, but oil attracts dirt. Water-based repellents do not last as long but attract less dirt, and alcohol-based repellents can be drying to the horse’s skin. To increase the lasting effect, some repellents are made with silicone, which coats the hair shaft and holds the repellent in place longer. Repellents can also contain sunscreen, coat conditioners (such as lanolin or aloe vera) and other products that may increase their staying power. How long a repellent lasts depends on the weather, the exercise level of the horse (i.e., how much they sweat), brushing and rolling.

Moderation is key. Sometimes chemicals must be used, especially on insect-sensitive horses, but it is best to avoid spraying the horses every day or while they are in their stalls or pens; that’s a lot of chemicals to put on the horse, and it may also be very costly.

Say goodbye to the bugs in the horse barn.

The key point to keep in mind when trying to manage insects is to first strive to diminish the insect habitats where insects live and breed, which include mud, manure and stagnant water. After you have these areas under control, go after insects with birds, bats, fly parasites and non-insecticidal traps.

Beyond that, if certain insects become problematic, you can choose whether you want to use a repellent or an insecticide-based spray on your horse. With these tools on hand, you’ll have more options available for the coming insect season, meaning you won’t have to put up with as many pests and can also reduce the use of chemicals on your horse property.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

Google the phrase “joint supplements for horses,” and you will quickly be overwhelmed by more than 165,000 results.

Many owners and trainers in the horse industry consider joint health a top concern for their management programs. This is warranted; after all, the average horse weighs around 1,000 pounds and is supported by four relatively thin legs with very little protection.

Understanding equine joints becomes increasingly important for each horse owner, as musculoskeletal injuries are classified as the number-one reason for loss of performance.  

What’s really going on in the horse’s joints?

There are three types of joints in the body, but the type that is most influenced through nutrition (and the type that we typically think of when we think of a joint) is called the synovial joint.

Synovial joints are those that allow for movement and help transfer the load between bones, including the elbow, knee or wrist — or, in the horse’s case, the knee, hock or fetlock joint.

Synovial joints are composed of:

• Cartilage, which covers the ends of the two bones that meet at the joint.
• The joint capsule, which is the space encompassing the entire joint with an inner synovial membrane housing synovial cells and synovial fluid.
• Ligaments, a type of connective tissue that connects bone to bone.

Cartilage is one of the most important aspects of the joint

We hate to play favorites, but when it comes to joints, we are partial to cartilage for the role it plays in handling the compressive and concussive forces that joints deal with on a minute-to-minute basis. Cartilage is a metabolically active tissue composed of chondrocytes, the main cells in cartilage, as well as type II collagen and a proteoglycan network.

You can think of cartilage as a small, remote town — “Joint Town,” perhaps.

In basic terms, the chondrocyte cells produce collagen fibrils, which undergo an extensive cross-linking process during development. Collagen is the road system of “Joint Town.”

Proteoglycans are molecules that aid in the shock absorption properties of cartilage. They are made up of a core protein linked to a glycosaminoglycan chain, such as keratin or chondroitin sulfate. 

Proteoglycans are similar to the houses and buildings that comprise a town.

Cartilage is a largely avascular structure, meaning that it receives a limited blood supply, and as a result, repair and renovation is a slow process. This is a small, remote town, after all.

While the proteoglycans can be replaced completely after 300 to 1,800 days, the collagen network is considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime building process — in fact, it is estimated to only be replaced every 120 years in dogs and every 350 years in humans!

You know how road construction goes. Can you even imagine how long it would take to completely replace a town’s road system? Let’s just say that remodeling a home or building (i.e., the proteoglycans) is enough of a task for the construction workers (i.e., the chondrocytes), who receive limited resources.  

That being said, it is important to understand that cartilage, being a metabolically active tissue, will vary based on its location within the joint and how much of a load that area experiences. The load in different areas is dependent on the type of exercise that the horse does on a regular basis, as well as on that animal’s unique conformation.

Daily “wear and tear” impacts the horse’s joints

When a foal is born, it is believed to be born with “blank” joints. The foal’s bone, cartilage and overall joint makeup will develop based on its activity level, and the foal’s early life will set the animal’s joints up for a lifetime of success (or not).

This is where balancing the exercise cycle comes into play.

Based on this information, we know that exercise is a critical component of equine joint health. On the one hand, exercise builds strength and stimulates blood flow and the “pumping” of synovial fluid in and out of the joint.

Synovial fluid not only acts as lubrication in the joint, but it is also an important communication medium between many pieces of the joint, carrying nutrients into the cartilage and waste out. More movement means more nutrients coming in and waste being removed. Think of exercise as traffic control; it helps keep the one-way street in and out of the remote town working, so that resources can continue to be brought in or traded out.

On the other hand, too much or chronic, repetitive exercise can strain certain areas of the joint, resulting in “wear and tear” of the cartilage, inflammation, damage and, in the worst-case scenario, osteoarthritis.

While some of these effects may be unavoidable, there are certainly preventative measures that can help protect the joints and maximize performance — and nutrition may be one of the least invasive ways to protect horse joints.  

Which joint supplements for horses actually make a difference?

There are many questions about whether joint supplements are useful, and frankly, conducting research that investigates the effects of joint nutraceuticals is challenging, to say the least.

While there is always more research to be done, we can honestly say that the evidence does support the fact that joint supplements provide many benefits — especially if you choose the right ones.

When shopping for a joint supplement for your horse, consider four key nutrients:

1. Glucosamine

Glucosamine is an amino sugar that is a natural component of the horse’s cartilage. Glucosamine is a precursor to building glycosaminoglycans, which, as you know from earlier, are important players in the proteoglycan network.

Glucosamine is like “joint food”; it is believed to help prevent cartilage degradation, inflammation and pain in the joint while also supporting cartilage growth.

2. Chondroitin sulfate

While glucosamine is a precursor to glycosaminoglycans, chondroitin sulfate is an actual glycosaminoglycan, which bolsters the strength and resistance capabilities of the joint. Research has found that using a combination supplement of glucosamine and chondroitin in horses with osteoarthritis improved flexion tests while decreasing joint volume and lameness scores.    

3. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is an organic sulfur compound necessary for the production of connective tissue. Perhaps one of the lesser-understood joint nutrients, research in horses has shown that MSM may help protect the body from free-radical damage due to exercise, and it also appears to play a role in the glutathione pathway, which is an important antioxidant in the body.

4. Hyaluronic acid (HA)

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is most well-known for its lubrication and comfort-inducing properties as a major component of synovial fluid. HA is also found in cartilage and helps aid in absorbing shock. Studies have found that HA plays an important role as a protective and anti-inflammatory agent in the joints, decreasing the breakdown of cartilage and synovial fluid. 

Key points to remember

Performance horses are prone to joint disease as a result of their normal activity. While some of this may be inevitable, especially as the joints’ regenerative ability decreases with age, there are various therapies and technologies that can help promote equine joint health.

First and foremost, asking your horse to perform a variety of different exercises at various intensity levels and on different surfaces can help keep your horse moving and can help balance the load on the horse’s joints, as well as the inflammation cycle associated with training.

Additionally, do not underestimate the power of nutrition. While it is human nature to always seek new information, research offers convincing evidence that high-quality joint supplements can help protect and restore joints throughout a horse’s life.

Alltech’s new Lifeforce Joint supplement was designed to provide all four key joint nutrients in one scoop, helping support and maximize your horse’s joint health and long-term performance.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

Animal health and nutrition company Alltech recently introduced a new line of Lifeforce™ premium equine supplements to the market. Backed by more than 40 years of scientific research and formulated with field-proven technologies, these supplements have been created to meet the needs of modern horses throughout their lives, from performance to recreation.

“Animal nutrition isn’t just our job at Alltech; it really is our passion,” said Tim Karl, director of Alltech’s lifestyle and companion animal business. “We have a team of experienced equestrians and long-time horse owners on staff who truly understand the unique bond people share with their horses. We are genuinely proud to offer advanced nutrition that has been specifically formulated to help keep horses healthy and performing at their best.”

The new line of Lifeforce products offers several targeted supplements, including:

• Joint:
  • Designed to help maintain healthy cartilage and synovial fluid in joints.
  • Balanced formulation contains glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid and MSM.
  • Made with antioxidants to aid in protecting against free-radical damage.
• Digestion:
  • Made with yeast, probiotics and natural enzymes.
  • Supports the ideal balance of beneficial gut bacteria.
  • Alfalfa-based pellet enhances palatability and promotes consumption.
• Calming:
  • Designed to help promote normal equine neural function.
  • Balanced formula includes tryptophan, thiamine and organic magnesium for maximum effect.
  • Palatable pellet promotes consumption.
• Elite Performance:
  • Helps maintain healthy cartilage and synovial fluid in joints.
  • Supports muscle endurance.
  • Optimizes the digestive environment.
  • Made with 100% organic trace minerals to support a healthy stress response.
• Hoof:
  • Designed to enhance skin, coat and hoof quality.
  • Made with yeast cultures and organic zinc to support superior nutrient absorption.
  • Extremely palatable oatmeal- and molasses-based pellet.
• Weight Booster:
  • Contains 50% fat for ideal body condition.
  • Rich in omega-3 fatty acids for improved skin and coat health.
  • Formulated without additional sugars for cool energy.

Lifeforce was developed through decades of research on nutrition’s impact on genetic potential to include the ideal blend of ingredients for optimal health and performance. This unique approach has led to the development of highly effective products that are pure, perfectly modulated and 100% digestible. These supplements are formulated to maximize horse health and performance with less impact on the environment. From production to packaging, steps are being taken to reduce our carbon footprint, including utilizing 50% recycled materials.

For more information, visit www.lifeforcehorse.com.

Alltech has announced the keynote speaker line-up to be featured at the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference (ONE), a virtual event that will be held on May 25–27, 2021. Streaming keynote and on-demand presentations will be released during the global conference and will focus on the power of science, sustainability and storytelling.

Shirzad Chamine, author of the New York Times bestseller "Positive Intelligence," has served as the CEO of the largest coach-training organization in the world and has used his expertise to train the faculty at the business schools at Stanford and Yale. Chamine lectures on the concept of mental fitness at Stanford, where he also works with the university’s student athletes. A preeminent C-suite advisor, Chamine has coached hundreds of CEOs and their executive teams.

A man of many talents, Dewitt Jones is one of America's top professional photographers, as well as a motion-picture director, an author and a former photojournalist for National Geographic. He has also been at the forefront of corporate creative marketing by photographing national advertising campaigns for major brands. Jones is recognized as a world-class lecturer. His knowledge of the creative process, his relaxed and genuine style, and his ability to communicate make his presentations truly outstanding.

Economist, bestselling author, journalist, documentary filmmaker and broadcaster David McWilliams is ranked as one of the top ten most influential economists in the world. He has devoted his entire professional life to the objective of making economics as widely available and easily understandable as possible.

Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, represents the second generation of the global business founded by his father Dr. Pearse Lyons. Based on Alltech’s belief that agriculture has the greatest potential to positively impact the future of the planet, he launched the company’s vision of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™ in 2019.  Alltech is driving science-led sustainability within agriculture and calling for collaboration to improve nutrition, human and animal well-being, and the preservation of natural resources.

“This past year has changed the world, and now, more than ever, we need to come together to share insights, inspiration and innovations,” said Lyons. “The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference connects changemakers for conversations that can shape the future of agri-food and our planet.”

A new keynote presentation will be streamed on the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference virtual platform each day. Registrants who miss the scheduled streaming can access the presentations on demand.

More than 40 on-demand presentations will also be released on May 25. These presentations will uncover the challenges and opportunities in the aqua, beef, business, crop science, dairy, equine, health and wellness, pet, pig, and poultry sectors. The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference virtual platform will also host live workshops and an interactive networking experience.

To learn more about the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference, including how to register, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation across social media with #ONEbigidea.

Carol Cone believes that having a profound purpose that employees buy into is integral for businesses to fulfill their full potential. She discusses her work as the CEO of Carol Cone On Purpose, where she helps build partnerships between companies, brands and social issues for deep business and societal impact.

 Tom:                                   I’m Tom Martin, and joining us for this latest conversation in our purpose-driven business series is Carol Cone, founder of the firm Carol Cone On Purpose.

                                    She is regarded the mother of social purpose, working for 25 years to build partnerships between companies, brands and social issues for deep business and societal impact.

                                    Welcome, Carol.

Carol Cone:              Thank you for having me to the show, and I’m thrilled to be talking about my favorite topic.

Tom:                          Well, let me ask you about that. What is a purpose-driven business? Isn’t the purpose to serve the bottom line, the shareholder? Is there something beyond that?

Carol Cone:              Oh, actually, I’m so glad that you asked that, because it was Milton Friedman, in the late ‘70s, who said, “The purpose of the corporation is just to serve the shareholders.” But that — in a world where we have total transparency, and we have so much choice, and we also recognize that we have climate challenges and social challenges and, you know, economic challenges, that — companies today who are going to win in the marketplace, whether they are B-to-C or B-to-B, they stand for something beyond the bottom line that’s based in humanity.

                                    And simply put, the companies today are recognizing, “What’s our core competency, and how can we take that competency and apply it either (to) society or the environment?” And when they do that, they have a profound purpose, a reason for being, that lights up their employees, their customer relationships, their community relationships, their consumer relationships. It really allows them to fulfill their full potential.

Tom:                          The Unilever CEO, Paul Polman, has said that what people think, say and do should be aligned. And that might be obvious, but is this the essence of a business that has worked to develop and express its purpose?

Carol Cone:              Well, let me first say that I had the joyous opportunity to work with Unilever. I got to meet Paul Polman a number of times. And he actually — in all the thousands of encounters he’s had with people, he sent people my way, so he does recognize that I do have this expertise in purpose.

                                    And (with) this alignment of what the company stands for, you can’t just say, “We stand for it.” You have to act. And so, when he said that people should think, say and do and have this alignment, and when you have a purpose that is beyond making a profit, that’s where you truly, again, ignite your stakeholders — not just shareholders, your stakeholders — to truly perform to, you know, the wildest levels beyond their wildest dreams.

Tom:                          Carol, I wonder: How many of us know whether our company stands for something?

Carol Cone:              It’s a great question. And I believe that — you know, I’m a third-generation entrepreneur. And you know, I always — when I started my company — and you were very kind; you mentioned 25 years. I started my company in 1980. (But) it’s still young, and I didn’t know what I stood for, but about three years into it, I recognized that I wanted — I love branding, I love marketing and I love the social challenges of the day.

                                    I grew up in the ‘60s and the ‘70s, and we had the Vietnam War in our face, and we had the Civil Rights movement, and I just felt that companies could take their assets and make them work harder for society. And so, my purpose, (which) I found when I was very young, was to help elevate the purpose of companies and brands, as well as professionals, students and such.

                                    So, a company must understand what it, you know — (you must) stand for something, because you talk about it as that North Star. Like, “Why are we doing what we’re doing?”

Tom:                          Mm-hmm.

Carol Cone:              And, when you do that, and then you add dimensionality to it, it just becomes this ignition for just performance and possibility.

Tom:                          Well, let’s say that we want to build a purpose-driven organization from the ground up. What building blocks, what kinds of tools do we need to make that happen?

Carol Cone:              Well, it’s important — and usually, if you’re going to build up from the ground up, you’re probably a small company or you found the company — I’ll tell you a great story. It’s a very — it’s fascinating. It’s about a company called Charlotte Pipe.

                                    And Charlotte Pipe makes pipes. They make clay pipes and metal pipes for water and for, you know, basically, mostly water municipalities and for people who have farms and things like that. And you know, you think, “How can a company that makes pipes have a purpose?” But, you know, it was about — it was a family-owned firm (that) decided one day to say, “You know what? We’re going to make the best pipes ever in the world. And not only are we going to make them so that they are just the top-quality and all the parts and bits, you know, they integrate with each other and they perform; we’re going to give great warranties, and we’re also going to have great, great policies for our employees. So, our employees not only get a fair wage, and they get, you know, health benefits and such, but they know, at the end of the day, that they can stand behind (us) no matter where they are in the process of making these pipes, because we’re going to make the best pipes in the world.”

And so, sometimes, your purpose can be something as simple as just terrific quality, and then, making sure that your employees — because employees are the number-one stakeholder to support and to build companies that truly over-perform.

So they just did that, and they had these great values, and they live the values, they live their integrity daily, and it was an amazing company, and they made pipes. You know, that’s a lot different than when we think about Unilever, Unilever and Dove.

You know, Dove was basically soap. It was a white bar of soap. It really didn’t have many attributes that differentiated it. But one day, some of the marketers at Dove, they made a major piece of research around the globe. And, they have like, oh, I don’t know, hundreds and hundreds of pages from this research, and they were asking about women and beauty and how they (use) soap, about themselves, (and there) was this one little, little, teeny, tiny fact, and the fact was that it was something like only 4% of women worldwide feel beautiful. And so, some really, really smart person at Unilever said, “You know what? We’re going to take that fact — because we’re selling to women, right? And we want women to feel good.” And they started the campaign for Real Beauty, and it’s been around now for over, oh, like, 15 or 18 years now. And they supported all sorts of ways, in a realistic way, to help women feel confident and good about their selves, and that beauty was on the inside; it wasn’t just on the outside.

And that became one of the first purpose-driven brands at Unilever. And now, Unilever is certainly the gold-standard company that anybody will study to truly understand (purpose-driven businesses). They have brands that have super-human powers, and they have brands that have — that take on qualities that might be one step remote, but their purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace. And they touch 2.5 billion — with a “b” — people a day with their products, whether it’s Knorr soups or whether it’s Dirt Is Good laundry detergent or whether it’s Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or whether it’s Lifebuoy soap.

And each one of those brands — they have about 30 brands that are now purposeful, (and) those brands grow about 70% faster than their non-purpose brands, and they return over 75% of the profit to the company, because they stand for something more than just features and benefits.

Tom:                          I’m guessing that it takes a lot of thought, discussion and debate to work through this process, and there may be some impatience involved in the meantime.

Carol Cone:              Absolutely. Yeah.

Tom:                          How much time, reasonably, should we give ourselves to allow for the development of a clear statement of purpose?

Carol Cone:              Well, first of all, I love that you said “debate,” because a purpose is only as good if it’s authentic to the organization, its values and the people within that organization.

                                    So, we’ve had — we’ve worked with companies to develop their purpose, and we’ve also helped companies evolve their purpose, so we can study them. And it takes anywhere from — to do it well — six months to years. It could be couple of years.            

                                    And what’s really important — because you asked about, like, “What building blocks and tools do you need?” You need to ask some really good questions, and it needs to be not just the C-suite — not just the CEO, the CMO, the chief human resources person, the CFO, etc. It also needs the guy and the gal on the factory floor. And it’s harder to get them, because they may not have computers. 

                                    But, you know, we have worked with a company that has 47,000 people around the globe; they have over 100 different locations. And we did everything, from — we did phone interviews with their entire leadership team around the globe (for) an hour each, and that was 200 (people). So, that was a lot (of) time. But I will tell you, I had set — that company was so authentic, and it had such ethos and soul. I only had — out of a few hundred, because I did most of those calls, I only had five (dodge), five that were really boring.

                                    Now, in addition to that, we went around the globe, and we travelled to eight different locations, from China to Malaysia to Costa Rica and Brazil and the United States and Ireland and such, and we did workshops and focus groups. And so, we have, like, the, you know, the leadership interviews; we had the focus groups. And the focus groups have people from the factory floor.

So, we got conversations going about, you know, “What do we stand for? What’s our core expertise? What’s it like when, on a daily basis, when we’re at our best? What are some of the challenges that (manifest) when we don’t do well? Who do we admire, maybe in our industry or outside of our industry, who truly knows what they stand for and has fabulous cultures and really accelerated sales but who, also, is helping the local community, or who’s got great environmental programs?”

So, there’s more questions than that, but those are some of the core questions you ask. And then you need to debate, and then you need to say, you know, “How, let’s say, boldly, (do) we want to take on the world with our purpose?” Then, we want to take on something that’s more conservative. That’s another part of the tools that we utilize.

We have a process that I developed probably about 25 years ago that, you know, it’s no longer guessing; there’s truly a way that you can be a guide. And so, anybody who’s listening, there are ways to follow so that you’re not just guessing, because you don’t want to guess at this. It’s too important.

Tom:                          I visited your blog, Carol, and I saw that you’ve written that authentic purpose equals thoughtful, real and sustained actions that impact the business internally and externally, while also having that positive impact on society that you talked about earlier. Does this boil down to nurturing a culture of transparency, accountability, honesty and integrity, those kinds of things?

Carol Cone:              Well, when we talk authentic purpose — we did a piece of research. I’ve done about 30 pieces of research over the last 30 years, because I, when I started doing this work, I made the joke that I could have had a conversation about purpose at a table for four or six. And American Express was doing this work early on where they had a promotion where, if you use the American Express card, they would donate a penny or two to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. And that was kind of the first big “cause program.”

So, in the early days, no one was talking about this. Today, because of the internet, because anybody can check off the reputation of the company — you know, what are the customers saying? What are people, you know — why are they getting three stars or zero stars? Do they, you know, like, do they stand behind their products and services?

                                    So, I — this last summer, I got really, really angry, because there was a lot of, can I say, “purpose washing,” “green washing,” “pink washing.” And part of that also came from this research that we did called the B-to-B Purpose Paradox, and it’s on our website, (at) Carol Cone On Purpose. And we asked businesses in the B-to-B realm — they were financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, etc. — and we said, “Do you have a purpose?” And 86% said, “Yes. We have a purpose. We know what we stand for.”

                                    I was like, “What? There’s no way, because B-to-B world trails B-to-C world.” But when we asked deeper questions and peeled back the onion and we asked, “Do you activate — do you have an authentic purpose that you bring into your employees and your innovation and your operations?” Only 24% truly had activated it.

                                    So, getting back to this essay that I wrote last year about authentic purpose, it does boil down to walking the talk, living your values, integrating why you exist. Like, if you’re going to be Unilever and make sustainable living commonplace, what are your sustainability practices internally? What are your sustainability practices with your supply chain? How do you treat the farmers in Madagascar who are harvesting vanilla beans? You know, do you — is there a fair wage, etc.?

                                    So, you need to walk the talk, and yes, you need a culture that is transparent, that has high integrity, and that there’s honesty. And you know what? You’re not going to be perfect. That’s the other thing I really want to share with anybody listening who’s on a purpose journey. It is a journey. You know, Unilever had — they had a wonderful Dove campaign for Real Beauty, but they also had some missteps with Dove, some big, bad missteps. And — but you know what? Most of the time, their integrity is there, so a consumer or even an employee gives them the benefit of the doubt.

Tom:                          I’m going to dig further into that in just a few minutes. But I want to ask you, first: Has this coronavirus pandemic served to underscore the value and even, maybe, the necessity of engaging in those thoughtful, real and sustained actions that you were talking about?

Carol Cone:              Well, first of all, companies — the first thing that companies had to do during COVID is that they had to address the safety of their employees. And thank God that most companies did. Even if they didn’t have the world’s deepest purpose or greatest community relationships, they recognized that they had to, if they let people work from home — and you saw companies with 50,000, 100,000 employees pivot, almost, on a dime to let people work from home. The greater challenges were companies that had to keep people in their plants, and they had to manufacture and, you know, could they get PPE, and could they socially distance and such.

                                    So, COVID accelerated companies that were values-driven. And, I would say it also accelerated decision-making, which was really, really, really interesting because, you know, companies, per se, the larger they get, the slower they get in decision-making; they get more people involved, (and) they get very conservative. And COVID really pushed companies forward quickly.

                                    So, for example, you had AB InBev that, you know, all of a sudden, they took their manufacturing from beer, and they were making hand sanitizer. Same thing with P&G. They had over 200 different NGOs around the globe they are working with, and they immediately pivoted to help them not only survive but then make, again, PPE, hand sanitizer, things like that.

                                    So, COVID has really brought to the fore (the question), “Why does a business exist?” And companies that truly, truly rose to the occasion and helped their employees and then helped the community and then started helping small businesses survive and really, you know, helped all of us, you know, with mental health problems, or donating a lot of food — I mean, you know, there are so many families going hungry, and then (there were) tons and tons and tons of food drops and such.

COVID did, I believe, show the humanity of companies. And I don’t think that companies can go backwards once they’ve done that, and I think the smartest companies will build on that.

Tom:                          Yeah. We thought we knew what a game-changer was before COVID, didn’t we?

Carol Cone:              Right.

Tom:                          So, Carol, in those discussions and the debate that we talked about earlier, is it ever asked, “How do we address the needs of our customers, quality-wise and price-wise, while also remaining nimble enough,” in this ever-changing world that you just talked about, “to sustain our relevance?”

Carol Cone:              I use the word “innovation” because for a company’s customers to be at the top of their game, to have quality — and if you think about Alltech in the ingredients, what — Alltech is research-based, and it’s constantly looking at what are the elements in its products that will help to create natural, appropriate, faster growth of, whether it’s poultry or whether it’s beef or such, in a way that is nutrient-dense that, again, is natural.

And so, that company must focus on innovation. And you’re seeing, today, that purpose-led companies have incubators, that they’re funding innovation incubators. And again, you can go to — I know the Mars company has one. I know that AB InBev, I know that Unilever, P&G, the big — General Mills — the big companies have these incubators on the side, because they’re really looking for that next new idea to keep them relevant and to benefit their customers.

Tom:                          You referenced, earlier, the C-suite and bringing folks from the factory floor into the conversation. And so, I’m wondering: In terms of employee engagement, why is purpose important to everybody, from top to bottom?

Carol Cone:              You know, I would like to say (that it’s) what gets you up in the morning to go to work. Do you get up in the morning (because) “I’m going to make money for XYZ CEO”? Or, you know, do you get up in the morning because you’re going to make the best darn leather boots that anybody’s ever made, and those leather boots are going to be, you know — they’re made of all-natural ingredients, per se, and they give you tremendous support, and they allow you — they don’t have a thread that marks the path, so you’re going to leave no thread behind?

Now, of course, I’m making this up, per se. But the point is (that) having this greater reason for being just allows an individual at any level to — and it’s really funny, when you talk to CFOs, and I’ve seen CFOs that love the purpose of their company. They are just lit, and it’s really, really funny, in addition to the person on the factory floor. And so, it just gives you that energy and that North Star. You’re looking up to the stars to say, “I’m doing something to better my neighborhood, my community, my city, my country or the world.”

And so, to be inside of a purpose driven company — I’ll give you, I’ll give you another great example that’s one of my proudest moments, that, early on, I worked with the company called the Rockport Shoe Company. And their CEO, he came to me and he said, “I really want to build my company on something different.” He didn’t have a lot of money, but he had these really, really unique shoes, and they (had) Nike inners. So, they have, like, these athletic inners, but they had street shoe outers. And nobody has ever done that before. And so, they were ahead of their time; they’re a little bulky-looking, but, you know, for a year — it took me a year to find some gem, some reasons that these shoes were just more than shoes. And the CEO gave me a little clue.

                                    We would go to the trade shows and would have these beautiful pictures of people walking in his shoes, walking in a field, walking down the city street, walking in the neighborhood. And he didn’t, say, want to become the walking shoe company, but he did have these pictures. And so, one day, I realized — I did some research, and I realized (that) there’s no walking shoes for fitness and for health.

And so, long story short, we had a fellow who walked around the country. He talked to kids. He said, “Eat properly, don’t smoke, and walk.” He walked 11,208 miles in every state. We then flew him back to Massachusetts, to the University of Massachusetts. They had a health and fitness facility to study his health, because he was going to be the world’s first (and) longest walking experiment. And when he finished, not only was he wicked healthier, but we had a book, we had a movie, and we had a lot of data that said walking for health and fitness was really good for you.

                                    And we continue to create a walking institute and walking tests and all sorts of walking information. Rockport renamed itself “the walking shoe company.” Walking became the nation’s newest fitness activity. It became a billion-dollar category at retail, and Rockport grew eight times (its size) in four years. They were wildly successful, and then Reebok bought them.

                                    But it was giving — and I’ll tell you, they had this thing about (their company) feeling really different. One day, I was out in the loading dock area, and I happen to, like, listen in to a guy that was taking boxes off of a UPS truck. And the UPS truck (driver) asked this employee — this was, like, a guy that was like, you know, 24 years old — “What’s this company, Rockport? What do you do here?” And this young man, he stopped, he just kind puffed off, and he said, “I work for Rockport. We’re the walking shoe company.”

                                    And, you know, the company not only made walking shoes, but they gave their employees a free pair of shoes; they gave them a walking book, (and) they gave them time to walk during the day. And it just gave that young man and, then, the entire company a reason for being, far beyond just selling a shoe. And it just made me — and that was, that was kicking off my purpose career.

And then, we did Reebok and human rights and Avon and breast cancer and PNC Financial Services and early childhood education, and we reinvented the Aflac duck. You know, the big Aflac duck that says, “Aflac!”

Well, (they) donated $125 million to pediatric cancer and — but the two did not meet. But we knew the kids who went through pediatric cancer had a thousand days of treatments. They were lonely, and they were sick, and they were scared. And so, we invented a social robot that helped those children. It was a companion for children that they could interact with, and they could put emoji cards on it, and the duck would quack with their feelings. So, those kids wouldn’t be alone. And Aflac was reborn in terms of its purpose and its engagement with society. And it helped also grow their sales tens of millions of dollars, because they created something called My Special Aflac Duck, a social work that help kids going through a really hard time with cancer.

So, purpose. And when you find that purpose — and it’s just an extraordinary accelerant to alignment between all your stakeholders and, then, growth.

Tom:                          Let’s stay in the C-suite for just a moment, and if you would, describe for us the traits of that successful leadership team that’s authentic and credible in the way that it models purpose in an organization and creates what you were just talking about: employee buy-in.

Carol Cone:              And you know, I’m going to say that — how do they model it? Because a company that has a purpose must walk the talk.

                                    So, people. If you’re going to sell to a diverse consumer base, you need to have diversity of people working to get better ideas, to get better energy. So, it’s walking the talk, so that when you talk about your value of being innovative or listening to everyone’s ideas, you need to activate them, and you need to model the behaviors, day in and day out. And it’s coaching. It’s mentoring. It’s innovating. And it’s also taking what you stand for down to your supply chain.

So, it could be such as what Alltech does. You know, they have this amazing commitment to Haiti, to the poorest of the poor in Haiti, where they’re sourcing coffee. Because they want to help, you know, individuals, farmers, the coffee farmers, have a better life. And then, they go sell that at retail, and they put the money back into it. It’s cause-related marketing and such.

                                    But they’re these virtuous circles that companies are recognizing that they have to be. And today, especially with the millennials and Gen Z, (they know) that there’s a choice about where you work, and people don’t want to park their values at the door. They want to work for a values-based company that’s not only going to help with their training but also, at the end of the day, when you leave the office or you go home to your family or to, like, you know, the local fact or game or something, you talk about — like, I remember, again, going back to Rockport, (and people would be proud to say), “I work at Rockport. I work at the walking shoe company.” And in it, there’s a pride. You can’t put a dollar amount on that pride.

And companies today, it is now becoming — it used to be just the early adopters, the Ben & Jerry’s and the Body Shops and such, (but) it is now the mainstream that companies recognize that they want to attract the best and brightest.

And the best — I’ll give you another example: Tata Consultancy Services. They’re the world’s largest information technology company. They have more than 50,000 employees. They’re based in India, but they’re all over the world. They are larger than Accenture and IBM. And when they bring in employees, they spend three months going through training and learning about the culture. And then, their first customer — it’s a not-for-profit, and so, they allow their new employees to really feel their integrity and their values and action. It’s extraordinary. And their turning rate is barely anything. Their retention is 87–89%.

Tom:                          Wow!

Carol Cone:              (That’s) unheard of in companies. It’s because they live their values from the very (start), from recruiting to retention, from the highest senior level to the factory. Well, they don’t really have factories, because they are software.

Tom:                          Well, Carol, I made a mental note to return to something that you brought up earlier in our conversation and, also, going back to your blog.

                                    You note there that there’s recent research that finds that 65% of consumers want businesses to take a stand on issues that are important to them, and that rate goes up to 74% among 18-to-39-year-olds. How does a policy of purpose inform how an organization responds to these forces, what it stands for, and does this include making clear what it opposes?

Carol Cone:              This is a — okay, so activism and advocacy is very hard for companies today. It’s really hard, because no matter what side you’re going to pick, you’re always going to have your detractors. So, what — the first thing we say to any of our clients is, “Don’t just jump in” — that you need to look at, “What do you stand for at the core?” And then, you need to decide whether you’re going to be bold and you’re going to stick your neck out, as Nike did with Colin Kaepernick.

                                    But, you know, I knew, when Nike did that — Nike is a “bad boy” company. Now, there are also about one of these days too. But, you know, that, doing what they did with Colin Kaepernick — you know, everybody said, “Oh, they’re losing all this money and their stock price,” etc., etc. Yeah, their stock price took a hit, but then it went, then it went right back up, through the roof, because they walk their talk; they live on their values. And, you know, they’re not perfect; (they’ve) had a lot of issues with women, and now, they’re trying to be much more equitable with women.

                                    But a company has got to look at its core, and it is, it’s a tough decision to make. It truly is, in terms (of) standing out. And I think DE&I — diversity, equity and inclusion — that’s where, you know, companies today, they know they have to act, but they also have to understand. They have to start with their policies internally. And do they have equitable pay? Do they have equitable advancement, you know? And they have to start there, and a lot of companies just are looking at, you know, the terms or the words they use and the way that they advance people, (but) they’ve got to start, really, at home.

                                    So, corporate activism, regarding (that), you know, you’ve got to be really, really careful, and there’s no one roadmap to follow. You know, you also want to look at: do you want to be left behind? So, again, there’s no easy answer to this, but you certainly need to look at your history and how you’ve acted and what your internal policies are before you take a stand at all.

Tom:                          But is any success in recruiting the best new generation of talent going to depend on a company’s willingness to respond to these social, political and environmental dynamics?

Carol Cone:              Well, I think we have to — you don’t have to respond to them all, because if you respond to all things, you will stand for nothing. That’s the first thing.

                                    Climate and the environment, I think it’s fairly indisputable that you’ve got companies today, and their ESG — their environmental, their social and their governance approaches — that, environmentally, they have to cut their carbon footprint. They have to be more environmentally, you know, sensitive. And there’s lots of innovation that comes out of that, which is great.

                                    And we are turning to an electric economy, which is exciting. And, you know, I’m going to give a shout-out to Mary Barra assigned with this podcast, this interview. But Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, they are going to stop making combustion engines by 2035. They’re not going to make them anymore for regular cars and light-duty vehicles — like, oh, my God, they are going to go all-electric. That’s so exciting.

                                    So, you know, I think that companies, they have (questions about) DE&I, (and) you’re going to have to respond. But how will you respond? And the level and the goals that, the goals that you set and how you measure and report back, you know, that’s (just) as important. You don’t have to go from zero to 60 instantly, but you need to make steady progress. The level of your boldness depends on, again, your culture.

                                    I also think that there’s going to be — a lot of my colleagues who are in the C-suite, and they say that there’s going to be this next generation of leadership, the next gen, the Mary Barras, who’s very (much) on the cutting edge. You know, she started out as an engineer at General Motors, you know, (and now she’s) a woman running a car company. How — my God! And she’s fabulous, and she’s really, really great. And Indra Nooyi, who ran Pepsi-Co, and she really helped them. You know, she had a philosophy (of) performance with purpose, and that, you know, (she) decided to make better-for-you drinks and (add) less sugar and salt in the snacks and things like that. And they’re on a wonderful journey too.

                                    So, there’s going to be a new generation of leadership that recognizes that you cannot be successful in a society that’s unhealthy. And so, you will see dramatic changes happening again and again and again.

Tom:                          The Unilever chief, Paul Polman, has said that leaders need to have the courage to show that they’re vulnerable, that they’re willing to ask for help, which would seem to counter the historical notion of leadership, where just the opposite has been expected.

                                    Has the world become more receptive to a more down-to-earth, more accessible servant-leadership style?

Carol Cone:              I love that you talk about servant leadership, because in the earliest days when I started doing this work, there was a guy named Jack Stack. And if anybody knows (or) reads his book, it was about (being an) open book with management and leadership. And it was pretty much about servant leadership.

                                    And there’s a company that I have (on) one of my podcasts called Lineage Logistics. And nobody knows them; they’re about a $3-billion B-to-B. They are cold-storage refrigeration warehouses. And they handle, from field to store, about one-third of the food in the United States and about one-tenth of the food around the globe.

                                    And their leader knew that, you know, “I’ve got people in heavy coats in cold-storage facilities that are wearing boots, and this is not glamorous.” But he recognized that he needed to have a purpose, and their purpose is, basically — the shorthand is to feed the world. It’s also to stop food waste, but to feed the world. And he’s applying — it’s really interesting, when you talk to him, because he is applying, he wants to be the greatest technological cold-storage facility, you know, around the globe. And they have all sorts of innovations, but he treats his employees — he’s got a great CHRL.

                                    And I interviewed him on my show and talked about servant leadership and talked about — if you think about your traditional pyramid, you’ve got the C-suite at the top, and you’ve got all the, you know, the worker bees at the bottom. Servant leadership flips that. It has the workers at the top and it has the C-suite at the bottom. And that’s what Lineage does. They are there to serve their employees, to give them great benefits, to give them opportunities to grow, to give them an understanding that they are helping to feed the world. And, actually, during COVID, what they did — they did this wonderful thing about collaborating with all of their customers. And they created this goal to feed a hundred million meals to people during COVID through Feeding America.

Tom:                          Wow!

Carol Cone:              And, you know — and again, they’re cold storage of food that, you know — they’ve got all these, you know, like, forklifts that are driving around. It is not glamorous, but their people feel (like), “My God, I get up in the morning because I am, I am helping with food waste, and I’m feeding the world.” And, Greg Lehmkuhl, who’s the CEO, he gets that, that their purpose is at their core, (that) it’s the soul of their company, and that he is there to serve him employees.

                                    So, you are spot-on. And I love that Paul Polman, you know, he’s gone on from Unilever, and he’s doing wonderful, really collaborative work with big industry groups. Like, I think that’s he’s got, like, I don’t know, 25 companies in apparel, and they’re trying to totally reinvent the apparel industry — dyes and things like that.

                                    And courage is really important. You’ve got to have courage to do this. But, when you do it, this is how you reinvent: it’s called stakeholder-based capitalism. And it’s truly, you know, taking Milton Friedman and turning him on his head — (it’s) saying it’s not about “when you do all these other things right to your stakeholders, then you make the profits, and then you serve your shareholders,” but you serve all your other constituents.

Tom:                          It sounds like it’s a matter of being comfortable in your own skin and developing a really powerful sense of confidence.

Carol Cone:              It is a powerful sense of confidence. And then, you also need to — the other thing (is) that you can’t go for the short term. So, one of the things that Paul Polman did is that he said, you know, he’s not going to report quarterly earnings, which was shocking. And he basically said, “If you don’t like my — if you don’t like the way I’m reporting, then don’t buy my stock.”

                                    And it’s hard for companies who are public who, you know, you have to give guidance, you have to report quarterly. But this is a game, a purpose game, and the stakeholder-based capitalist approach and strategy — it’s not a “game” game, but I’m using that as, you know, a euphemism — is that you got to have a long view, because innovations — you’ve got to bring the, you know, how you’re going to serve the climate and society. You’ve got to take a longer view. You just can’t — you know, (with) purpose, you can’t flip a switch on purpose. You can’t turn it on and off.

Tom:                          Going back to something else that you raised earlier in our conversation, Carol — and apologies for this cliché — but they say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Do you think it’s possible for a purpose-driven organization to influence the cultures and the behaviors and achieve alignment among the companies within its supply chain?

Carol Cone:              Well, you know who did that incredibly well? Oh boy, you know, take a page from the book of Walmart.

I mean, Walmart decided — and I was at one of these meetings, at, I think, it was business with social responsibility. And they said — and Walmart is doing this in a number of ways. They are saying that you have to report on your environmental footprint, per se, and you’re going to get, you know — there are all there reports you have to do, and based on how you come out, you will get, uh, your position on the shelf. And everybody wants that, you know — “I’d love a position,” etc., etc., etc.

                                    That was a game-changer. That was a game-changer. And so, you’ve got these, we call them, market makers. You’ve got these big organizations who say — like General Motors — “We’re not” — you know, it’s their own product, but “we are not going to sell combustion engines.” Well, think how the downstream is on that. Think about, “Oh, God, we’re going to have to have all these charging stations. We’re going to have to have all these new battery companies.” That’s cool, but think about the other stuff that’s going to be antiquated.

But there’s amazing things that are happening, where companies are really utilizing their — you know, Starbucks. And Starbucks changed the entire coffee farmer industry by, you know, determining that they were going to pay them a fair wage. And then, they communicated the heck out it. Starbucks is my favorite company (in terms of their) views of their employees. Their employees are their number-one stakeholder — one, two, three, four and five. (They’re) just brilliant, brilliant things they do.

Tom:                          When it starts at the top of the chain, at Walmart or Amazon or wherever, does it — do you see it rippling through the supply chain and influencing the policies of those companies that are within the chain?

Carol Cone:              Well, I don’t know about the policy. I think, certainly, it influences the products. And if — indeed, companies that wanted to sell at Walmart, they had to report on their carbon footprint. So, of course, it changed the policies, or they couldn’t sell there, or they got bad position on the shelf.

Tom:                          Back to the pandemic. This has been an overwhelming thing in our lives for more than a year now, and we’re really not out of the woods yet. And some are now saying — in fact, the New York Times has proclaimed on its front page — that remote work is here to stay. So, I’m just wondering: What kinds of challenges does this present to purpose-driven organizations?

Carol Cone:              I think it’s a tremendous opportunity, because (it’s about) standing for something besides just making widgets or being on a Zoom call all day.

For example, there’s virtual volunteering. And a major piece of research just came out of CECP, which (is the) Chief Executive for Corporate Purpose, called Value Volunteering. It’s going to be one of my podcasts; it’s going to air in about a month. And basically, volunteering is helping individuals stay connected to the company, even if it’s just, you know, on a Zoom screen, or we’ll eventually be able to do volunteering in our communities with, you know, with masks and then, ultimately, you know, without masks, in micro volunteering and large volunteering.

                                    So, purpose is going to be that golden thread that ties people to the company, I think, (and it) is more important than ever.

Tom:                          Carol, final question for you: What sort of world exists in the future in which purpose-driven businesses become the norm?

Carol Cone:              Hopefully, it’s not nirvana. Hopefully, it’s not a dream. Because companies will have their — they will be more efficient; they will more human; they will be more environmentally sensitive. They will make wicked-cool innovations that are going to be, you know, responding to social issues and environmental issues. And we will have greater solutions to the problems that confront us on a daily basis. And work will be more joyous. That is for sure.

Tom:                          So, do you think there’s a good chance we could be happier people?

Carol Cone:              I think we will be more fulfilled. I don’t think we’re going to be happy all the time, but I think that being satisfied and having greater fulfillment, I think that that’s going to be a great result from having a lot more purpose in all of our companies, both big and small, B-to-B, B-to-C, local, national and global.

Tom:                          I’ll take it. Carol Cone, founder of the consultancy, Carol Cone ON PURPOSE. Thank you so much, Carol. We appreciate your time.

Carol Cone:              I, it was joyful, it was great. And thank you so much.

Tom:                          I’m Tom Martin, and thank you for listening.

The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference (ONE) will launch virtually on May 25–27, 2021, and will feature tracks that will uncover the challenges and opportunities in the aqua, beef, crop science, dairy, equine, health and wellness, pet, pig, and poultry sectors. Now in its 37th year, Alltech’s global agri-food conference continues to be an invaluable resource, uniting thought-leaders and changemakers in an exploration of the power of science, sustainability and storytelling. More than 40 topics* are slated for discussion at ONE, including:    

Aqua

• Can Sustainability Remain Aquaculture’s Unfair Advantage?
• Feeding Your Future: The Changing Face of Aqua Feed
• From Sea to Land: The Evolution of Aquaculture
• Pick Your Protein: How the Pandemic Shifted Shopping Habits
• The Great Global Fish and Shrimp Cook-Off

Beef

•  Better Beef, Healthier Planet
• High-Steaks Investments: Capitalizing on Beef
• The Meat You Eat: The Nutritional Realities of Beef

Crop Science

• Carbonomics: The Economy Beneath Our Feet
• Empowering Growers Through Pest Prevention
• Natural Solutions, Unparalleled Protection
• Selenium: Agriculture’s Secret Weapon
• Tiny Microbes, Big Impact

Dairy

• From Late Gestation to Early Lactation: Managing Transitional Periods
• Happy Cows, Happy Farmers: Animal Welfare and Sustainability
• Higher Milk Production, Lower Carbon Hoofprint
• Opportunities for the Global Milk Trade
• Overcoming the Impact of Activists

Equine

• Equine Trace Mineral Research: The Advantages of Going Organic
• Equine Welfare: Hope for Horses Without Humans
• Going Green: Sustainable Equine Management
• In the Running: The Trends Dominating Equestrian Sport
• Making Aging a Breeze: Strategies for Feeding Your Senior Horse
• Photo Finish: Marketing to Equine Consumers

Health and Wellness

• Gut Reaction: Feeding a Healthy Microbiome
• Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices: The Invisible Influences That Guide Our Thinking

Pet

• Brain Power: Supporting Cognitive Function in Pets
• Dog Days Are Over: Beating the Post-Pandemic Pet Blues
• Minimizing the Environmental Pawprint of Your Brand
• What’s in Store for the Future of Brick-and-Mortar Retail?

Pig

• Better Nutrition, Safer Swine
• High-Rise Pigsties: The Future of Swine Production
• Litters With Longevity: Optimizing Piglet Nutrition
• Smarter Barns, Healthier Pigs
• Leaving a Legacy: Ensuring Lasting Success for the Family Business

Poultry

• A New Way to Sell Chicken
• Future of the Flock: Sustainability in the Poultry Business
• Planet of Plenty: Poultry Partner Spotlight
• The World of Poultry

*Topics are subject to change.

The ONE virtual platform will provide access to on-demand tracks, streaming keynote presentations and live Q&A chats with select speakers. New this year, it will also offer an interactive networking experience, allowing attendees to connect with their peers from around the world. 

Registration for the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference is now open at one.alltech.com. Join the conversation across social media with #ONEbigidea.