VICTOR Pet Food is looking beyond trendy diets to deliver targeted science-based nutrition. Michael Keith, senior vice president of nutrition and supply chain at Mid America Pet Food, joins the Ag Future podcast to discuss the role pet food plays in the health and happiness of our pets, the importance of gut health and his history with Alltech.

The following is an edited transcript of the Ag Future podcast episode with Michael Keith hosted by Tom Martin. Click below to hear the full audio or listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Tom Martin:            We’re joined by Michael Keith, senior vice president of nutrition and supply chain at Mid America Pet Food.

                                 Michael is one of sixteen pet food industry professionals holding a professional animal scientist certification in companion animals from the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists.

                                 His true passion is animal nutrition. And over the last twenty years, he has held numerous positions in the field, working for both manufacturers and industry suppliers.

                                 During his tenure at Mid America Pet Food, the company has seen record growth, launched two new brands into the market, and their VICTOR brand continues to be one of the fastest-growing brands in the pet specialty segment.

                                 Michael, welcome to Ag Future.

Michael Keith:          Great. Thanks for having me.

Tom Martin:            So, we’re going to talk about VICTOR’s science-based approach to pet nutrition in just a moment. But, first, let’s give our listeners a bit of background for context.

                                 Briefly, if you could, tell us about your own personal experience with livestock.

Michael Keith:          Absolutely. I’m a West Texas farm boy, is how most people term me. But I grew up in the small town of Carbon, Texas, which is just kind of east of the Abilene, Texas, area. And I grew up on a farm and ranch, and (we grew and raised) peanuts and beef cattle, and (I was) just kind of submersed in this the whole rural farm town life.

And as we grew up in that, basically, (my) parents one day just said, “Hey, we’ll support you on anything, but peanuts and cattle (is what we do) — (you) need to go to school.” And so, obviously, (the) animal nutrition field was very close to what I grew up (with) and what I would call my childhood interest and passion. And I went to school for that bachelor’s, master’s degree and then got out into the industry, started working my way to the industry.

So, I’ve been involved in the livestock nutrition field, as both on the manufacturer side and on the supplier side, for a little over twenty years now. And truly, I call this industry home. At the end of the day, it’s a very small industry but a very tight-knit community.

Tom Martin:             How did your path lead you to Alltech? And if you would, briefly give us a bit of (your) history with Alltech.

Michael Keith:          Absolutely. Alltech is a very well-known company in the — on the supplier side of the livestock nutrition field. And so, as I’ve done dairy nutrition and equine nutrition and worked with several different companies, Alltech has historically been a valued supplier.

                                And then, at one point in my career, I was actually a competitor to Alltech. And then, as I’ve come back full-circle in the industry on the customer side, (the) manufacturing side, (I’m) once again a customer.

And so, I’ve kind of partnered with Alltech and been around Alltech in many different facets of the customer-competitor (side) in the industry. But then, at the end of the day, it’s all about the respect for the product, respect for the science behind the products, and what drives the innovation, from their standpoint. So, we’re proud to use Alltech products and be supported by them in the companion animal industry.

Tom Martin:             And your current role with Mid America Pet Food?

Michael Keith:          I am senior vice president of supply chain and nutrition. And so, I tend to all of our formulations, all of our product development, and then, I oversee several other departments within our company, such as shipping, (the) logistics team, customer service and procurement.

Tom Martin:             Okay. Let’s look at some product lines. If you could, what trends in pet nutrition marketing is VICTOR’s VPRO Blend looking to counter?

Michael Keith:          So, VICTOR takes the science-based approach to delivering nutrition; we don’t follow trends or fads. And the VPRO is basically our way of branding that science-based nutrition.

VPRO is included in every bag of the VICTOR kibble (for) dog and cat. At a scientific level — and we have plenty of research that breaks down the benefits, but not everyone has time to really dig that deep and review how it appears in the ingredient deck. And so, with that, we use the VPRO terminology and VPRO insignia just to convey that scientific approach, because we truly believe every ingredient has a purpose, and we want all of our nutrition to be firmly rooted in science.

Tom Martin:             All right. Let’s take a look at that information deck for a moment, if we could, and just ask you what VPRO Blend does for our dogs and cats.

Michael Keith:          VPRO is a big part of how we deliver on our mission that’s included in all of our formulas, allowing us to deliver a quality product at a scientific level that works with the animal and allows the pet parents to see a difference in the animals.

                                So, the VPRO Blend itself is a combination of selenium yeast, mineral complexes, prebiotics, probiotics. And so, these are all health benefits — they provide health benefits to the animals, whether that’s skin and coat or we’re looking at cellular regeneration or promoting a strong immune system and just promoting digestive health. (There are) different types of health parameters we’re looking for, and obviously, all of these are backed with scientific research trials.

Tom Martin:            Do you offer a feed that’s formulated specifically for sporting dogs? And if you do, what makes it different from the other foods in the VICTOR product line?

Michael Keith:          We do. There is, I would say, the basic level of VICTOR. And then, most recently, we launched the VICTOR Realtree sub line, which is specifically formulated for those sporting dogs.

                                Right now, we have two formulas in that sub line: that’s our Realtree Max-5 Pro and our Energy Edge. And these two products are just more calories and they’re more completely formulated for sporting dogs.

                                 And when we say that, it’s the level of increased nutrients, and then it’s also some of the common additives for high-intensity-use sporting dogs. So, we have supplemental glucosamine chondroitin and — for both, for those formulas. And we just take some of our better products, and then, if we can fine-tune them for just specifically for sporting dogs, that’s what we’ve done by adding some of these other key ingredients to it as well.

Tom Martin:            I was online reading about the product and thought this was really interesting: the timing, and why timing is important in feeding hunting or sporting dogs.

Michael Keith:          Absolutely. That’s — a lot of people don’t think about this, but when we talk about sporting dogs, timing is very critical when it comes to feeding. And it — the easiest way to relate it to, at the end, of (the) customer is to think about it from the human perspective. And as a human, if we were an athlete — or some of us have children that are athletes — and what we don’t want to do is have our athletes trying to perform on a full stomach.

                                And so, if we have a sporting dog — and just a good example would be fall hunting season for, say, ducks — if we’ve got dogs or dogs that we’re going to be asking to perform in the morning hours, typically, we would want to feed them at night. That gives us about 12 hours, just (for) the typical digestion time frame.

                                And so, if we feed them a good meal at night, they’ll digest that all night, they’ll have all those nutrients absorbed to be able to expand in the field, and then, also, they’ll be working on an empty stomach. And so, if you’ve ever tried to run and do a lot of physical activity on a full stomach, it can cause digestive upset; therefore, you don’t have your peak performance.

                                So, (the) timing of feeding regarding sporting dogs is super critical. And then, obviously, we want them to have a cool-down period and then be able to feed them again.

                                So, not to say it has to be limited to once a day, but we certainly want to feed the athletes at least 12 hours before their performance period, whether that’s a set performance time at some sort of dog show or training trials or if that’s in the field, on a hunting basis.

Tom Martin:            Okay. Let’s say I’m in the store and dog food is on my shopping list. What should I be looking for in a dog food brand where safety and standards are concerned?

Michael Keith:         That’s tough to recognize in the store, because most retail stores are all about the presentation and display of the dog foods and trying to appeal to your senses to buy a product.

                                And so, (the) main thing you want to do is do a little bit of research before you go into the store, and where is the product produced? Are the ingredients locally sourced, or are they internationally sourced? Or are they — all the way down to learning about the manufacturer.

                                There’s a lot of dog food brands in the industry. There (are) not as many dog food manufacturers. A lot of brands are produced by third-party companies. And we probably manufacture all of our VICTOR products here in Mount Pleasant, Texas. But we also have a lot of food safety certifications to go behind that. So, we’re SQS-certified and Safe Feed/Safe Food-certified. And these are all third-party auditing credentials that we obtained. And so, you just want to know a little bit about the manufacturer of the product and the food safety track record.

                                You know, accidents do happen. (At) VICTOR, we’ve been fortunate to never have a recall, and we hope to keep it that way. And we try to train our employees and keep improving our processes and procedures to prevent an accident from happening. Any accident can happen at any point in time, but our job is just to minimize the ability for it to happen.

                                 And so, we’re proud to say that we’ve got a very strong food safety record. We have excelled at all of our third-party audits that have happened and just know a little bit about where the product comes from and all the way down to the ingredients.

We talked about locally sourced, and we are able to source (the) majority of our ingredients within a day’s drive here at Mount Pleasant, Texas. And that’s a benefit for us because of the locality, but it’s also a benefit for the consumers, because they can know and trust that these ingredients are top-quality.

Tom Martin:            What about my dog’s or cat’s age? Should I be thinking about that when I’m choosing what to feed them?

Michael Keith:          You should. Some dogs and cats we can feed their entire life on one product and it not be an issue. But obviously, that’s not the case across the board. We’ll look at — we’ll just go specifically with dogs, but we can extrapolate the same for cats.

                                 A puppy has different needs than an adult dog. And then, as we transition, say, roughly six months, after a puppy is six months old, we usually want to get them on more of an adult diet. And then, obviously, as we get later on into the years of that dog, we also may have to address some senior needs there as well.

                                 So, a lot of dog foods are all life-staged. So, even in VICTOR, a lot of our dog foods, our adult dog foods, can also be used as puppy food, but there’s the specialty ones that are more predominantly just for puppy or just for adult.

                                But as we get into seniors, we need to be cognizant of, number one, is senior dogs tend to not have the caloric needs that active dogs have. And                    so, they may need fewer calories. They may need, because of genetic problems or just age-related problems — whether it’s hip dysplasia or just arthritis or hip and joint problems — they may need more glucosamine chondroitin and other-type supplements that our normal, healthy, active dogs don’t need.

                                So, because of that reason, we typically look at dog food nutrition in three phases: the puppy, the adult, and then the senior categories. And, obviously, there can be some outliers here and there, because every dog is unique in its metabolism and its genetics.         And so — but if we look at those three buckets, we can easily say that those are the three type (or) categories of needs we need to look at.

And then, like I mentioned earlier, one dog food could easily last the average dog all the way through its life, and — but sometimes, that’s not the case, and so we would need to look at those three individual buckets separately.

Tom Martin:            Well, Michael, we have a question here from our studio dog, Ella. She wants me to ask you this. So, let’s say I’m a dog and you feed me VPRO Blend. What’s going to happen to me?

Michael Keith:          At the end of the day, (you will) feel better. And to the human side, to the companion animal owner, you’re going to see it in the dog. And it’s going to be a couple of different ways that it manifests.

Number one, it’s just going to be the overall attitude of the dog and the awareness of the dog. But, most importantly, it’s going to be — you’re going to see it first in the skin and hair coat. And you’ll see it first there because, as the owners, that’s really the only thing we can see. We can see the brightness in their eyes, we can see their overall demeanor, and then the skin and hair coat. And that’s where we see the majority of the issues if a dog has issues.

And the reason we say you’ll see it in the skin and hair coat is because a lot of the ingredients we utilize do have a positive impact on skin and hair coat. But at the end of the day, we take away the typical pest environmental factors of fleas and things of that nature — if we take all that away, what we see on the outside is an outward expression of what’s happening on the inside. And if we’re taking care of the dog’s gut on the inside, we’re going to see that reflected in a healthier skin and coat on the outside.

                                 And so, using our products that have the VPRO Blend in them, that’s where you’re going to see it manifest itself, is on the outside of the animal. Improved skin integrity, improved paw pads — you’ll see the healing of paw pads, wound healing, and a healthier skin and coat, and then, this general overall brightness in the eyes and kind of a brighter attitude.

Tom Martin:            You mentioned taking care of the inside. How does VPRO Blend take care of the gut?

Michael Keith:          Everything in the VPRO Blend — whether it’s the selenium yeast or the mineral complexes we use or prebiotics and probiotics — are all truly geared to the gut itself. And so, we’re trying to build a healthy animal from the inside out. And so, all these four, (a) combination of products.

                                You know, we talk — a lot of companies want to talk about gut health, and we talk about prebiotics and probiotics, and we’re very familiar with those from the human standpoint, as we talk about yogurt and supplements and things of that nature. But probiotics are the live, naturally occurring microorganisms that we’re adding into the gut. And then, the prebiotics are nutrients that feed the gut, the microorganisms in the gut. And so, (those are) two different pieces there.

But even when we talk about trace mineral nutrition, it’s all about — we talk about building a better immune response, and we’re doing that from the inside out with the integrity of the gut wall.

And we talked about, you know, skin and coat health. And a lot of people just think about the outward skin and coat health. But when we talk about skin, we’re talking about epithelial tissue. And if we just take a step back and we think about animals in general — whether it’s a cow, a horse, a dog — there’s a lot of epithelial tissue that people don’t think about. And that can be the paw pad on a dog, the hoof on a horse. But also, when we talk about our internal — we talk about “from the inside out,” the lining of all of our intestines and our organs, that’s all epithelial tissue as well. So, it goes deeper than what we typically think about when we first hear “skin”.

                                 And (when) we talk about skin, we’re talking about epithelial tissue and building up that epithelial tissue. And what we actually see through the research is that we can actually thicken the epithelial tissue with the trace — sources of trace minerals that we’re using within our diets.

Tom Martin:            What are some things to look for that are red flags that signal that we might not be feeding the right dog food?

Michael Keith:          As I’ve mentioned before, what we see on the outside is a good indicator of what’s happening on the inside. If you’re seeing dull, flaky coats, weight problems, lethargy, digestive issues — these are all signs that something’s amiss in our nutrition program.

                                 And it may not be, per se, the dog food itself; it just may be the changing needs of our — of our animals, our pets. And so, as we talked earlier about a senior dog needing something a little bit different than an active dog occasionally, that could be what we’re referring to, is just — the needs of our old pet have changed.

                                Every once in a while, it can be feed-induced or food source-induced, and maybe (the animals) have developed an allergy, or something’s just not sitting right. But your dog will tell you a lot about what it needs if you just spend time with your dog, and you’ll see these changes manifest find and

                                 If something happens overnight and a dog becomes lethargic or has weight issues — and when we say weight issues, that can be: Is it obese? Obesity in pets is a big problem. But also, is — or is it losing weight? And that may be indicative that we need to make a change. Obviously, if we see skin and hair coat problems, that could be indicative that we need to change as well. And digestive system issues are a little bit trickier, because that’s the thing we want to watch; it’s a trigger point.

But we also have to realize that our (furry) friends tend to get into things that they shouldn’t be getting into. And so, we have to kind of take that in context. Has the dog been out, you know, playing in the yard and maybe eaten something that it shouldn’t have and it’s one-time issue? So, as with anything, we just need to take it into context — but what we see on the outside is the true reflection of what’s happening on the inside.

Tom Martin:            Okay. Let’s say that that dog we talked about a moment ago is in my care. What are the benefits to me of feeding him or her VPRO Blend?

Michael Keith:          You’re going to have a better health track record. The higher-quality food you’re on containing the VPRO Blend — all these added nutrients that we’re providing, you’re going to have a healthier dog. And with that, you’re going to have better peace of mind; you’re going to have more of those good days at home to share with that animal and just less downtime. And that’s going to come — you’re going to see it as the owner with reduced trips to the vet overall. And certainly, things are going to rise. But it’s all about taking care of the pets that we’re entrusted to feed.

And we look at VICTOR and the VICTOR brand and, yes, we do we feed a lot of performance dogs, and we’re geared towards the hunters and the trainers and everything performance-driven. But it’s not that we’re a performance dog-only company. Because (when) we talk about performance, that manifests itself in a lot of ways. That can be having a litter; that can be playing with our children in the yard and just being that active dog that we crave. And so, there’s lots of ways that performance can be manifested outside of just the sheer hunting or sporting dog activities.

But just having those positive influences — and that’s kind of where we get our tagline. So, the saying for VICTOR is “always by your side.” And your dog is always by your side, (but) we want to be always there by your side as well, as your dog food supplier.

Tom Martin:            All right. That’s Michael Keith, senior vice president of nutrition and supply chain of Mid America Pet Food.

                                Thank you, Michael.

Michael Keith:          Thank you.

Tom Martin:            And for Ag Future, I’m Tom Martin. Thank you for listening.

In fewer than 100 days, the Alltech ONE Conference (ONE) will return to Lexington, Kentucky, for a collaborative exploration of the challenges and opportunities in the agri-food industry and beyond. Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, announced that their 38th annual flagship event will be held May 22-24 both in person and virtually on a first-class platform, with live-streaming and on-demand presentations available to ensure accessibility to everyone, everywhere.

Reflecting the most relevant topics impacting the agri-food industry, the key themes of the discussions held at ONE will include science, sustainability and storytelling.  

“The opportunities are abundant for the global agri-food sector to shape the future of our planet,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “We can deliver nutrition for all, while fuelling economic vitality and replenishing our Earth’s resources. The potential for impact is profound, but it requires a higher level of commitment and collaboration from every one of us. ONE is much more than a gathering; it is an invitation to step forward and share in a vision of promise for our ONE planet.”

ONE attendees will derive inspiration from keynote speakers who have unleashed the power of innovation and courageous leadership for positive impact.

Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs and author of “Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done,” will take the ONE mainstage in person, and his presentation will also be live-streamed for those joining virtually.

Ebeling was recently named by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 50 World’s Greatest Leaders. He is a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award and is listed as one of the world’s most influential creative people by The Creativity 50s. Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation, and as a career producer and filmmaker, he harvests the power of technology and storytelling to change the world.

Presenting virtually is Paul Polman, who has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade”. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he stopped reporting quarterly earnings to focus on a long-term strategy that would successfully double revenues while reducing the company’s environmental impact by half.   

Prior to joining Unilever, Polman served as CFO and vice president for the Americas at Nestlé and as president for Western Europe at Procter & Gamble. He was a member of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel, which developed the Sustainable Development Goals and which he continues to champion, working with global organizations to push the 2030 development agenda.  

Paul’s new book, “Net Positive,” is a call to arms to courageous business leaders, outlining how to build net-positive companies that profit by fixing the world’s problems rather than creating them. He serves as the chair of IMAGINE — a social venture dedicated to systems change — and of the Saïd Business School. He is vice-chair of the UN Global Compact and is a B Team leader and honorary chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, which he led for two years.  

While the world-class keynote speakers at ONE will offer universally valuable insights, the subject- and species-specific tracks will explore emerging opportunities in aquaculture, beef, crop science, dairy, pig, poultry, equine, health and wellness, business, and brewing and distilling. Confirmed speakers are currently listed on the ONE website, with more to be added.   

Virtual attendees of ONE will have access to live-streamed keynotes and pre-recorded track presentations that can be viewed on-demand. For in-person attendees, the ONE experience will extend into beautiful downtown Lexington, Kentucky, with special events, dinners and tours.   

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

Since 1985, Alltech’s annual conference has drawn leaders, innovators and changemakers within agri-food to Lexington, Kentucky. In 2020, Alltech reimagined the event in a virtual format to ensure that its ideas and inspiration could reach everyone, everywhere. Last year, the virtual event drew more than 10,000 people, including over 400 media, from 101 countries.

The Pet Sustainability Coalition is advancing pet businesses through the integration of environmental and social practices. Caitlyn Dudas, executive director and cofounder of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, joins the Ag Future podcast to discuss the importance of collaboration across the entire supply chain to meet the rising consumer demand for sustainable pet products.

The following is an edited transcript of the Ag Future podcast episode with Nikki Putnam Badding hosted by Tom Martin. Click below to hear the full audio or listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Tom:                        Welcome to Ag Future, presented by Alltech. Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities facing the global food supply chain and speak with experts working to support a Planet of Plenty.

                                 Armed with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s in environmental management and sustainability from Harvard, Caitlyn Dudas brings together pet industry leaders to strengthen their businesses while also shaping a future where pets, people and the planet can prosper. Caitlyn is executive director and cofounder of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, and she joins us from Boulder. Welcome, Caitlyn.

Caitlyn:                    Well, thank you, Tom. Happy to be here.

Tom:                        And you have an interesting background. I'd like to explore that for a moment, just to give our listeners some context here. And I know that, even as a young teen, you were traveling to struggling parts of the world. You were supporting humanitarian efforts, building schools, teaching sustainable farming methods, delivering hospital supplies, that kind of thing. What led you to that path so early in life?

Caitlyn:                    Well, Tom, I grew up in the Midwest in a small kind of hobby farm in Northwest Indiana. And both of my parents were very actively involved in progressive social movements. So, I think I learned early to be an active participant — but I also grew up on a farm. So, I had a lot of opportunity, kind of, to explore the natural world and to lead from a place of curiosity as a child. And so, I think the combination of those things — kind of a very strong sense of active engagement and encouragement from both of my parents to participate in a future that's good for everybody — I think the two of those things came together.

                                And I had the support from my family to really explore the world, and the role that I wanted to play in being a great citizen and a participant, whether that was traveling — you mentioned some of the things that I got the amazing pleasure to work on in Central America or in my local community. I was very interested in just learning and seeing what was out there. And I think, when you're exposed and see different places around the world and you see a different plate than the privilege, I think, that we often have here in the United States, any person would be hard-pressed not to want to be a part of the solution and to make people’s lives better.

Tom:                        I know it's difficult to reach back over a lifetime of experience, like what you just described, and unpack it, but if you had to, what would you say you've learned from those experiences that informs what you do today?

Caitlyn:                    One of the things that I did — for example, in college, I traveled to the Amazonian region of Brazil, in the northern region, in a town named Belém, which is at the mouth of the Amazon River, and I explored and spent time living in very remote villages with people who didn't have access to basic things, like groceries and a store. And they really lived off of the land.

                                 And this is an example of an experience where — I knew that there was a turtle species that lived in the region that ecological organizations have decided was a high-value species. And so, they wanted to protect it. And what they did is they basically decided they were going assess fines on anyone (who) killed one of these river turtles. And when I actually got the chance to go into Brazil and to live in these villages, (I eventually came) to understand that this same turtle was basically what many of the tribes used as an opportunity to trade in the marketplace. And so, what they brought was this river turtle to market, and then they traded it for other goods and services.

                                 And so, I started to understand a little bit about the differences between rules and regulations and the impact that they have on real people and real environments. And I started to understand that there are tradeoffs in environmental policy and in sustainability, but there are very few silver bullets where there's a solution out there that doesn't have a ripple effect or other impacts on — whether it's people or other environment.

And so, I think, in that way, one of the pieces I took away from some of these environmental or adventurous experiences (that I had) when I was younger is the complexity of the world that we live in and what that means about developing our problems and how we go about all the problems in our natural world. And to understand that the environment and humans are linked; you know, they do not exist outside of one another. And so, while many people may think of governmental issues as separate from human or community issues, really, we're all on the same planet. And through marketplaces, or through trading, or through food or shelter, it is impossible to separate the two entirely.

So, through those experiences, (I got a better) understanding of how interwoven our communities are, the natural world, and also how complex it can be to make systematic laws and regulations and changes that work for everybody involved.

Tom:                        Human conceit has always interested me — how we somehow imagine that we're not part of the natural world. It's interesting, isn't it?

Caitlyn:                    Yeah. You know, the way that we live is very disconnected from our natural world. We don't see where our food and water comes from; we don't see where it goes when it leaves our house. And so, I think, over time, in the process of living in a privileged place, we leave our connection to these things. After college, for example, I spent several summers taking high school students into our backcountry of different natural areas around the United States — all over the place, from Alaska to New Mexico to Texas — and really reconnecting them with the environment and remembering how closely connected we are. So, yes, I would agree. We are all connected, from the planet we live on, where our food comes from, and how much we really rely on the earth for our well-being.

Tom:                        Well, Caitlyn, let's talk about the organization that you now lead. How did the Pet Sustainability Coalition come about?

Caitlyn:                     Sure. So, I am a cofounder. So, Chris Bentley, who was a cofounder of Aspen Pet Products, which was a large manufacturer of dog toys and hard goods, was living here in Boulder. And I had just moved here after I finished my degree from Harvard in environmental management and sustainability. And I had joined a small nonprofit consulting company just outside of Boulder. And Chris had spent some time looking for an organization to build him a suite of tools where business could really kind of get on their path for sustainability, start measuring their impact and building plans for improvement.

                                Now, Chris Bentley, having kind of lived in Colorado for a long time, also has a very strong passion around sustainability and the environment. And he considered (the question), where did he, as a person, have the most leverage, right? So, where were his biggest opportunities to really make an impact? And he recognized, after spending 25 years in the pet industry, that his biggest lever for change was, really, as a successful businessperson. And so, with a very strong goal to use that position to really bring sustainability to the pet industry, he recognized early on in our work together that I have the skillset to be his implementation partner.

                                So, he really brought this vision, which we developed in partnership. You know, we looked at other industries — like the apparel industry and the natural food sector — to understand what they were doing around sustainability. We used them as a model to understand how we could effectively work with businesses, which really can have a much wider impact across all their stakeholder groups than individuals working on their own. And so, he and I together, we studied those separate industries, and then — he really had been working for years before we met to really understand the need of the audience. So, he would meet with CEOs and execs in the industry and say, “Hey, what are you doing around sustainability?” And (he was) really cataloguing, over years of these meetings, what they were doing, what they expressed needing help with and support with, and then (he began) working with me to build a model around a nonprofit that could deliver on that need and start to work with his community of executives that were ready to take action.

                                 So, together, he and I built the concept for the Pet Sustainability Coalition. And we pitched it to a group of about 15 to 20 different companies at one of the industry's largest trade shows in 2013. And out of that meeting, eight companies wrote a check for $10,000, and that became the seed money from which we started developing the Pet Sustainability Coalition. And then I was hired as the executive director to implement the vision that he and I continued to create. In addition, we expanded to adopt a formal board. And so, that board, along with Chris and myself, have really been the visionaries and the people responsible for, at the end of the day, turning that vision into an action plan.

Tom:                       Well, what would you say is the overarching mission of the coalition?

Caitlyn:                    So, our mission here at PSC is to advance pet businesses through the integration of environmental and social practices. That mission is really (working) toward a vision where the pet industry is not only doing less harm, but we're actually actively participating in building better communities and improving the environment in all the places around the world where we do business.

Tom:                       How many companies belong to the coalition?

Caitlyn:                    So, today, we're about 200 companies strong, and we have representation from the entire supply chain. So, we have retail members; we have distributor members. We also work with manufacturers, brands, producers and suppliers.

                                 So, all the way through the supply chain, companies come and they work with us. And really, we have a basic three-step model. So, they measure their impact. We are in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals developed in partnership with the UN Global Compact and the nonprofit B Lab. We help companies measure and benchmark where they are today, and then we develop improvement plans.

                                 So, it’s a very customized process to understand what objectives look like for every different business. For some companies, that might mean building or, ultimately, engaging and attracting and retaining top talent. You know, having a strong workforce is a real challenge for businesses today, and many people want to be participating with purpose-driven businesses that are (about) more than profit. They're really thinking about, “What is our place in the world, and how are we participating in a better future?” And so, other companies may be looking at cost savings and efficiency improvements. So, that might mean reviewing their warehouse, looking at things like alternative energy or where's their waste and their footprint. So, we work on a variety.

                                 Sustainability can mean so many different things to so many different people. That is really a custom process for most of our member companies to really identify what their objectives are, what is their priority, or what the return to their business will be from investing in a sustainability program — and then, when they’re measuring and improving, really working on celebrating those accomplishments.

                                Sustainability is a commitment to continuous improvement. At the end of the day, you don’t get to check a box that says, “Hey, I completed sustainability off my checklist today.” And since we’re continually improving — and every year, there's new technology out in the marketplace — we really think it's important for companies to celebrate those accomplishments and those milestones that they're taking as their impact continues to improve. So, our member companies are measuring. They’re building that improvement plan and then celebrating their accomplishments all along the way.

Tom:                        Caitlyn, under the “About” tab on your website are some core values, and they include a couple that I would like to bring into focus here. First, authenticity. Tell us about that.

Caitlyn:                    Yeah. So, “sustainability” has become a buzzword for so many industries and companies. And really, when you're in a place of shifting the market — so initially, businesses, their sole intention and purpose was to drive profitability to shareholders. And as that definition has expanded to today’s modern world, where businesses are really meant to drive value to stakeholders instead of shareholders and (are) really considering their impact on a much wider audience, not just to those shareholders, there have been a lot of different interpretations of what that might look like for different companies.

                                 And so, authenticity and the core value is really — at the end of the day, as an organization, we measure whether or not we're successful as to what? The actual science-based outcomes, right? So, are environments actually being improved by the work that we’re doing with our member companies? And at the same time, are communities actually being improved? So, what we do is we really think about, “How do we measure that?” So, we are continually aggregating data from our member companies, and we’re able to show a really interesting, authentic picture around different environmental and social metrics that actually lead to a better world.

                                So, we’re an organization that says, “Hey, you know, our mission is to advance the pet industry and to be a positive contributor the environment and communities. How do we measure that?” So, (those are) just a few interesting pieces. If you look, for example at alternative energy use in our member companies between 2016, say, and 2019, we can see a sharp increase in the number of our members that are using alternative energy. And on the social side, let’s say if you look at gender diversity, our member companies have a much higher percentage of gender diversity, of women in leadership, management and executive roles, than the average business as well.

                                So, authenticity and transparency is another one of our core values. It’s really ensuring that every program that we invest our member dollars in is delivering a return to that core mission.

Tom:                       I see that another of your core values is about focusing on implementation. What does that mean?

Caitlyn:                    Yes. Absolutely. So, for example, if I said that our member companies came to us and they measured, and then we developed improvements, and that was the end of the services and tools that we deliver to them, that would be the opposite of an implementation focus.

                                So, we are an action-oriented organization. An example of this is all of our memberships: We take 20% of that membership fee and we hold it aside in what we call a project credit. Now, that project credit can be used for a company to take action to complete a project or take a step that shows a measurable improvement, again, to, kind of, their baseline performance today on how they impact the environment and communities. So, that's one example of how we integrate opportunities for companies to take real action through their membership. So, that’s that kind of action orientation.

                                 I think also we’re in an environment — sustainability, in general, isn’t a place that has a lot of truths. There’s lots of case studies out there. And at this point, there are more than 500 peer-reviewed studies that show (that) sustainability drives long-term profitability for a business. But for a lot of what we do, there's no rulebook. There's no guide to how to run a coalition or how to advance an industry and sustainability. And so, when we talk about being implementation-focused, it means that, oftentimes, we’re pioneers. We’re out in the front of different issues that are coming to the industry, and we're really helping to spearhead new initiatives that have never been done before, instead of waiting to allow other actions to take place before we may decide, “Hey, this is improving. So now, we’re going to go ahead and give it a try.”

                                 I think an example of that might be some of our packaging work. So, we piloted a takeback program for all types of flexible bags that are used for pet foods and treats in about 120 different retail locations last year. Never before had the pet industry come together to collect this hard-to-recycle material. There had not been extensive testing done on the 300-million-pound packaging footprint that we have today that’s currently going to landfill. I’m not going to give you an example of how our organization has really kind of pioneered through action and different solutions to some of the environmental problems that we face.

Tom:                        What would you say are some leading issues that, in your view, Caitlyn, must be addressed and overcome by the pet industry to achieve meaningful sustainability?

Caitlyn:                    Yeah. So, as an organization, in 2018, we had about 80 member companies at that time. And we had an interesting shift in kind of an extension of our mission overall. You know, we had those 10 companies we started with, and we grew to 50, then we grew to 80. And what happened uniquely is that we suddenly had representation from the entire supply chain. I mentioned all of the different types of members that we have. And that put us in a new position. It put us in a position to understand and to start addressing areas of sustainability that are too big for a single company to form on their own.

                                 And at that time, we really started to look at: What are those areas of sustainability that really need leadership? They need thought leadership, they need experts, they need education, and then they need actionable ways for companies to come together as individuals, but in a way that aggregates their impact so that we can address these larger-scale issues working together as an industry overall.

                                 So, the three key topics of sustainability that we selected based on their ability to drive scalable impact — the first one is sustainable packaging. So, thinking about this big movement that’s happening across all industries and all sectors — it’s really looking at the impact of plastics in our environment. You probably know that there's been estimated to be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, and (we’re) looking at, “What’s the footprint of our industry, and how do we start to advance solutions for the entire industry we participate in?”

                                 So that’s one piece. The second piece is around sustainable ingredient sourcing. So, the pet industry — obviously, you know, two primary categories (we’re) looking at are food and treats and then, on the other side, textiles and hard goods. Particularly in the consumables section of our industry, the food and the treats that we’re developing, about 25%, on the low end, it has been estimated, from all of the proteins that are grown and raised in the United States, eventually goes to pets.

                                 And so, we recognize this enormous opportunity to say, “Hey, if we’re at 25% participants, we have a big opportunity to start to evaluate: What is sustainability and the transparency and traceability of the ingredients that we use in this industry, and how can that be an opportunity for us to drive further impact and to participate in a bigger movement that's happening in the agricultural sector overall, toward more sustainable soil treatment and farming methodology and ingredient sourcing and formulation, so that we can be an active participant in the change that needs to happen to protect our environmental resources?”

                                 And then, finally, in 2019, we also took a look at social sustainability and equity, an equitable system. And we added diversity, equity and inclusion as a component, or kind of one of those large keystone initiatives that we wanted to start leading the way in as an organization. So, (we’re) looking at: What’s the overall status today around diversity in our industry? Is it equitable? So, is it serving all communities? And whether that’s the equitability of our farming practices to the diversity of professionals in our industry to meeting the needs of pet owners of different backgrounds as well.

                                 And so, those are the three key issues that we also help to address overall as an organization, kind of beyond helping every single member company improve, but also taking a look at those larger issues, including sustainable sourcing, sustainable packaging, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Tom:                        From your perspective as somebody who's keeping close watch on the pet industry, how could you assess the industry's movement toward sustainability?

Caitlyn:                    Yeah. So, there have been some key milestones that I think have served to progress the industry more quickly at different times. So, in 2016, millennials became the largest pet-owning generation. And it took a couple of years for, I think, the pet industry to really grapple with that intersection between millennials and sustainability. And it turns out, millennials care more deeply about the environment and communities than any other generation. But also, importantly, they're the first generation that’s willing to pay more for sustainable products.

                                 And so, I saw a very large shift between 2016 and 2018 in terms of an understanding of the demand for sustainability from consumers and, as a CPG[ET1]  industry, starting to really think about, “What is our responsibility and, really, our opportunity to meet those customers in that more kind of values-aligned way?” And so, there was a big shift in 2018. So, in 2018, as an organization, if we’re a reflection of the demand and adoption for availability, we have seen, as an organization, we've doubled in size every year since about 2018. And so, that’s really where we started to see that uptick, as pet businesses started to recognize this demand and opportunity for sustainability.

                                 Then, I would say in 2019–2020, there was also another big shift that we thought was primarily around sustainable packaging and collaboration. So, every year, we do a survey of our members in the industry. And early on, we recognized that there was a lot of fear in the industry around collaboration or collaborative models, around sharing information with other peers and competitors or brands of similar types and sizes. And everyone wanted to kind of work on their sustainability internally. We still do, but (we) have strict NDAs with many companies. They were not interested in developing case studies or sharing what they're working on.

                                 And there’s been a big shift in, (A), the desire to communicate externally around sustainability goals. So, I think, as we have seen expectations around accountability and reporting to wider reporting groups, there has been an interest in companies to really be seen as leaders and to share more information on their successes and challenges and data-driven goals and reporting. So, that's a big shift that we’ve seen. And I think, any time (there is) an industry where peers start kind of openly reporting on their sustainability, we see an acceleration in (the) adoption of sustainable practices, because it starts to become a minimum expectation to do business in the pet industry.

                                 So, I think there was a big shift there. And then, you know, one of (the) big areas, sustainable packaging, has been able to really push forward solutions. I can recall, in 2018, reaching out to a group of pet packaging suppliers and saying, “Hey, you know, there's 25 different solutions that are being pushed in the market today around sustainable packaging. We don't think that's healthy, and it's not creating a unified pathway to arrive at solutions faster.” So, we were able to kind of move from 25 down to five. We’re now getting down to about three. You know, we have seen an incredible acceleration of pace around sustainable packaging solution just in the last two years as well.

Tom:                        Well, for anybody listening who's considering career paths right now, what's your pitch to them for a life working to advance sustainability in the pet industry?

Caitlyn:                    Yeah. You know, I think sustainability is an incredible space to build a career in. It is creative because, like I was mentioning before, you know, there's not a roadmap already built. There's no guidebook. And so, for people who like developing something from nothing, it is a very creative space in which you get to iterate new ideas and test them and pilot them in different industries or different, kind of, smaller businesses.

                                 I think, also, businesses are an incredible engine for driving change, right? If you think about the scope from which a business works — whether it's working with all of their employees, which could be hundreds of thousands of people; or all of the natural resources they use, which could impact environments around the world; or all of the markets that they play a role in — again, this industry is very strong here in the U.S. but also in Asia, in South America and in Europe.

                                 And so, I find it to be a particularly impactful way to use my career in order to drive the world forward, to harness the power of business to do good in the world while, at the same time, working in a very creative space that’s impact-driven, that’s purpose-aligned, that attracts other purpose-driven individuals that are generally just a fun and vibrant and very inspired group to work alongside, who is — they’re all so invested in each other's successes. And so, it’s a very collaborative space to have a career in.

                                 And then, not thinking about the pet industry — you know, I had no sense that I would have a career in the pet industry. I knew I wanted to do impactful work that made the world a better place, and I can't say that I had, before doing this, squarely said that I would be in the business sector. And so, you know, the pet industry is the right industry for really bringing together multiple stakeholders, because its core consumers — whether that’s pet or pet parents — naturally have a strong caring bone in their body. This is an industry that attracts very caring people, and care, care starts with care for yourself and then care for your family, and then your family includes pets. And I'm pretty sure, pretty soon, you know, that starts its ripple effect as well, so then you start to care about your dog park, and you care about the other people at your dog park in your community and then your town and your environment, and then the U.S., and then the world, and then animals that live other places. And so, the pet industry is a unique, playful, caring industry from which to really grow this idea and movement around sustainability.

Tom:                        All right. That’s Caitlyn Dudas, executive director and co-founder of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, with us from Boulder. Thank you so much, Caitlyn.

Caitlyn:                    Thank you, Tom.

Tom:                        You bet. And for Ag Future, I’m Tom Martin. Thanks for listening. This has been Ag Future, presented by Alltech. Thank you for joining us. Be sure to subscribe to Ag Future wherever you listen to podcasts.

Data collected from 11 ^th annual survey estimates world feed production increased by 2.3% to 1.235 billion metric tons

Top 10 countries produce 65% of the world’s feed

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – The 2022 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook was released today, highlighting global feed production survey data. The global COVID-19 pandemic has had major impacts on the agri-food sector, contributing to supply chain challenges and accelerating the adoption of new technology and environmental sustainability practices.   

“The results within our 2022 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook reinforce our confidence and optimism about the future of the agri-food sector,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “We see the resilience of the agri-food sector against the challenges of COVID-19, disease and supply chain disruption, and, even more importantly, there is evidence of growth, modernization and the adoption of more sustainable practices occurring in parallel.”

The eleventh edition of Alltech’s annual feed production survey includes data from more than 140 countries and more than 28,000 feed mills, and based on this data, it is estimated that international feed tonnage has increased by 2.3%, to 1.235 billion metric tons of feed produced in 2021. The top ten feed-producing countries over the past year were China (261.424 mmt), the U.S. (231.538 mmt), Brazil (80.094 mmt), India (44.059 mmt), Mexico (38.857 mmt), Spain (35.580 mmt), Russia (33.000 mmt), Turkey (25.300 mmt), Japan (24.797 mmt) and Germany (24.506 mmt). Altogether, these countries produced 65% of the world’s feed production, and they can be viewed as indicators of the trends in agriculture. Additionally, when combined, the feed production of these countries increased by 4.4%, compared to the overall global growth of 2.3%.

Key observations from the survey:

• The country with the largest increase in feed production by tonnage was China by 8.9% to 261.424 mmt. A key trend resulting in this growth was the continuation of the consolidation and modernization of the country’s feed industry. Swine farms and feed production have moved from utilizing food waste to contracting with professional feed mills. As a result, commercial feed tonnage increased, driven in particular by the growth and continued modernization of the pig sector.  
• Feed production met local expectations in about half of the surveyed countries while falling short of expectations in about 25% of countries due to continued restaurant closures, high raw material prices and/or African swine fever (ASF). The remaining 25% of countries exceeded expectations, mainly due to recovery from COVID-19 lockdowns, including increased exports to re-opening restaurants.  
• Over the past year, there has been strong focus on the environment, as governments worldwide have made renewed commitments to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. In Europe and Asia, government policies have been the main drivers in most markets, whereas in the Americas, the main drivers have been consumers and private industry.  In some markets, there’s a strong focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and in other markets, the focus is more on the expected nitrogen regulations. 

Notable species results:

• The poultry sector experienced a slight reduction in layer feed tonnage (down 1.4%), whereas broiler feed production increased (by 2.3%).
  • The layer business has been facing challenges in many countries due to the high costs of raw materials, combined with flat/low retail prices for eggs. Animal welfare concerns are also a driver, as cage-free and free-range production are on the rise in many countries. In Europe, the most significant decreases occurred in Norway, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Asia-Pacific also saw a decrease, while tonnage in Australia grew by 4%.  

• • Factors that have aided the broiler sector include an increased demand for easy-to-cook proteins as restaurants closed during the pandemic and an affordable protein option, as the prices of other meat proteins increased. China and India accounted for the most significant increases in Asia-Pacific. In Latin America, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay and Mexico contributed significantly to the region’s 5% increase.  

• Pig feed production increased significantly, by 6.6%, which was primarily boosted by Asia-Pacific’s recovery from ASF. Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and China demonstrated just such a recovery from ASF, but Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam continued to feel the impact of the disease. In Europe, countries where ASF is not or is no longer a problem were still impacted by a pork surplus due to a reduced demand from China. 

• Dairy feed tonnage increased slightly, by 1.9%. Asia-Pacific saw the biggest increase, which is mostly attributed to growth in India. As COVID-19 lockdowns eased around the world, the reopening of the hospitality industry and in-person classroom education helped boost milk consumption overall. In Australia and New Zealand, dairy feed tonnages were down 6.7% and 2.5%, respectively.  

• Beef feed production shrunk by 1.9% globally. The industry continues to be challenged by GHG regulations and perceptions of environmental and health impacts. European markets are especially focused on reducing GHG emissions in an effort to align with COP26, the EU Green Deal and the FEFAC Feed Sustainability Charter 2030. The U.S. experienced an increased steer and heifer harvest due to carryover from 2020, as well as a record demand for beef exports. Argentina saw a significant reduction due to reduced exports, and high inflation and the devaluation of the local currency are also affecting Argentinians’ purchasing power, although export regulations are easing and could impact Argentina’s outlook for 2022. 

• The aquaculture industry continues to grow in many markets and increased by an impressive 3.7%. Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are becoming more prevalent, and consumer demand for fish is on the rise. Markets with ASF challenges saw additional growth due to their reduced pork supply. India saw a significant increase in its aquaculture feed tonnage of 9%; additionally, Indonesia accounted for 10% of Asia-Pacific’s growth. In Latin America, Chile, Brazil, Honduras and Ecuador contributed to the regional growth of 5.6%. 

• Pet feed production had the highest increase among the sectors, with an 8.2% rise in production. This significant increase is largely due to the rise in pet ownership amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While some regions remained flat, there were no reported decreases in any region around the world.    

Notable regional results:

• North America saw steady growth of 1.9% over the last year, and the U.S. remained the second-largest feed-producing country globally, behind China.

• Latin America experienced moderate growth of 0.5%, and Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and ranked third overall globally.

• Europe saw a decrease of 1.2% in its feed production due to issues such as ASF and high raw material costs, combined with low end-product prices, declines in ruminant feed production and COVID-19-related government regulations.

• Asia-Pacific saw the largest regional growth of 5.7% and is home to several of the top 10 feed-producing countries, including China, India and Japan.

• Africa saw growth of 2.4%, despite challenges caused by high raw material prices, foot and mouth disease and geopolitical tensions that have impacted the exports of foods of animal origin and caused raw material shortages in some areas.

Alltech works together with feed mills and industry and government entities around the world to compile data and insights to provide an assessment of feed production each year. Compound feed production and prices were collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations in the last quarter of 2021. These figures are estimates and are intended to serve as an information resource for industry stakeholders.

To access more data and insights from the 2022 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook, including an interactive global map, visit alltech.com/agri-food-outlook.

For more than 40 years, Alltech has focused on scientific research to provide solutions and products for the global animal health industry. This focus has continued with the publication of a white paper entitled, “Organic Trace Minerals: Enhancing mineral bioavailability through chelation” by Dr. Richard Murphy, director of research at Alltech. There are many options when it comes to formulating trace minerals in livestock diets, and this paper focuses on organic trace minerals (OTMs) as a more bioavailable mineral source than their inorganic counterparts and other inferior organic products.  

“From a sustainability point of view, we can’t continue to supplement diets with inorganic materials at the current very high inclusion levels without having negative consequences,” said Murphy. “Our research with organic trace minerals is looking at using less to get more for the livestock producer and the environment.”

OTMs can be produced through numerous mechanisms, depending on the trace mineral product being manufactured. The process of complexing or chelating elements, such as copper, iron or zinc, typically involves reacting inorganic mineral salts with a suitable bonding group, such as a peptide or amino acid, after which the mineral becomes part of a biologically stable structure. The higher the stability of an OTM, the greater its bioavailability is likely to be.

The chelation strength between the mineral and bonding group will define OTM stability and, ultimately, play a significant role in influencing bioavailability. Carefully considering the factors necessary for chelation can help producers distinguish between the many products available on the market based on their stability and efficacy. OTMs with high stability are more likely to be effectively absorbed by the animal and reach the target sites required for immunity, growth and reproduction. They are also significantly less likely to react with and inhibit the activity of other feed components, such as vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants.

For more information, click here to download the white paper and visit Alltech.com.

Inflammation has become one of the hottest health topics in recent years, and for good reason. Inflammation is the basis of any disease that ends in “-itis” — which, unfortunately, accounts for a large percentage of presenting medical conditions.

What is inflammation?

In and of itself, acute inflammation is not a bad thing. Inflammation is the body’s way of responding to any type of foreign invader or event. The immune system initiates an inflammatory response in order to handle anything and everything, from a wound or infection to bacteria and viruses.

There are five cardinal signs of inflammation:

1. Redness
2. Heat
3. Swelling
4. Pain
5. Loss of function

All of these signs indicate that the body is working to repair any damaged tissues and remove the potential danger.

Inflammation goes wrong when it becomes chronic, meaning that it is a longer-term issue in which the immune system responds inappropriately. In this case, the body is often on a loop of constant low-level inflammation that involves excessive levels of inflammatory cytokines and other proteins that can cause cellular damage at a microscopic level. This chronic inflammation is what puts us and our dogs at a higher risk of developing serious health conditions, ranging from immune diseases in dogs (such as inflammatory bowel disease, hypothyroidism, etc.) to skin and coat issues to heart disease and osteoarthritis. In many cases, chronic inflammation is a common cause of premature aging and a shorter lifespan because of its impact at the cellular level.

What causes chronic inflammation?

Chronic inflammation in dogs can be caused by environmental toxins or irritants, obesity and, perhaps most notably, an unhealthy diet. While it can be difficult to control or remove every inflammatory agent in today’s world, the good news is that science has made strong links between digestive tract health and inflammation — and nutrition is something that we definitely have the power to change.

In both human and animal medicine, the case for using natural, anti-inflammatory ingredients as a means to combat chronic inflammation is growing quickly. In the animal industry, this field of science is often referred to as immunonutrition, or the study of how specific nutrients can impact the immune system.

For example, any food that your dog may be allergic or sensitive to can cause inflammation, as can synthetics, toxins and other chemicals. In contrast, some anti-inflammatory ingredients in pet food diets include omega-3 fatty acids, pro- and prebiotics and other functional nutrients, such as antioxidants.

What are the signs of chronic inflammation in dogs?

A chronic immune response in dogs can manifest as:

• Low energy and fatigue
• Unwillingness to walk, play or exercise
• Weight management issues (i.e., dogs becoming overweight or obese or suddenly losing weight)
• Itchy, flaky or dry skin, which may lead to infection
• Pain and discomfort
• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting, diarrhea or gastrointestinal (GI) distress

The link between the gut microbiome and inflammation

A dog’s gut microbiome is immediately affected by its diet, as food acts as the fuel for the living organisms in the digestive tract.

As such, our responsibility as pet lovers is to provide our furry companions with nutrients that play a long-term role in their health. In senior pets, especially, inflammation and the buildup of oxidative stress can negatively impact the aging process and can even lead to premature aging.

The ability to prevent premature aging — or “inflammaging,” as it has been coined — through the diet is key to canine longevity.

For dogs, science has learned that the smallest ingredients, or micronutrients, often make the biggest difference. One example of the micronutrients that are gaining attention from both scientists and consumers is pro- and prebiotics for senior pets. A 2019 study in senior beagles looked at the microbiome-related effects of a control diet versus a diet that included NVGEN, a proprietary blend from Alltech that includes prebiotics and other gut health promoters.

The dogs that were fed NVGEN showed higher levels of the bacteria that are associated with a healthy digestive tract, while the dogs fed a control diet had higher levels of the bacteria associated with inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Additionally, the dogs that were fed the diet that included NVGEN displayed significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein, a standard measurement of inflammation in the body. Feeding a diet that contained NVGEN resulted in a decrease of the amount of C-reactive protein to a normal level — which is a big deal for promoting healthy aging in dogs!

The anti-inflammatory pet plan

Inflammation is one of the most insidious symptoms of many chronic health conditions in pets. Inflammation can begin to manifest in pets in their younger years and can negatively affect the aging process as they become seniors.

An anti-inflammatory lifestyle is important for dogs at every life stage and includes:

• Managing the dog’s weight
• Feeding an age-appropriate, high-quality diet
• Regular exercise and activity
• Proper levels of mental stimulation (without creating excessive stress)
• Protecting and supporting the microbiome

The bottom line is that promoting a healthy inflammatory response and immune system in pets starts in the gut. Protecting the GI tract with ingredients such as the Alltech NVGEN pack is a critical step in improving pet food diets and, as a result, boosting the longevity of our beloved dogs.

I want to learn more about pet nutrition.

Alongside the widespread growing awareness of our own health and wellness, there also seems to be a deepening interest in improving the overall health and longevity of our pets. With pets living longer and a large percentage of pets classified as obese, it comes as no surprise that we are seeing a rise in associated health issues, including osteoarthritis, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, certain types of cancers and cognitive decline.  

How can we address some of these challenges, especially those related to cognitive function in pets?

1. Take a preventative, nutrition-based approach.

Providing proper nutrition is still considered one of the most effective and financially viable ways to decrease an animal’s disease risk. An important part of any animal’s health and diet is immuno-nutrition, which can be defined as the effect of providing specific nutrients — typically, a combination of certain amino acids, nucleic acids, vitamins and minerals — on the animal’s immune system.

With the direct link between a healthy digestive system and immunity, the importance of gut health cannot be overstated. Gut health, immunity and the microbiome have also been shown to be linked to cognitive health. Research in this area has proven that the gut and the brain communicate regularly through a highly complex interactive system. This highlights the important role of nutrition, not only for the growing and developing puppy, but for the aging or senior dog as well.

2. Optimize gut health by increasing microbial diversity.

Gut health can be improved and maintained in several ways, but increasing microbial diversity — as well as reducing pathogens and increasing beneficial bacteria, such as the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species — is key. Adding prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics to an animal’s gut health program has been well-researched and established as important for maintaining good gut health. Furthermore, products such as mannan-rich fractions of yeast (MRF) and certain fermentation solubles — including mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) — as well as nucleotides and branched-chain amino acids are being incorporated into pet food for dogs and cats at a growing rate.

• Senior or geriatric dogs tend to have reduced concentrations of Bifidobacteria species, and studies of MOS have shown that they are correlated with significant increases in beneficial populations, which can help offset the negative effects of age on colonic health.
• MRF have also proven to be beneficial in pet diets in several ways. They basically provide a source of attachment for certain pathogens and escort them through the digestive tract, preventing colonization and reversing dysbiosis. MRF also support nutrient utilization, help maintain digestive function and enzyme activity and work to control inflammation.

3. Support immunity and cognitive health in dogs and cats with antioxidants.

We’ve looked at how immuno-nutrients affect gut health, but what impact do they have on the overall immune system? Trace minerals are essential in many metabolic and physiological processes, and using the organic, more bioavailable form of these essential nutrients has been proven to be beneficial in multiple ways.

Recent companion animal studies of Bioplex^®and Sel-Plex^® showed that, even when supplemented at much lower levels than their inorganic counterparts, these two products supported and promoted better trace mineral status, bone mineral density, growth and immune measures in both cats and dogs.

Certain trace minerals, including selenium, are also known to be important antioxidants. Since antioxidants can help minimize free-radical formation and oxidative stress, including them in pets’ diets is often considered an important part of any immune-nutrient strategy to help prevent and managed age-related health issues.

Some of the leading age-related health problems in pets include immune-related issues, joint health, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Two other emerging concerns and interests for pet owners with older pets are cognitive health and function.

When it comes to cognitive health, there have been several studies linking antioxidants and their role in counteracting oxidative stress to potential improvements in cognitive performance.

It seems that impaired neuroprotection that results from oxidative stress has been implicated in neurodegeneration, and as such, inhibitors of oxidative damage — especially antioxidants — are considered very promising as potential preventatives. 

Selenium is considered to be not only a very powerful antioxidant but a major agent of immune stimulation as well. Several studies in humans, companion animals and other species have shown that selenium can reduce oxidative damage, optimize immunity and thyroid health, and even help prevent mental decline.

The problem with selenium is that its availability, utilization and efficacy depend on the dietary source or form in which it is provided. Inorganic selenium (i.e., sodium selenate or sodium selenite), the most widely used form of selenium, is not only highly toxic; it is also poorly absorbed, can induce DNA damage and can have very strong pro-oxidative properties, making it a poor choice as an antioxidant. Because of toxicity concerns, inclusion rates for selenium are regulated, and the suggested levels are set with an eye toward preventing a deficiency rather than supplementing for optimized immunity and health. As such, it is worthwhile to reconsider our selenium supplementation strategies and find ways to maximize selenium status that, ultimately, support cognitive health as well.

An animal’s selenium status can easily be improved by substituting inorganic selenium with the organic form of the mineral, such as that included in Sel-Plex. Studies of Sel-Plex have evaluated its potential antioxidant characteristics in several species, including transgenic mice, and the results have shown a substantial increase in glutathione peroxidase and significantly decreased levels of DNA and RNA oxidation. Poor selenium status, on the other hand, has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Selenium has been shown to lower markers of inflammation, indicating that it may help decrease an animal’s risk of heart disease by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, which have been linked to atherosclerosis. Since pets are also susceptible to certain heart conditions, implementing nutritional strategies to improve selenium status and, in turn, reduce oxidative stress and any subsequent inflammation could potentially have positive benefits for geriatric pets as well.

Conclusion

Thanks to the growing trend of increased awareness and interest from pet owners about the overall health and well-being of their animal companions, we can expect nutrition to play an even more prominent role as part of a preventive approach to maintaining pet health. The importance of the pet microbiome cannot be underestimated, as it serves as the foundation of a healthy GI tract, immunity and overall health through all life stages. When looking at antioxidants, the opportunity also exists to make seemingly small changes — like switching from inorganic selenium to an organic source — that can actually have a significant impact on the overall immunity, health and cognitive function of the animal. Immuno-nutrients will continue to be an important part of a targeted nutritional approach to caring for pets, but it is also important to look for product-specific research and validation when creating your pets’ health plan.

I want to learn more about pet nutrition.

At this point, most of us know that the gut microbiome is an important component of overall health. With estimates asserting that mammals contain around 10 times more bacteria than cells in their bodies — and 1,000 more microbial genes — the importance of a healthy gut cannot be overstated.

While many of us have heard about prebiotics and probiotics for dogs and cats, the new term on the block is “synbiotics,” which are simply an effective and beneficial combination of pro- and prebiotics for cats and dogs. Current research shows that the right combination product could be a game changer in pet food diets.

How do prebiotics and probiotics for dogs and cats work together?

Here’s a quick refresher:

• Probiotics are consumable live microorganisms that have beneficial effects when fed in the appropriate concentrations.
• Prebiotics are fiber or fermented ingredients that pass through the GI tract undigested and positively influence the microbes in the gut.

In simple terms, probiotics are good bacteria, and prebiotics help feed those good gut bugs.

Synbiotics were created as specific combinations of pro- and prebiotics that work well together. Basically, synbiotics are selective strains of bacteria with specific prebiotics that best support those microbes.

Once in the body, synbiotics can act in various ways to support health.

What do prebiotics do in the body?

Upon being ingested, prebiotics pass through the animal’s stomach and small intestine without being broken down by hydrochloric acid or digestive enzymes. Once they reach the large intestine, prebiotics get to work as the “fuel” for the good bacteria in the gut.

Prebiotics work together with probiotics to maintain a delicate balance and diversity of organisms in the GI tract. As probiotics are fueled, the body reaps more benefits.

Additionally, as prebiotics are fermented and used by probiotics, short-chain fatty acids — such as butyrate and other postbiotics — are generated. These postbiotics are used by the cells of the GI tract as a nutrient source, which further contributes to a healthy gastrointestinal tract.

What do probiotics do in the body?

Different probiotic strains have different mechanisms of action in pets. Some examples of how probiotics can influence health include:

• Competing with and displacing bad bacteria in the GI tract by attaching to the intestinal lining
• Producing antimicrobial substances like fatty acids
• Inactivating toxins
• Up-regulating the production of beneficial metabolites
• Enhancing immune system function
• Supporting the integrity of intestinal epithelial cells

While many strains of probiotics are used in dogs and cats, some of the more common and widely researched include Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium spp. animalis.

Multiple studies have shown that the gut bacteria composition of dogs experiencing digestive diseases, such as chronic diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease, is altered compared to the gut bacteria of healthy dogs, which suggests that probiotics for dogs with diarrhea and other dysbiosis-inducing conditions may be one solution for better health.

What benefits do synbiotics provide?

As stated above, the whole point of synbiotics is to create one combination product that provides a net benefit for the animal based on synergistic pre- and probiotics.

Research trials involving pre- and probiotics for cats and dogs that study the most effective mixture of strains are limited, and the results of the trials that have been conducted vary greatly due to the myriad ways to test changes in the gut microbiome, as well as the different concentrations of beneficial bacteria and fiber being offered and the timing of administration with respect to other foodstuffs or medications. That being said, let’s look at what we do know.

One study in healthy, trained sled dogs found that a synbiotic that included E. faecium, Bacillus coagulans, L. acidophilus, and multiple prebiotics and vitamins led to an increase in Lactobacillaceae bacteria and the concentration of butyrate, as well as a decrease in diarrhea. In cats with chronic diarrhea, administration of a proprietary synbiotic blend improved fecal scores significantly after only 21 days.

Several studies have investigated the use of synbiotics in cats in conjunction with clindamycin, an antibiotic known to induce significant GI changes and distress in both pets and humans. In one trial, the use of a synbiotic with clindamycin in previously healthy cats illustrated synbiotics’ potential ability to mitigate some loss of beneficial bacteria. Additionally, the cats receiving the synbiotic also seemed to have altered levels of polyamine synthesis. Polyamines aid in the repair of the intestinal lining and have anti-inflammatory properties, so this is particularly interesting and will require more research to fully understand.

While the science continues to evolve, what we already know for sure is that supporting the microbiome and continually improving the gut ingredients available for pets will be hugely important in differentiating pet food brands.

How to market synbiotics

Adding a winning combination of probiotics and prebiotics to pet food diets is not only advantageous for good gut health and an optimal pet immune system but could also be profitable for businesses.

With pet parents always looking for an “edge” for their pets, adding a custom combination product that fits your brand’s needs is crucial for brand awareness and recognition. In a crowded marketplace, the smallest ingredients in the bag are often the biggest market differentiators.

Additionally, in the human nutrition marketplace, the idea of synbiotics is becoming more and more mainstream, which means that people will soon be looking for this word on pet food packaging.

When marketing synbiotics to consumers, here a few tips:

1. Identify the main reason why your company chose these particular strains of bacteria and supportive fiber.
2. Boil your main “why” into less than 10 words for each strain or fiber source.
3. Educate consumers so that they understand why your brand has selected these particular ingredients and why what you are offering is different from other brands.
4. Communicate obsessively via your channels. If it feels like you are repeating the same language, then you are doing it right! Most people need to hear something at least seven times before it really solidifies as fact in their brains.

As a company founded on science, Alltech’s technologies continue to be researched as extensively as they have for the past 40 years. We can help identify the custom blend of ingredients that would best serve your pet food brand based on your unique needs, processing techniques and marketing strategies.

In the end, our mission is healthy pets and healthy partnerships.  

To find out more about Alltech’s pet solutions, fill out the form below.

Today’s pets are part of the family and have longer lifespans, thanks to advancements in veterinary medicine, animal welfare and nutrition.

Nutrition is something that pet owners have the ability to influence every single day, so while we may be biased, we believe that nutrition is one of the most important ways to care for pets through every stage of life.

Some of the most important elements — literally! — of premium nutrition are trace minerals.

What are trace minerals?

Trace minerals are elements, such as zinc, copper, iron and manganese, that are required in very small amounts in a balanced diet but that have a wide range of health benefits, including supporting your cat’s or dog’s immune system, musculoskeletal health and skin and coat condition, to name a few.

In pet food diets, there are two important considerations when it comes to trace minerals:

1. The form of the mineral offered (inorganic vs. organic)
2. The amount of trace mineral provided (to ensure that there are no nutritional deficiencies)

Both of these factors will significantly influence the mineral’s bioavailability, or the impact that a particular trace mineral has on your pet.

Trace minerals for cats and dogs are not created equal

The nutrition marketplace has many different options when it comes to supplying trace mineral supplements for pets. These can be broadly classed as either inorganic (ITM) or organic trace minerals (OTM). The latter are so-called because the trace minerals are complexed — that is, they are associated with organic bonding groups. These bonding groups include amino acids, small peptides and organic acids, all of which influence the strength of the mineral binding.

Many factors need to be considered when trying to compare OTM products, but ultimately, the strength of the interaction between the mineral and the bonding group is the most important factor influencing bioavailability. Enhanced OTM bonding can ultimately increase the mineral’s bioavailability and effectiveness in the animal’s body.

The choice of bonding group is, therefore, critical to the effectiveness of OTMs, and research over the last number of years has highlighted the differences that exist between individual products. A poor choice of bonding group can result in the creation of products that offer no benefit over inorganic sources of minerals.

Inorganic trace minerals come from mined sources. Safety and traceability must be part of the quality assurance process to avoid the inclusion of heavy metals that, if present in a diet, can be deleterious to the long-term health of dogs and cats, especially as their lifespans increase.

In essence, not all trace minerals are created equal, but not all OTM products are created equal either.

How does the mineral form affect the nutrients that pets receive in their diets?

Keeping the nutritional balance of minerals in pet food can become rather complicated, because inorganic sources of trace minerals have variable absorption rates, and their bioavailability may be influenced by factors such as other dietary nutrients and the physiological condition of the animal, to name a few.

To counteract their poor bioavailability, it is common practice to add higher-than-recommended levels of inorganic trace minerals to commercial foods.

Bioplex® organic minerals, an alternative to the use of inorganic mined mineral sources, provide a number of benefits, from improved bioavailability to the support of the proper metabolic and physiological processes, which may not be carried out at full capacity when the trace mineral elements are not adequately supplied.

The amount of the mineral provided in diets will differ based on its form

As noted above, inorganic sources of trace minerals have variable absorption rates due to their structure. The absorption rate is a measurement of how the minerals are “taken up” by the digestive system and recruited into areas of need, such as the immune response and tissue repair.

When inorganic trace minerals are included in pet food diets, the amount that a pet consumes does not reflect the amount of trace minerals they actually absorb.

After a pet eats, the food is broken down by their digestive system to make nutrients available for absorption and use. The structure of the inorganic mineral causes it to interact with other components during this process. This results in the inorganic mineral forming an indigestible complex that ultimately ends up on the lawn or in the litterbox.

We describe this as poor bioavailability because, even though you are providing your pet with trace minerals in their food, those minerals are not able to be properly put to use and benefit your pet. To counteract this problem, it is common to add higher-than-recommended levels of trace minerals — but doing so is simply disguising one issue with another.

There are three ways that mineral form can influence nutrient absorption in the gut:

1. Food and feed antagonisms

Increasingly, the interactions between food components and trace minerals have come under scrutiny, with the possibility for negative interactions and antagonisms.

Credit: https://orthomolecular.webs.com/Elements/MineralWheel1.jpg
 

2. Impact on vitamin stability

The oxidation of vitamins, such as vitamin E, can lead to reduced vitamin function and can be caused by the oxidation of fats and, often, the actions of trace minerals. The type and, particularly, the form of the trace mineral will influence its effect on vitamin stability.

Studies examining vitamin E stability in the presence of inorganic or organic minerals demonstrate that, in the inorganic form, minerals can be detrimental to the stability of the vitamin molecule. Depending on the OTM source, however, the use of chelated minerals for dogs and cats may not cause such a dramatic decrease.

3. Compromised antioxidant function

Additional research assessing the effect of minerals on food components has established that commonly used antioxidants can be compromised by inorganic minerals. The data further indicates that, in cases where OTMs have shown weak mineral bonding, there is a significant negative impact on antioxidant activity. The choice of OTMs, therefore, plays a role in ensuring the quality and stability of food components.

Bioplex® organic trace minerals for pets are superior

Organic trace minerals are made differently. Organic minerals have a ring structure, which gives them protection and allows them to successfully pass through the digestive system. From there, the minerals can go through the gut wall and into the bloodstream to do their work. This is where inorganic trace minerals get left behind, as they stick to the gut instead of passing through it. Think of the gut as a gate; it either allows nutrients through or it doesn’t.

Inorganic forms of trace minerals are still used in pet food, but we are beginning to see more pet food manufacturers moving to better mineral nutrition, such as Bioplex® organic trace minerals.

Organic trace minerals make for healthy pets

While only required in small amounts in the diet, organic trace minerals play a large role in the body, and mineral deficiencies can be detrimental to an animal’s health.

For example, zinc is directly utilized for the hair and skin, favoring processes of cellular integrity. A zinc deficiency may manifest as a dysfunction of the epithelial tissue, dermatological conditions, coat problems and gastrointestinal tract injuries (due to damage to the microvilli).

Copper and manganese are directly deposited in the bones, joints, liver and muscle, and they are greatly important for the formation and homeostasis of the bone structure, making these especially important minerals for puppies and kittens. Copper is a cofactor of the enzyme lysyl oxidase, which is necessary for the cross-linking of collagen and elastin during cartilage synthesis. Manganese is a cofactor of glycosyltransferases, enzymes that are important in the formation and elongation of the glycosaminoglycan chain, which forms the basal substance of the cartilage model.

We could go on and on, but when it comes to mineral choice in pet food diets, organic trace minerals are far less likely to negatively affect other essential nutrients than inorganic sources. However, not all forms of organic minerals react in the same way. Therefore, we encourage diet formulators to pay greater attention to their choice of ingredients to maximize not only nutrition but the quality and stability of pet food.

Optimizing trace mineral nutrition will create healthier pets with more robust immune, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal systems. Not only will your pet food be a superior option on the shelves, but pet parents will see the difference and will surely continue buying your products.  

I want to learn more about pet nutrition.

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