During the recent Cattle Industry Convention, Pfizer Animal Health held it’s annual breakfast for the media.
Dr. Mike Nichols, Senior Veterinarian Pfizer Animal Health Veterinary Operations, was on hand to talk about how the company is helping veterinary students. A year ago they made a decision to support the veterinary profession by creating an externship program for students to encourage them to look at and choose a food animal practice and specifically bovine. They sponsored 78 first and second year veterinary students for the Bovine Externship Program who then spent 4 weeks at a local veterinary practice where they were mentored and received exposure to what the practice was like. He says they’re continuing the program this year and 78 selected students who will receive a $2,000 stipend and be matched with either practicing veterinarians or producers for a four-week field work experience.
You can learn more about the Pfizer Animal Health Bovine Externship Program by listening to my interview with Mike below:
When it comes to communicating NOVUS International’s commitment to the beef industry Dan is the man. He’s Dan Meagher, VIce President, Sales, Americas. He was on hand at the Cattle Industry Convention to help spread the word about the company name and products for the beef industry.
Dan says that NOVUS is investing in people and products. A lot of the research the company has done has been on beef. He thinks they have an opportunity right now in this segment of the industry. He says they’ve moved into the dairy and pork sectors and this is just part of their diversification strategy. Their products are designed to maximize the nutrition capabilities of the animal so it reaches its full potential while reducing costs.
Mycotoxins can be an issue in feed anytime, but with the late, wet harvest in 2009 there is an extra level of concern this year and it was a topic of discussion for poultry producers and industry representatives meeting at the International Poultry Expo/Feed Expo in Atlanta this past week.
“This is a year when we should be extra sensitive, not only testing to make sure we know what we have on our grain coming in, but also considering proactive choices to treat symptoms for the low thresholds of mycotoxins that are always present in some of the grains each year,” says Wendell Knehans with Novus International. Novus recently conducted a study on the effects of their product Solis Mos on the presence of both aflatoxin and ochratoxin in poultry feed. “What we found at both a moderate level (400 mg) of ochratoxin infestation and 800, a very high challenge, is that the birds maintain their performance in the presence of that toxin challenge,” Wendell said.
Listen to or download my interview with Wendell in the player below:
Wally the steer is getting a lot of attention at the NOVUS International booth in the NCBA Trade Show. He’s there to make the point of how important it is to put the right fuel in the engine. With animals, it’s no different and NOVUS would love to talk to cattlemen about it.
Novus International announced its commitment to the beef industry today at the Cattle Industry Convention. They held a press conference this afternoon and I spoke with Gary Winter, Ruminant Sales Manager, North America afterward. I’m also posting the full press conference for you in case you’d like to listen in. With th
Gary has been with the company for about ten years. He says they’ve been getting a lot of interest from producers here and the trade show is providing them with a great opportunity to get their name out in front of them since there are a lot of beef producers who aren’t familiar with their name yet. He says they’ve had ingredients going into the beef business for a while but are just now launching their marketing campaign into the market. He points to products like Alimet, Mintrex and Agrado Plus as some of the names that producers can look to to increase herd efficiency.
You can listen to or download (mp3) Gary’s remarks here:
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You can listen to or download (mp3) the full press conference here:
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We’re going to get to know the Novus beef team even more tomorrow when they make some major announcements. They’re also sponsoring AgWired coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention.
At the opening of the NCBA Trade Show I stopped by their booth and spoke with Stephanie Gable. Stephanie also introduced me to Wally, the mechanical steer that you can see behind the team members in the photo. I’ll let her explain in the video I shot with my iPhone.
Gut health is important for poultry producers, not just for the health and performance of their flocks, but also from the standpoints of food safety and animal welfare – probably two of the most important issues for the animal agriculture industry as a whole.
I talked with Novus International poultry veterinarian Dr. Marco Quiroz about the importance of poultry producers having an overall program for gut health. “As veterinarians, we try to do preventive medicine in poultry, we work with best management practices in operations. We have very well established, well designed and uniform programs,” he told me.
He says they do what they call “flock physicals” to monitor the health status of birds. “It’s like a quality control of the health of the birds,” Marco says. “We check all ages of production to make sure all the birds are healthy, especially in the digestive tract.” Since gut health can be affected by any number of factors, from feed to environmental to water, a good program has to look at all aspects of an operation and of the birds themselves to maintain top performance.
Listen to or download my interview with Marco about gut health in poultry and how Novus helps provide producers with the tools to maintain it.
When it comes to chelated trace minerals, Dr. Jim Richards with Novus International is a serious expert, and this is no simple subject.
“When you chelate a trace mineral, you basically react it with an organic mineral called a ligand,” says Jim, who is Novus Manager of Cell Biology Research. Now, that likely means very little to the cell biology illiterate, but it means a lot to poultry. “You’re basically feeding the bird a form of mineral that’s much more absorbable than you get with your trace mineral salts.”
That is what is known as bioavailability. “With a higher bioavailable form of trace mineral, more will be absorbed and less will be excreted out in to the environment, and that is the real point of feeding a chelated trace mineral,” Jim says. Because it’s more available, it’s more efficient and better for the environment, in addition to being better for the animal and the producer.
Jim gets into a whole lot more detail about this subject in the latest issue of Feedstuffs, which he is proudly displaying in this photo. For a quick explanation about it and what Novus is doing in the field, listen to or download my interview with Jim from the International Poultry Expo in the player below.
The International Poultry Scientific Forum is held in conjunction with the International Poultry Expo each year and is sponsored by the Southern Poultry Science Society, the Southern Conference on Avian Diseases, and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association. As part of that event, Novus International hosts a luncheon and speaker for the attendees on a topic of general interest to the poultry science community.
This year, it was “Historical Perspectives in Poultry Feed Management,” presented by well-known poultry science expert Dr. Steve Leeson from the University of Guelph, pictured here on the right with Dr. Scott Carter, Novus Poultry Market Manager, on the left. Dr. Leeson entertained the group with some great historical photos of poultry management through the years. According to Leeson, the commercial poultry industry as we know it pretty much started in the ’60s, as the broiler industry developed and the egg and meat industries began to diverge. Talking about feed management, he noted that producers early on were feeding poultry diets consisting of corn, soybean meal, milk, fish meal, meat meal and some raw vegetables. “They were looking for the vitamins that really hadn’t been recognized and we couldn’t buy them artificially,” he said. Milk was an especially important part of the diet to deal with health issues in flocks.
As poultry science began to develop as a specialty field, researchers found that key nutrition requirements could be met in other ways, which helped the industry expand and become much more productive and efficient.
Download (mp3) my interview with Dr. Leeson or listen to it here:
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Scott says Novus chose a historical perspective for this year’s topic as a way of taking a look back in order to move forward. “We’re at a really critical junction right now as we’re going to need to produce twice as much food in 2050 as we do today,” Scott said. “Poultry is going to be a key part of helping to feed the world by 2050.” Increasing productivity and efficiency even more will play an important role in meeting that goal.
Novus is also celebrating two significant anniversaries this year of products that have been part of the historical progress in poultry feed management. “It’s our 30th year for Alimet and our 50th year for Santoquin in the marketplace as nutritional tools that have helped us improve performance,” said Scott.
Download (mp3) my interview with Dr. Scott Carter or listen to it here:
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On hand for the presentation were Alltech’s Tyler Bramble (r) and Dr. Alan Wessler, MFA Inc. MFA is an official animal health and nutrition partner for the games. They join more than 60 other organizations who have also partnered with Alltech for this first time competition in the United States. The games will be held in Kentucky from Sept. 25 to October 10.
I talked to both Tyler and Alan about their partnership and what it means to each company this evening.
You can listen to or download my interview with Tyler here:
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Novus International is new to the beef market and at the NAFB Trade Talk session their focus was on preparing for winter feeding and early spring calving. With them to talk about research he’s done on their products was Dr. Monty Kerley, University of Missouri.
Dr. Kerley says that he’s had a special interest in “strategic supplementation” which means putting the nutrients the animals need with the forage they’re consuming to maximize performance, increase average daily gain and enhance reproductive development and to do it with less feed. With Novus he says they’ve focused on bypass methionine products. He says that these products help the sustainability of beef producers by increasing their bottom line while making for efficient use of resources. In my interview with him he also discusses some of his latest research.
You can listen to my interview with Dr. Kerley below:
To anyone that might be interested: tomorrow there will be a blogger seminar about animal health and safety. This was posted on the FDA website, and I thought I would pass it along.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host a webinar for animal health and safety bloggers Tuesday, December 8, from 3:00 to 3:30 pm ET. The featured speakers, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA, and Dr. Bernadette Dunham, Director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, will focus on the announcement of a widget containing information on the importance of pet health and safety for both animals and pet owners. After the presentations, there will be an opportunity to ask questions or offer feedback.
If you are interested in attending, please send an email to CVMHomeP@cvm.fda.gov. You can also email questions to this address before the webinar. Follow or join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #FDApet.
This looks like a pretty informative event. I plan on following on Twitter tomorrow. Are you going to participate? For more information on the blogger seminar, link here.
To get a complete overview of Boehringer Inghelheim Vetmedica Dr. Steve Peterson, DVM, Senior Manager, spoke to the media gathered in St. Joseph, MO recently.
Steve started out his presentation showing us a Flomax commercial as an example of how diverse the parent company is. BI is a family owned company that was started in 1885 and he calls the animal health side of the business “the tip of the dog’s tail.” It is the largest family owned pharmaceutical company in the world with sales last year of $17 Billion. On the human side of the business you might also recognize OTC products like Dulcolax and Zyrtec. With the acquisition of the Ft. Dodge Animal Health products he expects the animal health annual sales in the range of $1 Billion.
When it comes to the BI commitment to animal health Steve says the family owns animals and is very committed to this side of their business. He says that although the past year has been tough economically in some industries, BIVI has seen increases in its business and that “products have continued to grow beyond budget.”
It sure sounds like Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica did very well in the cattle market with their acquisition of a portion of Ft. Dodge Animal Health. To tell us about is Tim Bettington, Director Livestock Marketing. He says that although BIVI has been a long standing player in the cattle business it has only been in certain segments like the stocker and feedlot sector. But now he says they have great opportunities in the cow/calf and dairy sectors.
According to Tim, the stand out products will be Cydectin, Today and Tomorrow Mastitis Tubes and newer vaccines like Triangle. He says that although there is an integration of staff, customers will see the same look and feel of the products and deal with the same representatives they were dealing with.
As we’ve learned what the acquisition of a portion of Ft. Dodge Animal Health means to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica we’ve heard about cattle, hogs, dairy but how about dogs and cats? You’ll find many of them at your average farm of course. But this is a huge area for the animal health business.
According to Matt Musselman, Executive Director, Pet Division, BIVI, they now have the great opportunity to combine the chronic care pharmaceuticals they had with the vaccines they’ve acquired. He says, “As we look at the combination of that portfolio we really like the ability to surround the veterinarian and the pet owner with a set of products and services that allows them to care for that dog and cat throughout their life.” Looking forward he says that the strong bond people have with their pets and the desire to keep their pet healthy is something BIVI can help with by providing “Value Through Innovation.”
The big product story he says is their launch of PROZINC for the treatment of feline diabetes. He points to it as an example of the type of novel chronic care products we’ll see from BIVI in the future.
When it comes to R&D at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Kevin Fowler is a go to guy. He’s seen here showing research labs at the BIVI facilities in St. Joseph, MO to a group of ag media.
The first thing that excites Kevin after BIVI acquired some of the Ft. Dodge Animal Health business is the ability to expand more into the dog and cat vaccine lines of products. He says this is a perfect fit and gives the company a great opportunity for future growth.
At the St. Joseph site they have 80 acres of research, manufacturing and engineering services. They have similar facilities at the Ft. Dodge, IA site they just acquired but it’s much larger at 320 acres.
Kevin thinks that one of the things that sets BIVI apart from other companies when bringing a product to market is their R&D group which is very team-oriented. He’s working on a 10 year plan to grow and integrate in an organized manner.
The head of the U.S. cattle business for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica is Colin Meyers. Colin says the main thing the acquisition of Ft. Dodge Animal Health means to the company is that they now have a much broader range of products to offer. One product in particular, Cydectin, moves them into the anti-parasitic market with a very well recognized name.
When it comes to the cattle market he says that in the vaccine area they’ll have about 20 percent of the market and increases in other areas as well. They’ll have a larger sales and veterinarian force to reach out to customers and a bigger distribution network. They’ve spent the last three weeks bringing in new staff, distributors and others to help enable a smooth transition for customers.
The President of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, George Heidgerken (pictured on left), attended today’s media event and spoke with reporters about changes in the company after the acquisition of Ft. Dodge Animal Health. He says the purchase is a big deal for BIVI here in the United States and globally since it essentially doubles their business including their ability to innovate in the future. While merging the two company cultures he says they will maintain the BI vision and mission and how they achieve them.
George says they can take the best of both companies, put them together and get excited about what they can achieve. They’re calling it the “new BIVI.” He says that full integration may take a couple years although they hope to achieve that sooner. The products they’ve acquired fit in perfectly with their existing portfolio and expand their cattle, dairy and pet business. The vision for the future of the company he says, is “value through innovation.”
I will have interviews to post later since I neglected to bring along the right cable for my audio recorder. I just interviewed George Heidgerken, President of BIVI. He says that the Ft. Dodge Animal Health acquisition is the largest purchase the company has ever made. The two companies becoming one is a process that will take a couple of years. He says the products acquired by BIVI perfectly complements their existing portfolio and really helps them with a complete offering in cattle, dairy and companion animals.
Boehringer Ingelheim is holding an ag media day to provide an overview of changes in the company and its product line due to the recent acquisition of a portion of the Ft. Dodge Animal Health products.
As an example, in the opening presentation on cattle products, Colin Meyers told us that the new products “complete their cattle vaccine and pharmaceutical portfolio.”
I’ll be conducting interviews and taking photos so you can count on more to come as we learn about the changes at BIVI.
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
During the recent Cattle Industry Convention, Pfizer Animal Health held it’s annual breakfast for the media.
When it comes to communicating NOVUS International’s commitment to the beef industry Dan is the man. He’s Dan Meagher, VIce President, Sales, Americas. He was on hand at the Cattle Industry Convention to help spread the word about the company name and products for the beef industry.
Mycotoxins can be an issue in feed anytime, but with the late, wet harvest in 2009 there is an extra level of concern this year and it was a topic of discussion for poultry producers and industry representatives meeting at the International Poultry Expo/Feed Expo in Atlanta this past week.
We’re going to get to know the 
Gut health is important for poultry producers, not just for the health and performance of their flocks, but also from the standpoints of food safety and animal welfare – probably two of the most important issues for the animal agriculture industry as a whole.
When it comes to chelated trace minerals, Dr. Jim Richards with 
This year, it was “Historical Perspectives in Poultry Feed Management,” presented by well-known poultry science expert Dr. Steve Leeson from the University of Guelph, pictured here on the right with Dr. Scott Carter, Novus Poultry Market Manager, on the left. Dr. Leeson entertained the group with some great historical photos of poultry management through the years. According to Leeson, the commercial poultry industry as we know it pretty much started in the ’60s, as the broiler industry developed and the egg and meat industries began to diverge. Talking about feed management, he noted that producers early on were feeding poultry diets consisting of corn, soybean meal, milk, fish meal, meat meal and some raw vegetables. “They were looking for the vitamins that really hadn’t been recognized and we couldn’t buy them artificially,” he said. Milk was an especially important part of the diet to deal with health issues in flocks. 
The 
Novus International is new to the beef market and at the NAFB Trade Talk session their focus was on preparing for winter feeding and early spring calving. With them to talk about research he’s done on their products was Dr. Monty Kerley, University of Missouri.
To get a complete overview of 
It sure sounds like 
As we’ve learned what the acquisition of a portion of Ft. Dodge Animal Health means to 
When it comes to R&D at 
The head of the U.S. cattle business for 
The President of 
I’ve now got a photo album started for today’s 
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
