With higher feed costs, it is important for poultry producers to get the most for their money.
At the recent International Poultry Expo/Feed Expo, Novus International was talking to producers about how to optimize their poultry diets. “Optimizing the diet does not necessarily mean having a cheap diet,” says Novus product manager Dr. Nasser Odetallah. “They have to make sure to meet the nutrient requirements of the individual animal and make sure they provide the nutrients needed for optimum growth.”
Since Novus has customers in over 90 countries, they deal with different producer needs depending on the region. “We know that somebody producing chicken in Bangledesh is not going to be faced with the same challenges as somebody in Utah,” he said. “So we have more than one option and we have certain feed additives that minimize the cost of the feed by reducing the energy of the diet and adding an enzyme that releases the energy in the feed.”
It’s also important for producers to optimize amino acids since different amino acids are commonly found in proteins and there are different requirements for poultry depending on the type (broiler or layer) and the age of the bird. Nassar says Novus shows producers how adding enzymes to feed, which is an increased cost up front, actually comes out cheaper in the end by optimizing feed conversion.
Listen to my interview with Nassar from the IPE here:
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Les Yoder is an expert on dairy cattle. His company Homestead Nutrition works not only to help improve the nutritional value of dairy feed, but also works on crop and soil nutrition. I spoke with him during the Ag Associates Conference to learn more about the benefits of good feed nutrition.
“The forage component of the rations is extremely important to how we’re able to balance that program and make that cow very productive while maintaining health and profitability,” said Yoder.
The better quality the forage is, the less a farmer has to depend on other things like the purchase of additional feed (corn and soybeans). “Quality forage is extremely, extremely important in a profitable dairy nutrition’s diet,” he said.
Yoder began using Bio-Forge nearly 10 years ago implementing that product for corn silage for dairy rations and as a result, really started seeing some benefits of improved quality, improved digestibility and improved plant health all of which made a better ration. He also noted that it helped to make a healthier and less expensive diet.
His early successes led him to work more with Stoller to understand the “language of the plant.” In other words, learning how to understand how the plant grows, how it reacts to environmental stresses, diseases and insect pressures.
I asked him if he could impart some personal wisdom to the diary farmers across the world, what it would be? He answered, “Anything they do to improve forage quality improves animal health, decreases the need for supplementation and just make a better ration.” And a better ration, he concluded, means a healthier cow and a more profitable dairy operation.
Listen to my interview with Les below.
Ag Associates Conference Flickr Album.
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The 2010 International Poultry Expo/Feed Expo is getting underway here in Atlanta with associated conferences today, including the Poultry Scientific Forum, Pet Food Conference and Animal Agriculture Environmental Sustainability Summit.
Our sponsor, Novus International, is hosting a seminar/luncheon for expo attendees entitiled “Historical Perspectives in Poultry Feed Management,” presented by Dr. Steve Leeson from the University of Guelph. About 200 are in attendance, with a good portion of those among the international guests for the expo. I will be interviewing him after the presentation to get a nice summary of how the poultry industry developed in the area of nutrition and feed over the past century or so.
2010 International Poultry Expo photo album
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BASF Plant Science and Monsanto today announced they will be working together to develop new corn hybrids with better nutrition for animal feed.
The new hybrids will contain BASF’s NutriDense® traits that are designed to enhance animal feed performance. NutriDense corn has higher levels of essential amino acids and energy, greater phosphorous availability and is more digestible.
BASF’s NutriDense traits will be combined with Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® Genuity™ VT Triple PRO™ and Genuity™ SmartStax™ corn. The new high quality hybrids are expected to deliver the best feed value and yields equivalent to elite conventional corn. Once launched, seed companies will market the new hybrids through licensing agreements.
Read more here.
Coming from Texas A&M University, this article from the Veterinary Department, “Should Your Pet Be A Vegetarian?” kind of surprised me. It came out in their newsletter, and the article discussed planning a well-balanced vegetarian diet for pets. Why? What is this world coming to anyway? Since when do pets have to stand for a cause? Why can’t they just be our beloved companions? Here is an excerpt from the article…
There are so many human vegetarians that some of you may have wondered if your beloved four-legged friend is able to share the same passion and cause as you. If you have ever been interested in having your pet become a vegetarian it should be helpful to know the certain nutritional needs that your pet has, in order to make the right decision regarding vegetarianism. There is no scientific basis on the idea that a specific breed of cat or dog would fare better as a vegetarian, it is simply an issue between the species. In the Canine world, being a vegetarian has no negative effect on their nutritional needs.
“Dogs are opportunistic carnivores” said Dr. John Bauer, M.L. Professor of Clinical Nutrition at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, “which means they will eat meat when they have the chance or when no other type of food is available. For wild dogs, prey is not guaranteed, so especially in the colder seasons dogs will eat more plants and vegetables as meat is difficult to find. As for pet dogs, they can easily be converted to vegetarians, and if done properly, it is just as healthy as an omnivorous diet is for a dog.”
Dogs have the same types of protein balances in their bodies that humans have, therefore making it easy and safe for them to convert back and forth from a vegetarian diet to one of an omnivore.
“One problem with having your dog become a vegetarian” said Dr. Bauer “is that it is easier to feed him meat and vegetable based diets, without having to worry about protein types. There are commercial plant and vegetable based diets around for dogs, which seem to work well for the animal’s health and overall well-being.”
The American Meat Institute posting a press release of this upcoming event that will give food producers a better idea of the Obama administration agenda. Check it out, and let me know if you attend!
Fox News Anchor Bret Baier will offer insights on what to expect from the Obama Administration and Congress at the Washington Insider Breakfast during Worldwide Food Expo 2009, to be held October 28-31, 2009, at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
As one of Fox News Channel’s top Washington anchors, Baier has colorful anecdotes about traveling with and covering the President of the United States. With humor and insight, Baier will share exclusive, behind-the-scenes stories about trips on Air Force One, the inner-workings of the West Wing and what it’s really like to be a part of the White House press corps.
Baier is host of FOX News’ Special Report w/Bret Baier, a daily program for political news, and is a former chief White House and national security correspondent. Baier’s extensive reporting experience has brought him through the halls of the Pentagon, the war fields of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the campaign trails of elections past and present. Fresh, current and straightforward, his breadth of journalistic experience gives him the ability to offer in-depth insights and perspectives on the inner workings of government.
The Washington Insider Breakfast will be held Friday, Oct. 30 from 8-9 a.m. at McCormick Place and is part of the AMI International Meat, Poultry and Seafood Industry Convention and Exposition. Tickets for this event are $150 per person and available here.
I have been to quite a few trade shows in my time and the International Poultry Expo could very well be the biggest I have ever seen, with nearly 900 booths. In fact, it ranks 58th out of ALL the trade shows in the United States – not just ag shows, all shows. That’s pretty impressive.
The man who makes it happen is show manager Charlie Olentine, who says the poultry expo has grown throughout its long history. “The show’s been here in Atlanta every year for over sixty years,” Charlie told me. “We’ve kind of grown up with the convention facilities in the city. We got our start in the lobby of one of the local hotels in the late ’40s.”
Three years ago, the poultry expo made a move to diversify by co-locating with the International Feed Expo, which has increased both their number of exhibitors and attendees. This year, despite the economy, Charlie says their numbers are only down about 10 percent from last year’s record attendance. “Last year we had about 20,000 people come through, this year probably about 18,000,” Charlie said. “We have a very strong international contingent, anywhere from 4-5,000, the majority of them coming from Latin America.”
Listen to my interview with Charlie here:
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You can also download the interview here: DHA Interview (mp3).
International Poultry Expo Photo Album
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The 2009 International Poultry Expo is officially underway here in Atlanta at the World Congress Center where about 900 companies representing all aspects of the poultry industry have their products and services on display at the huge trade show. According to IPE, the show is the world’s largest display of technology, equipment, supplies, and services used in the production and processing of poultry and eggs and for those involved in feed manufacturing. All segments of the industry are represented here from feed milling, hatchery, and live production to processing, marketing, and support activities.
The cost of feed and minerals is one of the top concerns for the poultry industry right now – and that is where Novus International hits a home run for producers. I talked with Jim Richards (center), manager of cell biology research for Novus, about one of their all-star products for poultry – MINTREX, which is a highly cost effective source of organic trace minerals designed to optimize productivity and health and is the only mineral product on the market that provides residual methionine for nutritional use.
“We’ve been quite successful in lowering total trace mineral inclusion rates in diets and still see really good performance,” Jim says. “So you can feed less and the animal still does well.”
And if you can cut your mineral inclusion by 50 percent Jim says, “That’s a really good thing, for the producers to save money, a good thing for the environment – it’s a win-win all the way around.”
Listen to that interview here:
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You can also download the interview with this link (mp3).
IPE/IFE Photo Album
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“All Star” is the theme for Novus International at the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta this week. There’s a couple of good reasons for that.
First and most important is the Novus all-star lineup of poultry products including Advent, DHA Gold, Mintrex and Alimet.
The other reason is that the 2009 Baseball All Star game will be held in St. Louis – which is also the home of Novus International. To drive home that theme, Novus will have a special guest at their expo trade show booth this week – Hall of Famer Lou Brock.
I talked with Novus poultry marketing specialist Michael Whitmer about the importance of the poultry business for Novus and what they have in the line-up for poultry producers this year. Listen to that interview here:
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You can also download the interview with this link (mp3).
IPE/IFE Photo Album
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Lunch was on Novus International today at the International Poultry/Feed Expos in Atlanta for the Southern Poultry Scientific Society (SPSS) meeting here. The SPSS meeting is part of the International Poultry Scientific Forum being held in conjunction with all the other poultry and feed events. It’s really kind of amazing how many events are going on here around the expos and how many people are already here from all over the world.
In a relaxed atmosphere, Dr. Tara York with Novus presented some information on the “Synergistic Effects of Nutritional Antioxidants” to about 200 attendees, focusing on vitamin E, selenium, and ethoxyquin (as well as a bunch of other big words that I can’t pronounce or spell!!) Novus is pretty much the world leader when it comes to antioxidants for poultry, with over five decades of basic and applied research, development and manufacturing expertise being utilized to develop, manufacture and support multiple lines of nutritional and health products for the poultry industry.
I recorded Dr. York’s short and informative presentation that Novus will be using in podcast form. I also interviewed Dr. York about antioxidants, poultry and Novus – you can listen to that interview here:
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You can also download the interview with this link (mp3).
IPE/IFE Photo Album
AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by:
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Welcome to AgWired’s coverage of the International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo, sponsored by Novus International. It’s just an international event here in Hot-Lanta!
A number of pre-expo events are taking place here today – like summits, seminars and technical sessions – but the real show gets underway tomorrow here at the Georgia World Congress center. The expo is a joint effort of the US Poultry & Egg Association and the American Feed Industry Association.
The Flickr photo album is started and can be found here. It will be updated continuously throughout the expo this week, so keep checking back for new photos.
AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by:
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
