[LEXINGTON, Kentucky] – The lure of the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and caipirinhas on the sand led many growers to enter The Grain Escape sweepstakes, which offered a grand prize of a five-night agronomic and cultural tour of Brazil. Now, Alltech Crop Science, the agronomic division of Alltech, is proud to announce the winner of The Grain Escape sweepstakes: Mr. Ray Tucker.

The contest, which ran through December 9, 2018, was open to any grower in the United States who farmed at least 10 acres of land and was at least 18 years of age. The winner was chosen in a random drawing on December 14. 

“I am very excited to have won and am really looking forward to the trip,” said Tucker, a sixth-generation Kentucky farmer who grows tobacco, corn and soybeans. Hosted by international Alltech Crop Science representatives, he and his wife Stephanie will visit Brazilian growers to share ideas and best practices — and they will also get to take in the sights and flavors of Brazil.

For information about upcoming opportunities with Alltech Crop Science, contact your local Alltech Crop Science representative or cropscience@alltech.com.

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Contact: press@alltech.com

Jennifer Norrie

Communications Manager, North America

jnorrie@alltech.com; 1-403-863-8547

Photo Caption: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/LfFLKJLfzeO-.L

Ray Tucker from Kentucky wins The Grain Escape sweepstakes grand prize of a five-night agronomic and cultural tour of Brazil with Alltech Crop Science.

Photo Caption: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/sjvs8Tsk7Krd

Ray Tucker (left) discusses his tobacco crop with Chuck McKenna (right) Alltech Crop Science sales manager, on Tucker’s farm in Kentucky.  

About Alltech:

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech discovers and delivers solutions for the sustainable nutrition of plants, animals and people. With expertise in yeast fermentation, solid state fermentation and the science of nutrigenomics, Alltech is a leading producer and processor of yeast additives, organic trace minerals, feed ingredients, premix and feed.

Our guiding ACE principle seeks to develop solutions that are safe for the Animal, Consumer and the Environment. Our more than 6,000 talented team members worldwide put this purpose to work every day for our customers.

Alltech is a family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to emerging customer needs and to stay focused on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For further information, visit www.alltech.com/news. Join us in conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Alltech Crop Science:

Alltech Crop Science is a division of Alltech, a privately-held animal health and nutrition company. For nearly 25 years, Alltech Crop Science has been a global leader in the application of microbial fermentation and nutrigenomic research to enhance yields, reduce stress and improve health in crops. These natural, proven solutions promote sustainability, profitability and value creation throughout the food chain.

Winners Tammy Wiedenbeck from Lancaster, Wis.; Rachel Ezzell from Waxhaw, N.C.; Jacob Pierce from Waxhaw, N.C.; and Katie Edmondson from Cortez, Col. were selected by public voting on Facebook

[LEXINGTON, Kentucky] – The Alltech #iamAG online agvocacy photo contest showcased the beauty of American agriculture through the eyes of producers, who submitted and shared photos of their farms for the opportunity to win a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19), to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 19–21, 2019. 

The winners of the Alltech #iamAG photo contest are:

• Tammy Wiedenbeck from Lancaster, Wis. (photo)
• Rachel Ezzell from Waxhaw, N.C. (photo)
• Jacob Pierce from Waxhaw, N.C. (photo)  
• Katie Edmondson from Cortez, Col. (photo)

The submitted photos were posted on Alltech’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/AlltechNaturally) for public voting. Winners and a guest each received free registration to ONE19 and $2,000 for travel expenses.

General registration is now open for ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 19–21, 2019. The annual international conference draws 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss world-changing ideas. For more information or to register, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation online with #ONE19.

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Contact: press@alltech.com

Jenn Norrie

• Communications Manager, North America
• jnorrie@alltech.com; (403) 863-8547

Photo Caption:

Tammy Wiedenbeck from Lancaster, Wis. has won a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, for their #iamAG photo.

Photo Caption: 

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx?KvMKg0Kp_XeA

Photo Caption:

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/7879y7YA833

Jacob Pierce from Waxhaw, N.C has won a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, for their #iamAG photo.

Photo Caption:

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/tQyt4otU.iqpGt

About Alltech:

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech discovers and delivers solutions for the sustainable nutrition of plants, animals and people. With expertise in yeast fermentation, solid state fermentation and the science of nutrigenomics, Alltech is a leading producer and processor of yeast additives, organic trace minerals, feed ingredients, premix and feed.

Our guiding ACE principle seeks to develop solutions that are safe for the Animal, Consumer and the Environment. Our more than 6,000 talented team members worldwide put this purpose to work every day for our customers.

Alltech is a family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to emerging customer needs and to stay focused on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For further information, visit www.alltech.com/news. Join us in conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

High levels of risk from DON, zearalenone, fusaric acid, fumonisin and HT-2

[LEXINGTON, Kentucky] – Mycotoxins are a concern for livestock producers, as they have toxic properties that impact feed quality as well as animal health and performance. Harvest samples from across the U.S. that have been submitted to the Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analytical services laboratory in 2018 show high levels of mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, fusaric acid, fumonisin and HT-2.

“Mycotoxins thrive in changeable conditions, with lack of rain, excessive rainfall or, sometimes, one after the other causing a perfect storm of contamination,” said Alexandra Weaver, global technical support with the Alltech® Mycotoxin Management team. “The extreme weather events that we’ve seen this year around the world have led to increased occurrence of mycotoxins in many countries.”

Samples collected across the U.S. include corn grain containing multiple mycotoxins, with an average of 7.0 mycotoxins per sample — more than 3.9 mycotoxins more, on average, than what was seen during the same period in 2017. Mycotoxins in U.S. corn silage samples are also showing an increase in occurrence this year, with an average of 6.8 mycotoxins per sample, compared to the 4.6 on average during the same time period last year.

Mycotoxins are seldom found in isolation, and when multiple mycotoxins are consumed, they may have additive, or even synergistic, interactions that increase the overall risk to the animal’s performance and health. As a result, the animal may have a stronger response than what would be expected if it were only experiencing a single mycotoxin challenge.

While the type B trichothecenes (DON group) harvests are similar from 2017 to 2018, the occurrence and concentrations of zearalenone have been greater in 2018 corn silage. Type A trichothecenes (T-2/HT-2 toxins group) have also been detected at a greater occurrence in 2018 corn silage, at 43 percent, compared to 21 percent in 2017. Fumonisins also remain a frequent co-contaminant.

 “These mycotoxins can affect animal performance and health, due to lower feed intake, gut health, reproduction and immune response,” said Dr. Max Hawkins, nutritionist with the Alltech® Mycotoxin Management program. “Testing feedstuffs and finished feeds is important for livestock producers to understand these risks.”

The annual Alltech 37+® mycotoxin harvest analysis test provides an assessment of contaminants in feed ingredients and potential risks to livestock. Between labs located in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dunboyne, Ireland, the Alltech mycotoxin management program has tested more than 26,000 samples of animal feed, each searching for over 50 mycotoxins.

Establishing a management program for optimum livestock performance and health is important to understanding the risk of mycotoxins. For more information on mycotoxin management, visit knowmycotoxins.com. 

Alltech will host the third webinar update on the United States Corn Silage Report with Dr. Max Hawkins and Pat Crowley, on-farm specialist at Alltech, on Thursday, Dec. 20, at 3:00 p.m. CST. Register for the webinar via this link and to view the previous webinars in the series.  

Hawkins and John Winchell, territory sales representative for Alltech, recently appeared on Rural America Live to speak about mycotoxin risks. Watch the video here.

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Contact: press@alltech.com

Jenn Norrie

• Communications Manager, North America
• jnorrie@alltech.com; (403) 863-8547

Photo Caption:

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/GV7GlJGgWvqC-

Results from the 2018 Alltech Harvest Analysis indicate high levels of mycotoxins in corn silage across the U.S.

Photo Caption:

https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/0890m50HbXCgx

[BOLOGNA, Italy] – The Alltech Euro Tour kicked off today in Bologna, Italy bringing together dairy farmers, feed industry professionals and Alltech team members for five days of learning and networking. Now in its second year, the Alltech Euro Tour has welcomed 140 people from 13 different countries. Throughout the tour from Nov. 26-30, the group will visit seven dairy farms and one beef farm in four different countries across Europe.

Starting in Bologna, in the heart of the famous Parmigiano-Reggiano region, the group will visit two high-producing farms, milking 800 and 1,000 cows, that supply milk to produce parmesan cheese.

From Italy, the group will fly by chartered plane to Reims, a city in the Champagne region in the east of France. Once there, the group will first visit a very well-known dairy farm in this part of France. This farm has expanded significantly in the last three years, subsequently tripling its milk production from a 230-cow herd. Diversification is the theme of the second farm the group will visit, which has used its 250-hectare farm to accommodate a dairy and cow calf herd while simultaneously growing rapeseed, wheat and barley.

The third country the tour will visit is Belgium, where the group will visit two highly-efficient farms that focus on producing top-quality silage and using mixed by-products to manage costs while sustaining high levels of milk production.

The tour will end in Dublin, Ireland, where the group will visit University College Dublin’s Lyons Research Farm. The focus areas of this facility include new, innovative and sustainable milk production models; evaluation of grazing systems based on available land; and the interaction between genotype and nutrition. While in Ireland, the group will also visit Alltech’s European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, County Meath, and nearby Kepak Farm, one of Ireland’s largest beef feedlots, finishing 4,000 heifers and bulls each year.

At each stop, the group will learn about local agriculture and hear about new trends and innovations driving farm performance in these countries. Qualified veterinarian and herd health consultant Martin Kavanagh will join as a guest speaker and will facilitate group discussions comparing dairy farming and the systems in place in each country.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to explore sights and enjoy local cuisine at each stop, including a visit to Fico Eataly World food park in Bologna, Italy; a tour of a champagne cellar in Reims, France; a medieval banquet at a castle in Sedan, France; and a tour and tasting at the Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin, Ireland.

“We’re delighted to welcome even more people from more countries on board our second Alltech Euro Tour,” said Holly Geraghty, event manager for the Alltech Euro Tour. “The tour is intended to give farmers a glimpse into dairy production across four European countries, meet other producers and hopefully pick up new learnings and ideas that could benefit their own businesses. We have an action-packed itinerary, but it promises to be a really enjoyable week for all!”

For more information on the Alltech Euro Tour, visit go.alltech.com/alltecheurotour.

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Contact:

Maria Daly

Communications Manager, Europe

mdaly@alltech.com; +353 86 466 9554

Photo caption:

This week, a group of 140 farmers, feed industry professionals and Alltech team members are on a unique journey across Europe visiting dairy farms in four countries, in five days!

About Alltech:

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech discovers and delivers solutions for the sustainable nutrition of plants, animals and people. With expertise in yeast fermentation, solid state fermentation and the science of nutrigenomics, Alltech is a leading producer and processor of yeast additives, organic trace minerals, feed ingredients, premix and feed.

Our guiding ACE principle seeks to develop solutions that are safe for the Animal, Consumer and the Environment. Our more than 6,000 talented team members worldwide put this purpose to work every day for our customers.

Alltech is a family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to emerging customer needs and to stay focused on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For further information, visit www.alltech.com/news. Join us in conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.                

Alltech, a global leader in animal nutrition, officially opened its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Pune, India, on Oct. 27, 2018, with a ceremony attended by more than 150 industry stakeholders. With a production capacity of 25,000 tons per year, it is the largest organic trace mineral plant in Asia.

Alltech India opened its office in 2001, with production operations in Bengaluru, India, beginning in 2004. Over the years, the company has grown twenty-fold, serving poultry, dairy and aqua feed mills and farmers to improve their efficiency and profitability.

“When we outgrew our plant capacity in 2016 and decided to expand our business and invest in a bigger plant, Pune was the first choice,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “Pune is one of India’s fastest-growing cities. With a cosmopolitan population of over 5 million people, proximity to the port and speedy development, this was an ideal place for us to serve our customers in a more efficient way.” 

“The Chakan industrial area is considered as one of the best,” noted Dr. Aman Sayed, managing director of Alltech India and regional director of South Asia. “The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has developed this area, which stretches 246 hectares, with basic as well as high-grade-quality facilities. Over 750 large and small industries, including a number of automobile component manufacturers, are based in the area.” 

The Pune facility was designed to cater not only to the local market but to South Asia and Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe as well. The plant spans a total area of 132,000 square feet and employs 50 full-time team members. The Pune facility features modern scientific technology and utilizes advanced quality systems.

“The plant is equipped with features such as natural gas as its energy source for reducing carbon emissions, fire hydrant systems ensuring safety, and segregated docks for raw material and finished products, enabling free movement of vehicles and clear demarcation and traceability of material in and out of the facility,” said Sayed.

 “We have a fully-fledged lab for testing our raw materials and finished goods internally, ensuring that they meet our quality standards and guarantees before being shipped out to customers,” said Raghu Saraki, quality manager South Asia. “We are required to follow the Alltech^® Quality System and our Alltech Q+™ (Quality Plus) program, ensuring the quality, safety and traceability of every batch of product manufactured here.”

The Alltech Quality System, or AQS, is recognized throughout the feed industry for its stringent standards. AQS delivers the same level of quality assurance and traceability in each of Alltech's geographical markets, based on standardized processes designed to meet and exceed other third-party systems of certification as well as global regulations. 

The facility will soon obtain certifications such as ISO22000:2005 (for food safety management), FAMI-QS certification (for European food standards) and ISO14000:2015 (for environmental management).

While addressing the audience at the Pune facility opening, Lyons said that Alltech intends to continue making investments within the region, creating jobs and following its guiding ACE principle, referring to the company’s commitment to develop safe solutions for the Animal, Consumer and Environment.

The Pune facility exemplifies another milestone in Alltech’s efforts to strengthen its presence in the emerging Asian market. The company opened its Nepal sales and support office in the city of Kathmandu on Oct. 25, 2018.

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Download image: https://photos.alltech.com/pf.tlx/WaWLvWFmejo.W

Caption: Alltech, a global leader in animal nutrition, officially opened its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Pune, India, on Oct. 27, 2018.

Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech has strengthened its presence in Asia with the official opening of its Nepal sales and support office in the city of Kathmandu on Oct. 25, 2018.

Alltech serves feed manufacturers, producers, farmers and ranchers in more than 120 countries. The company has had a presence in the Asia-Pacific market since 1986 through its first distributor in Japan and established its first Asian office in Beijing, China, in 1994.

Alltech has been operating in Nepal for 16 years, and the company witnessed a 60 percent growth in its business within the country last year. Approximately 80 percent of Nepal’s population is engaged in agricultural work, and the agriculture sector contributes to nearly 30 percent of Nepal’s GDP.

Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, inaugurated the new regional office in Kathmandu. Other company representatives who participated in the opening included Steve Elliott, global mineral director; Matthew Smith, vice president of Alltech Asia-Pacific; and Dr. Aman Sayed, managing director of India and regional director of South Asia, along with managers and members of the Alltech team in South Asia.

“The growth of the feed market here is quite significant, and we are the first animal health company to enter into the market,” said Lyons at the opening of the office.

“To best serve our customers, we decided to establish an Alltech regional office in Kathmandu,” Lyons continued. “Our team in Nepal is committed to supporting feed manufacturers and farmers as they meet the growing demand for meat and milk.”

Dairy production is a growing agricultural sector in Nepal. With a well-established presence in India — the world’s largest producer of milk — Alltech plans to share best practices with neighboring country Nepal. Given that Nepal’s milk production currently trails demand by approximately 100,000 litres per day, there is a significant opportunity for Alltech to provide value through its nutritional technologies and technical expertise.

“Kathmandu was a sensible choice for us and for our clients,” said Sayed. “Our goal is to ensure that producers in Nepal get the timely service and support they need.”

With cow-calf producers across the U.S. prepare for fall and winter feeding conditions, adding supplemental protein should be considered to help improve forage utilization. CrystalBloxTM, a self-fed block supplement for cattle, is the first supplement of its kind to be brought to the market in nearly 40 years.  

Developed by Ridley Block Operations, part of the Alltech feed division and the makers of CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements, CrystalBlox is a new hybrid form that combines the economical nutrient delivery and fortification of compressed blocks with the consistent and predictable intake of low moisture block technology. CrystalBlox will fit into a wide variety of feeding situations in which protein delivery is critical. 

“As a beef producer, you want your cattle to maintain good body condition through the fall and winter, when forages are at their lowest quality,” said Mark Robbins, director of research and nutrition services at Ridley Block Operations. “CrystalBlox provides supplemental protein so cattle can utilize those low-quality forages and maintain a good body score condition until calving.” 

CrystalBlox is designed and formulated to provide supplemental protein to help improve forage utilization by promoting increased forage intake and improved fiber digestibility. In situations where forage crude protein levels are low due to drought or with advanced maturity such as fall and winter forages, CrystalBlox can provide supplemental protein that will help cattle extract more energy and nutrients from forage supplies.  

Robbins, along with Alltech Feed Division nutritionist Tyler Melroe, recently appeared on Rural America Live to speak about CrystalBlox. Watch the video here. 

For more information and to find a dealer location, visit CrystalBlox.com.  

Since its inception in 2005, the Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) has had participation of over 60,000 students from more than 70 countries and has awarded $1 million in prizes. It is considered one of the world’s most prestigious agriscience competitions for university students and has discovered some of the best and brightest upcoming researchers from universities around the world. Applications are now open for the 2019 competition.

The Alltech Young Scientist competition began in 2005 as an expression of Dr. Pearse Lyons’ passion for curiosity and innovation within education. As a scientist, he understood the challenges of research and the excitement that comes with breakthroughs that could solve real problems. Through the Alltech Young Scientist competition, he hoped to create a closer connection between the classroom and the agricultural challenges occurring in the field and on the farm. Most importantly, he wanted to inspire and showcase the talents of university students who represent tomorrow’s solutions for our planet’s shared future.

New for 2019, the AYS competition is open exclusively to university graduate students (master’s degree and Ph.D.) and professor nominations are no longer required. Entrants will compete first within their home regions of North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific or Europe/Africa. Then regional winners will be invited to attend an all-expenses-paid Alltech Young Scientist Discovery Week in Lexington, Kentucky, where they will compete in the global competition during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19), which will be held May 19–21, 2019. The prizes include USD$10,000 for the global graduate winner.

“The Alltech Young Scientist competition provides a global stage for the next generation of agriculture scientists to present their research, further their education and interact with some of the best scientific and agribusiness minds of our time,” said Dr. Karl Dawson, vice president and chief scientific officer at Alltech. “We are proud to offer this once-in-a-lifetime experience in the hopes of highlighting and rewarding those striving to impact the agriculture industry through scientific research and innovation.”

Registration is currently open for the 2019 competition and will close on Jan. 31, 2019. Students may submit scientific papers on topics such as animal health and nutrition, crop science, agriculture analytical methods, food chain safety and traceability, human health and nutrition, and other agriscience-related sectors. Paper submission may be completed online through Jan. 31, 2019, and regional winners will be announced in April 2019.

Although the competition is for graduate students, AYS welcomes other budding scientists, from kindergarten and beyond, to engage with the program on Facebook and Instagram, where we feature special contests and other exciting content. For more information and to register for the Alltech Young Scientist competition, visit AlltechYoungScientist.com.

Each growing season can present its own unique challenges, from hot temperatures and drought to excess rainfall and flooding. Extreme weather conditions can not only reduce yield but also delay harvest, increase plant stress and lead to future issues for the crop, including molds and mycotoxins.  

Mycotoxins are a concern for livestock producers, as they influence feed quality and animal safety. They are produced by certain species of molds and can have toxic properties that impact animal health and performance. Harvest samples from across the U.S. are currently being submitted to the Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analytical services laboratory, and the analysis is showing high levels of mycotoxins, as in past years, of DON, fusaric acid and fumonisin, as well as HT-2 this year.  

“The extreme weather events that we’ve seen across the U.S. this year present different challenges, different types of molds and different types of mycotoxins,” said Dr. Max Hawkins, nutritionist with the Alltech® Mycotoxin Management team. “And we monitor those risks with our harvest analysis through the Alltech 37+® mycotoxin tests to evaluate risk to livestock health and performance.”  

Mycotoxins are seldom found in isolation, and when multiple mycotoxins are consumed, they may have additive, or even synergistic, interactions that increase the overall risk to performance and health. As a result, an animal may have a stronger response than what would be expected if it was only experiencing a single mycotoxin challenge. In 2017, 95 percent of samples submitted tested positive for at least five mycotoxins. 

Testing feedstuffs and finished feeds is important to understand the risk of mycotoxins, so Alltech is currently offering a free 37+® mycotoxin test to producers. Visit knowmycotoxins.com/freetest for more information.  

Alltech will host a United States Corn Silage Report webinar with Dr. Max Hawkins on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. CST. Register for the webinar via this link.  

Hawkins and John Winchell, territory sales representative for Alltech, recently appeared on Rural America Live to speak about mycotoxin risks. Watch the video here. 

For more information on mycotoxin management, visit knowmycotoxins.com.   

A picture is worth a thousand words — to tell a story, share a moment or bring back a memory. As the urban population increases, it has become even more important to “agvocate,” sharing stories and pictures of the agricultural life. Alltech wants to help share these agvocacy photos, stories and moments and celebrate those whose daily dedication feeds a growing world.

With the launch of the #iamAG online agvocacy photo contest, Alltech invites American farmers, ranchers, producers and all agricultural workers to submit and share photos of their farms and ag lifestyle for the opportunity to win a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19) held in Lexington, Kentucky, May 19–21, 2019. 

Photos must be submitted online by Nov. 30, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. EST. They will be judged by a panel, who will select the top photos as finalists, and those photos will be published on Alltech’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/AlltechNaturally).

Voting will open to the public on Dec. 3 at 3:00 p.m. EST and will close on Dec. 17 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Use the hashtag #iamAG to find the photos or visit the Facebook album to vote.

Winners and their guest will receive free registration to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (valued at $995) and $2,000 for travel expenses. To enter a photo and read the full contest details, including the rules and regulations, visit https://go.alltech.com/i-am-ag.

Registration is now open for ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 19–21, 2019. The annual international conference draws 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss world-changing ideas. For more information or to register, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation online with #ONE19.