Fibrozyme enhances the ruminant digestive system in high-fiber diets

High-fiber diets can be difficult for animals to digest. Increasing the digestion of ruminal fiber in higher-forage rations — even by a small amount — can significantly impact both intake and production. Fibrolytic enzymes can boost an animal’s ability to extract nutrients from the feed, improving ruminal efficiency. Fibrozyme is a unique enzyme feed technology designed to maximize feed efficiency in high-fiber diets by better breaking down the cell wall fractions in plant fibers, encouraging intake to support productivity for both beef and dairy cattle.

The deadly viral disease affecting pigs, called African swine fever (ASF), has had devastating consequences for swine industries across Africa, Europe and Asia. In the summer of 2021, it was detected on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti), the closest it has been to the US mainland in decades.

Although not as busy as it was before the pandemic, the in-person return of IPPE mainly symbolises the resumption of activity in the events sector for the poultry industry in the Americas as well as for the animal nutrition sector in the region. The world is slowly moving forward, and business is adapting to the new normal. At IPPE companies were simply pleased to reconnect with clients and partners in-person.

It could take until the second half of 2022 before farmers will see any pressure on input costs reducing in any meaningful way.

This is the very clear view of Alltech vice president, Pat Charlton.

He told Agriland: “Farm margins have come under intense pressure in the wake of rising feed, fertiliser and all other input costs over recent months.

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Alltech had its solutions for healthier cattle on display at the NCBA in Houston, Texas Feb. 1-3. 

Laurentia VanRensburg is the technical mineral manager for the Mineral Management platform at Alltech. She was speaking with attendees at the trade show about trace minerals and breeding.

Alltech CEO Dr. Mark Lyons discusses the results of the Alltech Agri-Food Outlook survey, and shares his insights on the current state of the animal protein industry in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

Click here to listen. 

The KEENAN MechFiber365+ is in the large-sized range, feeding 100-140 dairy cows per load or 200-280 beef finishers. The machine comes with a heavy-duty sealed oil-bath drive system which is self-lubricating for ease of maintenance. A central greasing manifold allows all front bearings to be greased from one location.

Other key benefits include:

• Fresh new look with specially moulded black pin seal matt finish front covers.
• Rear ladder made of sleek tubular steel – user-friendly, collapsible and less prone to damage.
• Mixing chamber containing 6-paddle reel with new style paddle castellations ­– improved mix quality, less horsepower required, less machine wear.
• The paddles gently lift & tumble the added materials across the blades ensuring feedstuff is cut to an optimal length without destroying the quality of the fibre. This is to create a mix with the correct chop length & structure for optimum rumen health – improved herd health and productivity.
• Option to add lights over feed-out door and increase the length of the feed-out door – easy to see when ambient lighting is low and quicker feed-out.
• 4th Generation KEENAN Controller, feed management App and InTouch platform for full oversight of the mixing process and all farm data – see ingredient list and order, monitor costs, refusals etc.
• Option of key telematics on Controller – oil sensors, chain tension sensor etc. – helps to maintain machine in good working order

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With data from more than 140 countries and over 28,000 feed mills, read the highlights of the report by region or species.

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Con and Neilius O’Sullivan operate a spring and autumn calving dairy herd in Athea, Co. Limerick, milking 120 Holstein Friesian cows. When planning for the autumn and winter season of 2020, the O’Sullivans had decided on three main objectives for their herd:

·        Implement a dry cow programme

·        Increase kilos of milk solids produced

·        Buffer feeding at the shoulders of the year

The O’Sullivans conducted research on how they could achieve these objectives and, as a result, decided to purchase a diet feeder, buying a KEENAN MechFiber 340 Approved in July 2020  from David Nolan, KEENAN’s regional business manager. This was the O’Sullivans’ first diet feeder; previously, they used a tractor bucket and silage grab. With their purchase, 12 months of InTouch nutrition support was included as part of the package.

“The nutrition support alongside the KEENAN machine has been great,” said the O’Sullivans. “We would have been lost without it.”

Through the implementation of the KEENAN Proven Results program, Neilius and Con produced an extra 98,000 litres between January and May 2021 in comparison to the same period in 2020. Regional InTouch nutritionist Seamus Millea introduced a controlled, high-energy, high-fibre diet onto the O’Sullivans’ farm, which has resulted in fewer metabolic issues and less body condition loss in early lactation.

In 2020, the O’Sullivans’ herd produced 475 kg of milk solids, and they are on target to produce upwards of 540 kg in 2021. Individually, their cows are up 716 litres, on average — an increase of 63 kg of milk solids. The O’Sullivans also fed an extra 205kg of concentrate per cow in 2021 in comparison to the previous year.

“This was our first year with the KEENAN, and the difference with the cows has been phenomenal,” said Neilius. “We wanted to be able to buffer in the shoulders of the year to drive on production. The dry cow program was another reason we made the purchase, and we have gotten the results we wanted from it.”

The implementation of the dry cow diet has made a considerable difference to the O’Sullivans’ herd, resulting in no animal health issues at calving and excellent milk production immediately after calving.

The KEENAN Proven Results program assists farmers in achieving their on-farm production objectives through four steps:

·        Step 1: Conduct a remote farm assessment. An InTouch feeding specialist will assess your current herd performance.

·        Step 2: Create a tailored InTouch plan. We identify a production target for you to achieve within one year. You receive a tailored plan unique to your herd.

·        Step 3: Go on a commissioning visit. We give you a tour of your new machine and guide you through how to use the KEENAN Controller.

·        Step 4: We’re always here to help. You will be provided with consistent support throughout the year from the InTouch team, who are here to help you achieve your production goals.

The KEENAN Proven Results program is open to both new and existing customers. Contact your KEENAN regional business manager today to arrange a free remote farm assessment and to find out what production increases your herd can achieve.