How to get the Most out of Attending a Conference

How to get the Most out of Attending a Conference

Posted on by Thomas

One of the best places to get continued education is a conference! This week Brooke Vanderloop of the AVA Group Inc. shares some tips about how she gets the most out of attending a conference and how she applies her new knowledge when she gets back home.

 

When attending a conference what is the best way to choose which presentations to attend?

I like to go to one presentation that I am certain I will enjoy and get a lot out of.  I also like to choose one presentation I think I may not like as much, but in hopes I will learn something new.

 

Who are the most important people to talk to at a conference?

I think that networking is one of the most important parts of the conference. I go there to talk to as many people as possible.I can always learn something from other producers, and I like to try to talk to some of the presenters if there is an opportunity. Especially if they say something I don’t agree with because I like to know where they are coming from and where they got that information.

 

Is it worth spending time at the Trade Show?

I think so. I really like learning about new products, especially innovative and natural products. There are a lot of those coming out now. Natural therapies and Calf Distinction products have been some of my favorites. It’s a good place to bounce ideas off sales people or people you are with about the different products.

 

Which conference has been your favorite to attend?

It’s close between DCHA and PDPW, but DCHA is my favorite because it is so calf focused and that is right up my alley!  I really can’t of anything more exciting than a whole conference centered around calves!

 

Thank you, Brooke, for your thoughts on how to get the most out of a conference! If you would like to hear more from Brooke and her thoughts on calf raising, you can visit her website SmartCalf.

 

Mariah Gull, M.S.

Views of a Veterinarian- Dr. Trevor Stapelman, D.V.M.

Views of a Veterinarian- Dr. Trevor Stapelman, D.V.M.

Posted on by Thomas

A veterinarian-client relationship is of utmost importance when it comes to establishing animal health protocols. This week Dr. Trevor Stapelman, DVM shares his viewpoint on common practices to maximize health and productivity in beef herds.

Trevor grew up in the Mini-Cassia area of the Magic Valley of Idaho and graduated from Minico High School. He attended the University of Idaho where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and in Pre-Veterinary Medicine, and then went on to get his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. After graduation Trevor started practicing in Gooding with a vet clinic, later he worked for a dairy coop in Burley, and then went off to start his own practice.

Dr. Stapelman’s practice has evolved over the years, what started out as a solely large animal practice has turned into a mixed animal practice, which has proved to be a good break for him and has allowed him to rest up a bit. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife of 22 years and his 4 children (1 boy and 3 girls). Trevor’s hobbies include roping, spending time in the mountains, hunting, fishing, and doing projects around the home and his hobby farm.

 

Q: What management aspect is often overlooked in beef herds in Idaho?

A: Oddly enough I would say nutrition and mineral deficiencies. Nutrition is just something that is often overlooked. People are at the mercy of the mountain and graze their cattle on whatever grass is available. That varies from year to year.  It could be dead, dry, or green and lots of the time they aren’t making any mineral available to the cattle. Mineral licks and tubs have come a long way in the past few years, but still a lot of people overlook that.

 

Q: What are the biggest health concerns you encounter in beef herds in Idaho?

A: Vaccination is not always covered as it should. That doesn’t mean that you must vaccinate for everything. You could go vaccine poor or “insurance poor” if you tried to use everything out there. It’s important to know what is necessary to vaccinate for in your area. I go to some ranches in Nevada and some in Southern Idaho and what vaccines are necessary vary with the terrain and with what disease is most prevalent in the area.

 

Q: What issues have you witnessed this calving season?

A: This year has been a nightmare with all the cold and wet weather we have had. Most of the issues have had to do with respiratory disease, but there have been some enteric diseases encountered too.

 

Q: What tools have you used to help correct those problems?

A: Herds with a good vaccination program that they have used for years aren’t bothered as much when we hit weather like we have. But those that skipped the vaccines in the attempt to save money, or for other reasons, really get kicked in the face with the crappy weather.

The vaccines do pretty well at minimizing or avoiding major health issues.  Antibiotics that I have found helpful are Resflor and Draxxin. These newer antibiotics became available after I graduated from Vet School. They are much more effective for helping calves get over respiratory issues than other antibiotics that were available when I was a kid. Typically, we should culture before treatment, but often if I waited that long to treat the animal would be dead.  It’s preemptive but treating respiratory disease with Resflor and Draxxin has proven effective for me.

 

Q: What management practices could producers implement to avoid or reduce health problems?

A: I can’t stress enough that the saying “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” translates across animal lines as well. Most of those calfhood pathogens are passed around fecal to oral. We don’t want the calf ingesting whatever nastiness is around.

Rotating calving areas helps a lot, as bacteria can multiply over time. Calving on dry bedding also helps. It can be difficult to do, but dipping the navel is another preventative practice I like to see. If guys are out tagging anyway, that’s a great time to do it.

80-90% of calf health issues can be prevented by making sure that calves receive 1 gallon of colostrum in the first 12 hours of life. I like to see guys tubing 2 qts. of colostrum right away and then another 2 qts. within that 12 hour period, especially if there is a question as to whether or not the calf has gotten up to nurse yet.

 

Q: What resources would you like to see more available to Idaho beef producers that would help to improve animal health and profitability of their herds?

A: I think there are some resources out there that are not taken advantage of like they should. Every drug company has Tech Services Veterinarians that are there to answer questions, research, and help with protocols when new meds and vaccines come out. Those resources are there, people just don’t always take advantage of them. Maybe we need to advertise and promote them better.

 

Thank you Dr. Stapelman for sharing your thoughts on cattle health with us!  Stapelman Veterinary Services is a great resource for cattle and mixed animal health in Cassia County. You can learn more about Dr. Stapelman and his clinic by following Stapelman Veterinary Services on Facebook or stapelman_vet on Instagram.

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

Digestive Disorders in Feedlot Cattle

Digestive Disorders in Feedlot Cattle

Posted on by Thomas

Digestive disorders are a relatively small occurrence in feedlots when compared to respiratory problems. Respiratory disease accounts for approximately 80% of illness in feedyards compared to digestive disorders affecting only about 5% of feedyard animals.

Although only affecting a small percentage of animals, digestive disease can be a significant problem. Diarrhea caused by digestive illness can result in decreased treatment response, added medication costs, and increased mortality.

 

There are four major causes of diarrhea in feedyard cattle.

Parasitism: Unless younger animals are dewormed at the ranch or backgrounder, most cattle are infected with internal parasites, especially those coming off grass. Parasite control is important to keep the animals’ digestive systems functioning correctly. Internal parasites cause damage and affect the immune system, diminishing the ability to fight diease. The result is lower performance, greater death loss, and less salable product.

Animals harboring parasites will often have diarrhea that is green in color, a rough hair coat, and appear unthrifty.

 

Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD): This virus is widespread, and most herds are at risk of infection. Symptoms of BVD may vary depending upon the immune status of the animal and the strain of the infecting virus. Non-vaccinated or immunocompromised individuals will likely appear to have severe illness with squirting pea green diarrhea that may contain blood, and a high fever. Infected animals will go off feed, may exhibit mouth ulcers and often pneumonia.  Occasionally animals will die very quickly, even before other symptoms present themselves.

Economic losses include increased labor and treatment costs, death loss, reduced gain of the infected animal and in-contact pen mates, and decreased carcass quality. Best management practices for control of BVD include testing for persistently infected individuals, biosecurity, and vaccination.

 

Salmonella: Widespread and can be found on a large number of farms and in many species of animals. This opportunist bacterium infects the animal at times of immune system suppression, during stressful events when beneficial gut microbiota are disrupted, or when the animal is very young. Infection can range from “healthy” carrier animals that shed the organism without symptoms of illness to those exhibiting acute signs of infection.

When an animal is experiencing multiple stressors the gastrointestinal tract barrier functions can falter and lead to “leaky gut syndrome”. When this happens Salmonella can exit the GI tract and enter the blood system. The lymphatic system will filter the blood and the salmonella pathogen will end up in the lymph nodes and the liver as the infection becomes systemic.

Animals infected with Salmonella may exhibit a fever and their diarrhea is often yellow in color and very foul smelling.

 

Coccidiosis: Protozoan parasites that are host specific. The oocyst is usually shed in the feces of affected animals and of subclinical carrier animals and is ingested by pen mates. Infection causes both severe illness and possible death, or subtle illness negatively impacting growth and productivity of the animal.

Diarrhea is commonly bloody and stains the rear end of the animal a blackish-green color. Treatment and control include keeping pens clean to prevent ingestion of oocysts as well as use of an anticoccidial regimen to prevent further disease and contamination.

 

When diarrhea or loose stools are first identified it is important to sort out any nutritional causes before moving on to pinpointing a pathogen. Many times, a ration change or a new shipment of cattle can cause looseness that lasts up to five days. It may also be common to see blood in the stool a few days after beginning to feed grain. Most importantly cattle with nutritional causes of diarrhea will not exhibit the same signs of illness as those with a pathogenic cause.

Control and prevention of digestive disease begins with low stress cattle handling and a sound nutritional program where cattle are received onto rations that will not aggravate digestive upsets.

Keep in mind that cattle with a digestive disease are much more prone to secondary intestinal infections and respiratory disease. Work with your veterinarian to determine effective treatment protocols for infected animals that are appropriate for the type of pathogen.

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

Feed Safety and Hygeine with Katie Raver

Feed Safety and Hygeine with Katie Raver

Posted on by Thomas

Food safety is definitely something we think about when preparing food for humans, but do we take the same measures we would in preparing food for our animals as we would for ourselves?

Katie Raver from Rock River labs elaborates why feed hygiene practices are important for our livestock and how we can monitor them through analysis packages available at Rock River Labs.

 

Katie’s Background

Katie grew up in central rural Illinois and then attended the University of Illinois where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. After being very involved in the dairy program there, she decided that was the direction she wanted to pursue in her career.

In between her Bachelor’s and Master’s programs Katie did an internship at Rock River Labs where she gained a passion for forage quality and feed in general. Which is what she focused on when she returned to the University of Illinois to get her Master’s degree.

Upon graduation Katie took a job in Texas with a feed company where she served as technical support. After 5.5 years she left that job to return to Rock River Labs in 2020.

 

What is Feed Safety or Feed Hygiene and why should we worry about it?

Most of us take a very reactive approach to feed safety and wait until there is a problem to start testing feed. Understanding the possible areas of contamination and the dynamic situation around feed safety is important to think about before we have hemorrhagic bowel syndrome or a lot of cattle with digestive upsets.

Traditionally we think one specific contaminant may be causing an issue, when really, often it is multifaceted and actually a combination of things that are causing the problem. Those things can be environmental, nutritional, or even a toxic contaminant. When we approach it as a whole and identify nutritional factors that can tie into gut health, when we look at those mycotoxins, and bacteria to put the whole picture together to get more of a complete idea of what factors can be contributing to an issue.

 

What kind of analysis can Rock River Labs provide us that will help us on farm as far as feed safety goes?

Typically, if there is an issue on farm and if you have a fairly good idea of what forage is causing the issue, we could do a mycotoxin or clostridium test on individual silages. However, a lot of times we like to start with a TMR hygiene test.

In this test we a looking at one total mixed ration fed to the focus group of cattle that are having the issue. This gives a basic nutritional analysis of the feed as well as an assessment of antinutritional factors. It will look at yeast counts, mold counts, clostridium, enterobacteria, and DON. These give us indicators of other potential issues and help us trace back to look further if we identify an issue.

We also do in situ starch digestibility as too much starch passing into the hind gut can create an environment for many of these pathogens to thrive and have a bigger impact than they normally would.

You can test and test and test and test and spend a lot of time and money to try and identify problems. The TMR hygiene test gives us an overview of all the potential issues and the issues to trace back to the right area instead of going at it blind.

 

How can the Rock River Report help us make on farm management changes to manage feed safety problems?

We have a fantastic team of customer service representatives to help producers walk through issues. We have guidelines available and do a ton of research resources, written articles, and tracking on current trends available for decision making.

 

Thank you, Katie, for helping us to learn more about Feed Safety and Hygiene!  We are always learning more and more about the importance of gut health and the role that plays in the health and production of our livestock. TMR hygiene plays a huge role in gut health and focusing on improving that hygiene will pay off in the health and welfare of your herd.

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

Use Your 5 Senses When Walking Cattle

Use Your 5 Senses When Walking Cattle

Posted on by Thomas

Cattle can’t tell you what is going on with them. As you walk the pen use your 5 senses to identify any animals that might not be feeling well, find those that are in heat, and observe how the pen interacts as a group.

 

SIGHT

Cattle are prey animals and will do their best to cover up any sickness or weakness they may have, so my observations often begin by sight 1 or 2 pens away from the group I want to observe. I am on the lookout for any animal that is off by itself, animals that are refusing to eat, and animals that might be lame.

As I get closer to the pen, but not in it yet, one very important thing I evaluate is cud chewing. The best time to observe cud chews is a few hours after feeding when all the cattle are resting. Ideally, we want over 60% of the group to be chewing their cud.

After entering the pen, I begin looking at manure, body condition score, and for any cattle with labored breathing.

 

LISTEN

Next time you walk cattle, close your eyes and listen for the quiet. Quiet means animals are happy and resting. Loud sounds such as balling, or a lot of movement mean the animals may be hungry or stressed.

 

FEEL

Believe it or not, there are a lot of things you can assess by feel when you walk cattle. Feel the ground, is it hard, wet, or dirty? If so, cattle may be expending more energy than they should standing or trying to keep warm. Soft, dry bedding allows for cow comfort and will make them more apt to rest and be more efficient in feed conversion.

Feel the feed. Does the chop length look right? How’s the moisture? Are there any foreign objects? All things to consider.

Feel the air. Is it hot, cold, humid? Is there enough ventilation? Is there too much of a draft, could cattle benefit from a wind break? All these factors could impact performance.

 

SMELL

“Smells like money”, is what I like to say when someone comments on how cattle smell! But in all seriousness, the different smells associated with an operation can tell you a lot about what is going on and maybe even a little bit about how the money was spent.

On a calf operation, smell of the manure can tell you a lot about the health of the animal. When walking older animals, the smell of the manure may not tell us as much, but there are other smells that can.

Smell of the feed. Did the silages ferment well? Is the feed in the bunk heating?  How about the grain? Any smutty, foul, sour, or moldy smells may give us hints to feed quality and hopefully help us prevent problems with the animals when they are fed.

 

TASTE

Okay, I will be honest, this is not one sense that I use much when walking cattle, but I know many people that do. Often, I will see farmers test the kernels in corn silage with their teeth, and taste to test the sweetness. Others may like to try additives, starters, electrolytes, etc. before letting their cattle eat them.

Use all your 5 senses to come up with your own subjective judgement on how the pen is doing as a whole.

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

Cost of Dairy Disease

Cost of Dairy Disease

Posted on by Thomas

Although income over feed costs is a very important number in evaluating herd profitability, it is not the only measure of profitability that producers, nutritionists, and veterinarians should be evaluating. Health issues have a huge impact on cow performance, which affects current profits and the future value of the cow. Disease influences profitability both directly and indirectly.

A farm-level economic model created by the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky gives us a greater understanding of those costs associated with disease.

 

Common Dairy Diseases

Mastitis: commonly caused by pathogenic bacteria invading and multiplying within the mammary gland.

Lameness: foot or leg condition caused by various factors.

Retained Placenta: presence of fetal membranes 24 hours or later after calving, or fetal membranes retained for more than 6 hours. Widely considered a predisposing factor for metritis.

Metritis: inflammation of the uterus due to bacterial invasion.

Left-displaced abomasum: the abomasum is filled with gas and becomes trapped by the descending rumen to the left side of the abdominal cavity.

Ketosis: negative energy balance.

Hypocalcemia (Milk Fever): low plasma calcium levels following calving.

 

Disease Cost

Herd performance and market conditions are extremely influential in determining the cost of disease. These values of course change over time and from farm to farm, however, using the economic model given by University of Kentucky, we gain an idea of the general cost for each dairy disease.

Economic costs considered by the model include:

Veterinary and Treatment

Labor

Discarded Milk

Decreased Milk Production

Culling

Extended Days Open

Death Loss

  

CLINICAL DISEASE TOTAL COST
HYPOCALCEMIA
Lactation 2+ $246.23
KETOSIS
Lactation 1 $77.00
Lactation 2+ $180.91
LAMENESS
Lactation 1 $185.10
Lactation 2+ $333.17
LEFT DISPLACED ABOMASUM
Lactation 1 $432.48
Lactation 2+ $639.51
MASTITIS
Lactation 1 $325.76
Lactation 2+ $426.50
METRITIS
Lactation 1 $171.69
Lactation 2+ $262.65
RETAINED PLACENTA
Lactation 1 $150.41
Lactation 2+ $313.49

 

Keep in mind all these costs were adjusted for the year of 2015.

Practical Application

Knowing the cost of disease on your farm is an important part of evaluating true farm profitability. Keeping accurate records is important in determining if any management changes or improvements need to be made. There are many computer software programs available to make record keeping easier.

Many of these may even help you to figure out how much the cost of disease is on your farm. In my neck of the woods DHI-Plus is a common dairy record keeping program. One helpful feature is a report folder called, What’s it’s Cost. The reports found in this folder are a simulation of the lost production that each individual disease may result in on a particular farm.  If you have DHI Plus and you would like to look at this report, it can be found in the Report List of the Cohort Group Analysis.

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

 

Source: Estimating US dairy clinical disease costs with a stochastic simulation model – Journal of Dairy Science

Calf Distinction Timeline- The Path to Health

Calf Distinction Timeline- The Path to Health

Posted on by Thomas

The gut microbiome is the Inside story to long term health of the calf. It is home to trillions of microbes, both good and bad, that impact calf health. A balanced microbiome is highly populated and diverse, keeps pathogens in check, aids in breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. Neonatal calves are highly susceptible to enteric infections, one of the major causes of calf death. Recent research has discovered that microbiome engineering of the gut, the mucosal immune system, and early dietary interventions can effectively reduce the susceptibility of calves to enteric infections while promoting growth. The microbiome is linked to brain function, lung health, liver health, and overall health of the calf. Achieving a mature microbiome as quickly as possible is paramount.

 

Birth or Arrival

Similar to humans, when the calf is born large amounts of lactobacillus from the birth canal help to colonize the digestive tract of the newborn calf. At birth both the immune system and the digestive tract of the calf are naïve and immature. These beneficial bacteria help to prepare the gut and immune system for proper development and function.

Many factors in the first few days of life can compromise the colonization of these beneficial microbes. Difficult birth, C-section, dirty environment, shipping, poor colostrum, etc. With the knowledge gained from recent research we are learning that these stressful events can be overcome by supporting proper microbial colonization and providing the necessary fuel for healthy cells in the gut.

Giving a calf Sync at birth, or upon arrival at the calf ranch helps to prevent illness by supporting colonization of beneficial microbes and by fueling enteric cell growth. Pathogens are kept at bay, and the immune system is primed for proper working order.

 

Milk Phase

As of late, a lot of emphasis has been put upon the importance of high-quality colostrum and even transition milk for the health and gut development of the calf. Another point that we should not overlook is that milk replacer is not created equal to whole milk.

Researchers have just touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the goodies found in colostrum and transition milk, and their role in the development of the immune system.  Although we know a lot about calf nutrition and the amounts of fat and protein needed to grow a healthy calf, there is still much that we do not know about milk components that may be affecting epigenetics and immune function.

What we do know is that bottle fed calves, even those fed whole or waste milk, often have more health problems than calves raised on the dam. There are various reasons why a calf may be raised on a bottle; to allow a nutritious food product to be produced for human consumption, loss of the dam, refusal of the dam to nurse the calf, etc.

It’s up to us as calf raisers to use the most current research to do our best job in raising these calves in a manner that will help them fulfill their greatest genetic potential. Even in the event of needing to feed milk replacer, or waste milk containing antibiotics, if we focus on cultivating a healthy gut microbiome in our calves during the milk phase, we can combat many health challenges.

Surveillance combines the most up-to-date technology to bind calfhood pathogens, promote a healthy microbiome, encourage feed intake, and facilitate proper immune function in the calf.

 

Grain Phase

It is truly fascinating to me that when introduced to grain early on, bottle fed calves can develop a healthy functioning rumen in a fraction of the time compared to calves raised on the dam and eating forage can.

One very important factor in early rumen development is encouraging grain intake. The more grain a calf eats, the more volatile fatty acids are produced that can be used as energy for growth of the animal and proliferation of cells in the digestive system. A balanced microbiome will help in the digestion and conversion of feedstuffs to nutrients the animal can utilize.

TomaHawk is designed to keep calves eating through stressful events such as weaning and to promote a healthy gut microbiome to prevent dysbiosis that may result in acidosis and even bloating. TomaHawk also provides many other components to support proper immune function, lung health, and liver health.

At Calf Distinction/MicroBasics we believe that the producer should have options that include effective natural alternatives to conventional ionophores and antibiotics. Our product ingredients are researched and set us apart from others on the market in effectiveness and return on investment. You can find them in the Calf Distinction Store.

 

*Please always consult with your Veterinarian. The statements and products described on this page have not been evaluated by the USDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The Biome Cycle with Brett Reed

The Biome Cycle with Brett Reed

Posted on by Thomas

The soil food web is made up of fungi and bacteria, which are preyed upon by protozoa, nematodes, micro-arthropods, and other larger organisms we also group in our microbiome. There are numerous amounts of species for each of these creatures. The population and ratio of microbes within the soil will vary greatly from ratio to ratio in the soil from one field even to another. This all relates back to the health status and plant environment, because each of these organisms is, in large part, controlled by the plants being grown, and practices being used.

This week Brett Reed from AgriSource, Inc explains how soil health is impacted by how we manage our cattle and how that is all integrated into what is called the Biome Cycle.

 

What is The Biome Cycle?

A biome by definition is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. While a biome can cover large areas such as the high desert in which southern Idaho resides, a microbiome is a mix of organisms that coexist in a defined space on a much smaller scale.

Nutrient and energy flow also play a critical role in ecosystems that make up biomes. Biomes describe life on a much larger scale than either habitats or ecosystems.

What brings this all together is that biomes can be differentiated by the organisms residing there and by the climate, as well as the fact that the organisms within a biome share adaptations for that particular environment. The actual cycles that are present in our biomes consist of water, carbon, nitrogen just to name a few. All these make up our biome cycle.

 

How Does Agriculture Impact The Biome Cycle?

One of the key features of sustainable agriculture is the focus on the health of soils. Healthy soils create a healthy biome and its proponent cycles. Some of the practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, no-tillage, as well as strip tilling, and the application of compost, improve soil fertility naturally and can even speed up the process of new topsoil formation. I would also add that using livestock in these practices helps to propel the health and speed at which soil health can be achieved. These practices help to secure stable yields, increase biodiversity, and help to prevent the exhaustion of these soils, and biodiversity of favorable soil flora and fauna.

Soils rich in organic matter and flourishing with life also contain greater concentrations of the natural enemies of pests, thus supporting the growth of more resilient crops.

According to Dr. Elaine Ingham, one teaspoon of healthy soil can contain up to 1 billion helpful bacteria, while concentration in intensively farmed soils might drop to one hundred.

As with any other plants, growing crops – especially perennial polyculture systems used in permaculture farming and agroforestry – add oxygen to the atmosphere, as plants photosynthesize and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The richer the plant cover is, the more it uses carbon dioxide to support its life functions.

 

What is the most important thing that farmers can do to benefit the Biome Cycle?

Think outside the box and go ahead and try to change some things up. Change promotes growth and growth can promote new solutions on your farm or ranch. I say that because in our modern farming practices in the west we are still predominantly tilling and by tilling we destroy the carbon and microbiomes that we have in our soil. With minimum tillage and or no till we can conserve and build our carbon and micro reserves and populations.

Carbon is also sequestered by soils, which have a natural carbon carrying capacity that increases when soils are managed with minimum disturbance.

In rotational grazing systems, animals help to store carbon in the soil. Through grazing for a limited time period in one area, biodiversity of native plants increases because grasses have time to regrow equally without one species taking over and becoming invasive. Richer and better-quality pasture means more organic material entering soils, which makes soils healthy and increases their capacity to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, this allows more of the soil microbiome to flourish and do what biology has intended it to do.

 

How are microbes involved in the biome cycle and what can we do to cultivate their growth?

Plant microbiomes include microbes, these microbes can be shaped by factors related to the plant itself, much like genotype, organ, species and health status, as well as other factors related to the plant’s environment, such as management, land use and climate. The health status of a plant has been reported in some studies to be reflected by or linked to its microbiome.

In all honesty the best way to sustain and cultivate our microbiology or the microbes is to cultivate our carbon in the soil. The cultivation of carbon is also a sequestration of it. One way is minimum tillage or no tillage, leaving roots in the soil and biomass in and above our soils as much as we can. All of those organisms, most of which are beneficial to the soil help to make up our biomes in the soil.

All of this is important because soil microorganisms hold nutrients in the soil environment, so that the nutrients can be available when your plants need them. Synthetic nutrients are engineered to be absorbed by roots in a soluble form. As the nutrients pass by, what isn’t absorbed is leached away by moving water. Whereas the organic nutrients sustained in the soil food web remain as part of an ever-evolving cycle. No waste. No leaching.

To have a healthy biome or crop we need to pay attention to the microbiomes within our own fields.

 

How can farmers find resources to help them improve the microbiome on their own farm or ranch?

There are programs and people in our area that are willing to help make some of these first steps in promoting growth in your operation. That is usually the hardest thing to do, especially after we have been doing something the same way for all or most of our lives. We must look at what new challenges we face each season we grow products for the world. If we keep doing the same things over and over and expect a different result, then we won’t get anywhere. Always ask questions about your own farm and its practices, it’s never a bad thing to question what and how you are doing things.

 

Brett is a great resource for forage and soil health. If you would like to contact him for assistance in improving your crops and soil please send him an email at breed@agrisourceinc.com.

 

Written by: Brett Reed and Mariah Gull

Not all Direct Fed Microbials are Created Equal

Not all Direct Fed Microbials are Created Equal

Posted on by Thomas

Cow Biology is COMPLEX. A SYMBIOTIC blend of additives is Paramount. The importance of the symbiotic relationship between the digestive system and the immune system cannot be overstated! As the largest immune organ in the body, the gut plays a major role in whole body immunity. Therefore, establishing a healthy gut translates to increased immunity. IMMUNOMETABOLISM is how the immune system regulates ALLOCATING NUTRIENTS between growth and survival.

 

Direct Fed Microbials

In an attempt to optimize rumen health direct fed microbials (DFM), including yeast, enzymes and probiotics, are often added to a diet to improve feed intake, feed efficiency, fiber fermentation, microbial protein synthesis, milk yield, rumen pH, and digestion.

 

Achieve Trial Results

A study was conducted in 2014 with the University of California, Davis, CA. Experts evaluated 2 different yeast-based products and their influence on both post rumen effects and performance of high producing Holstein cattle.

Yeast-based products used were a Competitor Product and Achieve from MicroBasics. Post rumen effects included superior plasma levels of both total essential amino acids (EAA) and total nonessential amino acids (NEAA) for those cattle consuming Achieve.

Performance effects resulted in increased milk flow from cattle consuming Achieve. This increase in milk production resulted in a greater amount of total fat and protein produced.

 

Why is this important?

Better feed ASSIMILATION- intake, digestion and absorption. Dry Matter Intake and Milk Production were highest in the Achieve groups however there was no difference in digestibility in any of the three treatments.

Due to the increased absorption efficiency and increased production exhibited by the cattle fed Achieve we can conclude that the digestive process was enhanced from the inclusion of Achieve in the diet.

Enhancement of the digestive process fuels growth of new intestinal cells and absorption of more nutrients that can be utilized by the animal. In addition to greater amounts of overall essential and non-essential amino acids cattle fed, Achieve had significantly higher levels of plasma threonine, tryptophan, glycine, and asparagine. These amino acids play important roles in the animal.

Threonine: an essential amino acid utilized by the gut to create a protective mucus barrier, used to make T-lymphocytes that work to fight off infections, regulates fat metabolism and prevents fatty liver.

Tryptophan: an essential amino acid that may play a role in the regulation of appetite and feed intake. Tryptophan is a precursor to Melatonin which may serve as a signal for the synchronization of the feeding and digestion processes.

Glycine: a non-essential amino acid that is one of the most common amino acids in the body, promotes muscle growth, hormone production and regulation, and is a building block of tissue in the digestive tract.

Asparagine: a non-essential amino acid that optimizes brain and nerve cell function.

 

Further research will tell us more about how post rumen effects are influenced by DFM’s. For now, our takeaway shall be that not all yeast-based products are created equal. Achieve combines three strains of live yeast with a highly concentrated yeast culture, a proprietary blend of probiotic cultures, several broad-spectrum digestive enzymes, yeast cell wall, yucca schidigera, and IPS (Immune Positioning System) a unique blend of biologically active polysaccharides and polypeptides. Consult with you nutritionist to determine if Achieve might be a good fit for your feeding program.

Interactive Brochure

Learn More

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.

Core Values, Mental Health, and Sustainable Farms

Core Values, Mental Health, and Sustainable Farms

Posted on by Thomas

This week I am excited to be summarizing an interview I did with someone who I consider a very good friend and mentor! His name is Bob Hostetler. Over the span of his career Bob has worked as a Dairy Nutritionist and a Life Coach.  Bob got his start working with Milk Products, and overtime had experience working with Cargill and as an Independent Dairy Calf Consultant. Bob has always had a passion for youngstock and young people. Not only has been a great resource for raising calves, but he also enjoys being there to support and mentor those who are just beginning their careers in the dairy industry.

Near the end of his Dairy Nutrition career Bob took a little change of pace and went to work for one of his best customers, ST Genetics, at their Ohio Heifer Center. His roles there included nutrition, feed manager, and for a time calf manager. Bob recently retired and is transitioning to the next stage of life.

 

Q. What is one of the biggest mental challenges you see facing the world today?

A. People are being pushed off their core values. What used to be core values for them have now become aspirational values. This means their ability to deal with stress goes down, because they are not who they want to be anymore.

 

Q. What advice do you have to help improve communication for those working on family farms?

A. From what I have observed, especially on family farms, is that everyone makes assumptions of what other family members core values are. Those assumptions often lead to pretty lousy places.

First of all, you need to feel safe enough with each other to be honest, open, and direct in your communication. From there you need to discover one another’s core values. A core value is something that you believe in strongly enough to organize your life around it.

If you think something is a core value, but you don’t organize your life around it, then it becomes an aspirational value. Take a step back and look at how you are directing your life, and that will tell you what you are valuing at that time.

On a family farm it’s easy to believe that other family members share, or should share, the same core values. That they organize their lives around the same things as other family members. A lot of times that is not actually true, and they need to find that out about each other.

Strengths and weaknesses are often talked about to make sure people get put in the right role, but core values are rarely talked about and that is where the stress really multiplies.

 

Q. What advice do you give to help people evaluate their lives and find how to live with purpose?

A. Be honest and open with yourself. Look at your core values, what your life is organized around. Then decide if that is where you want to stay. For many people, if a core value is to stay in the dairy business, then they need to organize their life around it. Honest open dialogue with yourself, often with someone else’s help, family members, clergy, even the feed manager! Various places to have honest open dialogue. Often, we believe we are something when we really actually are not.

 

Q. What advice would you give someone who has chosen to take a different path and leave the family farm?

A. Well, a basic question to ask is “Who am I?” and then, “Who do you want to be?” I have often found in my life I need to zero in on who I want to be. Each of us has a gap between who we are and who we want to be. The closer we can live to be who we want to be, then the more able we become to handle stress.

 

Q. What advice would you give farmers to help improve mental wellness during stressful times like during times of increasing input costs, such as of late?

A. Core values are a big part of it. Another big part of it is personality traits. If your personality traits aren’t in line with the job you have to do, then stress multiplies. Assess yourself to determine if your strengths align with the job you are doing. Find the right person to manage the dollars and cents.

Sometimes for a period of time we can get along with doing things that are not of our strengths. We simply do it just because it has to be done, every dairy farmer has been there. In the long run to stay at it, there must be a match between who we are and want to be (core values) and personality strengths.

Look at the role you are playing, is it the right one? Should you be in a different role on the farm. Sometimes it helps to have someone else ask that question. If personal abilities are not in line with traits needed to fill a certain role, then the sense of failure multiplies stress. The farm should be organized in a way that helps people thrive.

 

Q. What advice do you have to give for finding joy in the everyday grind and in spite of stressful factors that cannot be controlled?

A. Spiritually, Emotionally, and Vocationally if I am white knuckling (holding my fist around something very tightly), which often happens in financial stress situations. That causes anger, stress, and keeps us tense. It does not help me engage well with family. Any part of our lives that we can have an open hand with, then things get better. It’s important for us to be able to receive things from God. It’s important that we don’t wrap up in our own emotions but keep our hand open so we can deal with others well, including those we work with. Open handedness in life is a useful thing for us all to learn.

I will share a personal example, there was a time when our calf feeder did not show up. We had 350 calves that needed to be fed. There was no one to do it, so I had to do it. I started off really angry. My fists were clenched, and I wanted to hit somebody! Part way through I realized, I have to do this, and I am going to open my hands and enjoy the calves and enjoy the work. With my hands open I could enjoy the work. With my hands clenched the chances of enjoying the work are very small.

 

Bob has been a huge influence in the dairy calf and heifer world, both for the cattle and the people. His mentoring has reached and molded many people in the industry and as he likes to say, “Mentoring, is one of my God given talents. It is one of my core values to use that talent to better the lives of others.”

Although not always formally, Bob has used this God given talent to coach and mentor others his entire life.  ne of his goals in retirement is to continue to benefit the lives of others as a Life Coach. He is there to ask the hard questions that need to be asked, but that most of us would rarely ask ourselves. Anyone interested in contacting Bob to learn more about his coaching services can do so at Robert.hostetler57@gmail.com.

 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.