Articles

Daniel Knoll is our Ruminant Account Manager for the Southwest. In this brief video, Daniel shares how he grew up, his love for agriculture and the beef and dairy industries, and what has him excited about DSM's ruminant portfolio.

Is There Enough Beta Carotene in Your Forages?

When cattle are grazing forages that are green and growing or when feeding fresh green chop, beta carotene is often plentiful to meet the needs of the animal for optimal health and reproduction. However, when cattle are consuming diets consisting of predominately cereal grains and stored forages, such has silages and haylages, beta carotene is highly variable and often lacking since processing and storage can lead to 80% decrease in beta carotene levels.

2022 Broiler Vitamin Survey – A Summary

Vitamins represent approximately 1% of feed costs in broiler feeds, yet take no back seat to ensure optimal growth, feed efficiency and reproductive function. Naturally occurring vitamins in ingredients vary considerably in concentration and bioavailability. Various sources of recommendations help decide vitamin supplementation levels used by commercial nutritionists. In a survey that accounted for more than 98.6% of the U.S. broiler industry, DSM Nutritional Products ascertained the vitamin fortification rates used commercially.

Drivers of Environmental Sustainability in Animal Agriculture

Farmers and others involved in North American animal agriculture sometimes wonder what is driving the increased focus on sustainability. Sustainability has multiple different dimensions, and environmental sustainability is among the most prominent, particularly climate change. A significant driver of increasing attention to animal agriculture’s carbon footprint are public commitments by food and agriculture companies to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the greenhouse gas emissions of the products they make and sell. These commitments are often phrased as Net Zero or Carbon Neutral, among other terms.

Nutritional Services Frequently Asked Questions

All of your burning questions answered by the DSM Nutritional Services team in this FAQ article. Have you ever wondered what an NP code is? How can you find certain documentation? How do you get your premix analyzed? We are here to assist you every step of the way, we hope that this will provide clarity on a few common inquiries that we receive.

Trace Mineral Sources from a Premixer’s Perspective

For convenience, premixes often contain vitamins, specialty ingredients such as enzymes, and trace mineral sources in one package. The benefits of an all-in-one premix (Vitamin Trace Mineral premix, or “VTM”) are convenience, less micro ingredient bins, less manufacturing hand-adds, less inventory SKU’s, and lower cost. Disadvantages might be less formulation flexibility for custom batches, and potential negative interactions among the 13 vitamins and 6-8 trace minerals plus specialty ingredients which make up a custom VTM. DSM has identified several programs to help assure quality of a VTM, including mineral and vitamin sources, carriers, and humidity management.

International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) 2023: A Review

The International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE), continues to focus on providing the newest innovation, education, global research, and networking opportunities to the poultry industry. The week kicked off with the International Poultry Scientific Forum where students and professionals alike presented their latest research spanning from nutrition to microbiology topics. It’s reassuring and exciting to see the number of students that were present at this year’s meeting, and to be reminded of the critical collaboration that comes from working alongside these universities. DSM colleagues also had the opportunity to highlight and present research regarding our continued advancements in performance solutions and mycotoxin mitigations.

Spotlight on Rovimix® B2, AKA Riboflavin

Rovimix® B2 80 SD is DSM’s market-leading source of riboflavin, vitamin B2. Riboflavin is a co-factor in energy metabolism, and also assists in niacin (B3) biosynthesis and conversion of vitamins B6 and folic acid to their active forms. Although animal products such as whey, eggs, or liver are rich in riboflavin content, most cereal feed ingredients such as corn and oilseeds are not, and supplementation of non-ruminant feeds is widespread. Check OVN Optimum Vitamin Nutrition® guidelines for specific riboflavin recommendations in feeds.

How Can Agronomic Practices Influence Mycotoxin Contamination in Feeds?

The risk of mycotoxin contamination in feeds falls somewhere between “things you can change” and “things you cannot change”. The wisdom comes in knowing ways to limit the risk, but also understanding that mycotoxin challenges may exist despite your best prevention efforts. A comprehensive mycotoxin risk management program is essential from the field to feeding out. This article will discuss agronomic factors which play a role in the development of fungal disease and subsequent mycotoxin production.

Up Close and Personal: Chasity Pender

Get to know Chasity Pender, our DSM Poultry Technical Service Manager, as she describes her love for the poultry industry, and how she got started in agriculture...from "not being raised in a barn," to congress, to DSM!

Piglet Management and Feeding Strategies to Protect Post-Weaning Health and Improve Performance, Part 2

Improving pig performance immediately postweaning is critical in determining the lifetime performance of pigs. Reducing post-weaning nutrient disruption can be accomplished through the implementation of pre-weaning management and housing strategies. Improving housing and management conditions in the nursery can protect pigs’ welfare, enhance nursery performance, and minimize lifetime production costs. In this article, we will discuss first-step recommendations related to management and housing conditions that enable maximized initial feed intake in the nursery.

Fast and Simple Mycotoxin Testing at DSM Premix Facility

Recent implementation of the Romer Labs AgraStrip® Pro WATEX®: tester at the DSM Ayr, Canada premix facility has allowed for rapid testing of mycotoxins for incoming commodities on site. The rapid tester uses water-based extraction, eliminating the need for storage and disposal of chemicals. Tests can be conducted in 10 minutes. Sampling and testing commodities on site have eliminated the need for the time and cost of external lab analysis and provides real time results.

Pre-weaned Calf Health: Overcoming the Challenges

Raising healthy calves is crucial to the success of a dairy operation as heifers are the future of the milking herd. There are several important aspects related to pre-weaned calf management including maternity pen management, colostrum management, nutrition, housing, and proper hygiene is a key to all of these factors. Timely diagnosis of disease and treatment is also an important component of calf rearing. Although calves are not actively contributing to milk sales, it is in the farm’s best interest to closely monitor calf health in an effort to produce high quality replacement heifers.

The Immunosuppressive Consequences of Mycotoxins in Livestock and Poultry

The contamination of feedstuffs with mycotoxins poses a serious threat to the health and productivity of livestock and poultry. The toxicological effects of mycotoxins are very diverse as they do not belong to a single class of chemical compounds. Unfortunately, low level contamination can elicit sub-clinical effects that are often not apparent, but they can reduce the overall performance and productivity of those animals, eventually resulting in high economic losses for producers. The biological system where the subclinical effects of mycotoxins are most notable is the immune system.

Swine Vitamin Survey 2022

Researchers at Kansas State University (Faccin et al, 2022) recently surveyed swine vitamin and trace mineral supplementation practices among US swine producers. The survey represented 4.4 million sows, or 72% of US hog production. Overall, vitamin use rates ranged 3.8 times the most recent 2012 Swine NRC guidelines, and also were higher and more variable when compared to a similar 2016 survey of US vitamin practices in the swine industry. The top 25% of guidelines exceeded Optimum Vitamin Nutrition OVN™ minimums for all the fat-soluble and most of the water-soluble vitamins for most production segments.

Up Close and Personal: Sara Hough

Sara Hough is our Senior Regional Technical Service Manager and is passionate about agriculture and the swine industry. Her journey has taken her from NC State Veterinary School all the way to DSM. Learn a little about Sara's "Why?" in this brief video

Biotin: Tiny Quantities /Big Responsibilities

Biotin, Vitamin B7, was first synthesized in 1943. Researchers in the early 1900’s had noted a dermatitis, hair loss syndrome in animals and humans consuming diets high in raw egg whites, which took years to elucidate. Since that time, many production functions such as foot pad lesions in poultry, litter size in sows, and hoof health in ruminants have shown positive responses to biotin supplementation. Biotin requirements are very low, often a fraction of a milligram per kg of diet, which means cost to supplement is very low: 10-20 cents per ton for broiler starter for example.

End of Year Message from Kristin Bonham to our Customers

As we approach the end of 2022 and look ahead to 2023, Kristin Bonham, Vice President, DSM Animal Nutrition & Health, North America reflects on the strong customer partnerships we’ve continued in 2022 and shares her thoughts on the opportunities and challenges to come in 2023. As we prepare for next year, we are committed to do whatever we can to secure long-term competitive supply for our customers’ business. Read more to hear Kristin’s perspective on how we can maintain current and future resilience of the food supply chain and thereby together play a leading role in food security for all.

Piglet Management and Feeding Strategies to Protect Post-Weaning Health and Improve Performance, Part 1

Weaning is a stressful phase for piglets as the maternal bond is lost, there is an abrupt change in the conditions of the environment, breastfeeding is replaced with dry feed, and intestinal adaptation to the new diet is required. This phase can, therefore, negatively impact the growth and productive performance of piglets, since there is a reduction in food intake and an increased chance of gastrointestinal disorders. This article proposes some strategies to minimize the deleterious effects caused by post-weaning stress with an aim to increase the survival rate, improve intestinal health, and enhance the overall growth performance of the piglets.

Necrotic Enteritis in Cage Free Layers: What are our options?

Necrotic enteritis is the 3rd leading bacterial induced food-borne disease in the United States today. Stemming from Clostridium perfringens, predisposing factors such as environment, diet, and gut stasis can exacerbate the severity of the disease within the bird. Historically, we’ve seen most necrotic enteritis cases in the broiler industry, however with the rise of cage-free layer operations, a slight uptick in disease challenge has been reported. Reducing the growth of Clostridium perfringens is a critical factor when mitigating the disease. In the absence of antibiotics, there are several management and nutritional strategies that can be implemented to help mitigate the effects of necrotic enteritis.

Is Supplemental Vitamin A & E Enough?

Vitamins are essential nutrients required in small amounts that are required for normal development and functioning of the body. Vitamins are provided to the animal in two different ways, 1) synthesized by microorganisms in the digestive tract of animals; and 2) provided in the diet through feed ingredients and supplementation when feeds are lacking in vitamin nutritive value. In order for an animal to reach optimal health and performance, we must first understand the nutritional requirements of the animal depending on their age and stage of production. Then, we need to evaluate their diet and supplemental program to identify if the appropriate vitamins are being supplemented and at what levels.

Our Role in Ensuring Safe Animal Food

With the recent trend of the global food trade, food safety has become a concern that needs to be emphasized even more to ensure a safe food supply. All members of the food supply chain play a role in maintaining food safety. Whether you are a supplier, a business owner, a manufacturer, or a customer, you have a significant part in food safety. That means we at DSM play a large role in the safety and quality of animal food that can affect the lives and wellbeing of millions of consumers locally and globally. The decisions that we make every day can determine how healthy animals will be, and how safe the food produced by animals will be. Read this article to learn more about how DSM takes various steps to ensure the food safety.

HPAI Impact on Turkeys: What does this mean for Thanksgiving?

The 2022 high path avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak began earlier this year and while we’ve seen a slight drop in numbers, it doesn’t appear to be over yet. At almost 46 million birds, the poultry industry is facing yet again the tremendous impact on turkey and laying-hen production populations. Interestingly, this year’s strain, a subtype of H5N1, appears to be more infectious in turkeys than chickens. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we will surely see that ripple effect come into play on pricing and supply of turkeys.

Late season grass and harvested hay quality effects on reproduction

Some key nutrition strategies for managing cattle operations include paying close attention to pasture conditions, analyzing pasture grass, harvested hay, and other feedstuff ingredients for nutrient composition and be sure to work with your nutritionist to ensure an effective supplement program is in place to meet cattle nutrient requirements. Finally, being aware of other environmental factors, such as mineral antagonisms that can impair nutrient bioavailability, as well as mycotoxin contamination that can cause poor fertility and production losses.

New Swine Optimum Vitamin Nutrition (OVN) Guidelines 2022

Over the last several decades, pork producers have worked to achieve significant and continuing trends for more efficient pork production. In the U.S., for example, the number of pigs weaned per female per year increased by 7.67% over the 5-year period from 2016 - 2021. Continuing advances in genetics, housing, management, and animal performance potential is contributing to improved efficiencies and sustainability of pork production. Nevertheless, continuous advancements in swine nutrition are essential to address opportunities and challenges in modern pork productions. Understanding animals’ nutritional requirements for supporting optimal animal performance is DSM’s primary focus. For the last 70 years, DSM (formerly Roche) has published and revised vitamin supplementation guidelines with periodic updates that are needed to reflect the most recent scientific advances in nutrition, genetics, industry practices and objectives.

The 5 P’s of Good Manufacturing Practices

At DSM, Good Manufacturing Practices, or GMPs, are the cornerstone of producing safe, high-quality products. Our GMP’s are comprised of processes, procedures and practices that ensure products are manufactured consistently and controlled according to set quality standards. A well-established GMP program can help cut down on losses and waste while also protecting both DSM and consumers from the occurrence of a feed safety incident. Read this article to learn more about DSM’s GMP program.

Vitamin K: The Mysterious Vitamin

Vitamin K was first discovered by Danish researcher Henrik Dam in 1929. In his research with cholesterol in growing chicks, diets with fat removed resulted in extensive hemorrhages. Adding back cholesterol did not help, but there was another mysterious component which did, which was named Vitamin K—the Koagulation vitamin.

Fumonisins: What are they and what do they do?

Fumonisins (FUM) are a class of mycotoxins that are frequently detected worldwide in corn and are reported to have negative effects on the health and performance of livestock and poultry. This article will share more insights about what FUM are and the potential consequences following consumption as well as what mitigation options exist on the market.

New Poultry Optimum Vitamin Nutrition (OVN) Guidelines 2022

Continuous advancements in poultry nutrition are essential to address opportunities and challenges of modern meat and egg production, including countering the rise of antibiotic resistance, reducing aggressive animal disease and making farming more sustainable in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. We at DSM believe that supporting poultry species with optimum vitamins can help make production more sustainable and help get the world closer to zero hunger as well as healthy lives. Optimum Vitamin Nutrition® (OVN) is a cost-effective range of vitamin supplementation optimizing animal health and wellbeing, animal performance and the quality and nutritional value of animal-origin foods.

Sow Management and Feeding Strategies to Wean More Viable Pigs, Part 5

Genetically selecting sows to increase their reproductive output provides larger litter size and increased profitability for the farmers. However, it is well established that larger litters at birth can impair piglet viability, leading to increased pre-weaning mortality (Quiniou et al., 2002, Wolf et al., 2008). In addition, the need for a group housing system for gestating sows has led to many questions concerning management and feeding strategies to maintain optimal reproductive performance and production of viable piglets (Johnston & Li, 2013). Based on this, some strategies applicable to sows during late gestation, before parturition, and after birth have been implemented to increase piglet survival rate (Peltoniemi et al., 2021).

How the Rumen Works

Cattle have been coined “upcyclers” due to their ability to turn natural resources and by-products that are inedible to humans, into higher value, high quality protein source in the form of beef. An estimated 35% of the US mainland is unable to support cultivated agriculture, thus grazing animals are highly valued to utilize the otherwise wasted rangeland to upcycle nutrients to high-quality protein needed in the human diet. The reason cattle are able to upcycle low quality forages and by-products is due to their anatomy and physiology of the ruminant digestive tract, more specifically, the symbiosis of diverse microbiota in the rumen.

Process Control System: Protecting Product

It’s no secret that if you want to put out high quality products you need to have good procedures in place, but if you want to put out the highest quality products while maximizing efficiency, quality & safety; you need a process control system. The process control systems used in DSM’s premix manufacturing facilities are crucial for effective quality assurance and productivity. Using these state-of-the-art tools, supported by an integrated Quality Management System, allows DSM to be recognized as the first choice when it comes to product quality & safety.

Mycotoxins: The Invisible Profit Killer, Part 3

In the final installment of our 3-part series focused on potential mycotoxin implications for 2022 harvest, we will look at sampling and testing options to determine if mycotoxins are present as well as what can be done to address mycotoxin challenges your operation might encounter with new crop feeds.

Are There Vitamin Deficiencies Anymore?

Yes there are! Although most symptoms of a vitamin deficiency today are vague and not definitive (poor performance, lower growth rate, increased disease incidence), there are instances of a clear-cut vitamin deficiency. A recent example is from the University of Wisconsin, in which researchers noted kyphosis (hump-backs) in growing pigs consuming a standard research ration. Analysis revealed that vitamin D3 was inadvertently left out of the vitamin premix, and that the kyphosis observed was associated with a simple D3 deficiency. Since most vitamin deficiency symptoms aren’t as clearcut as the University of Wisconsin example, use OVN guidelines as a tool to check recommended vitamin levels and to avoid possible deficiencies.

Food Safety Standards – Where are we headed?

Recent regulations have been released by the USDA/FSIS regarding foodborne pathogens, specifically Salmonella in ready-to-eat poultry products. Chicken is the highest consumed meat product in the US, with 30+ federally inspected companies producing chicken on a ready-to-cook basis. With the recent update in food pathogen tolerance for poultry products, producers will need to evaluate new strategies in order to meet these regulations.

Reducing stress in calves around weaning

Negative effects on health and growth performance in receiving calves are often associated with reduced feed intake resulting in inadequate circulating glucose and nutrient levels accompanied with some form of stress leading to inflammation and impaired gut integrity. From disease challenge, diet changes, management, transport, metabolic disease, and others, calves are highly susceptible to performance and economic losses during weaning and receiving. Therefore, proper management, nutrition, and right feed additive combination are utmost importance to successful weaning and receiving program.

Food Defense Programs, why are they important?

At DSM it has always been of utmost importance that we ensure our consumers have safe food to eat from farm to table. One way to accomplish this is by creating effective Food Defense programs at DSM manufacturing sites. The goal of a Food Defense program is to prevent food from being intentionally adulterated, either for economic gain or with the intent to cause harm. To create effective Food Defense programs, North American DSM premix plants utilize the FDA’s F.I.R.S.T. program to prevent food from being adulterated intentionally. Read this article to find out more about how DSM implements the FIRST program.

What Does Optimum Vitamin Nutrition Mean to Me?

“Optimum Vitamin Nutrition (OVNTM) is about feeding animals the right amounts of high-quality vitamins produced with the lowest environmental footprint, appropriate to their life stage and growing conditions. OVN is a sustainable way to achieve the optimum health and performance that you expect in your animals to produce better quality products with less waste for more sustainable farming.”—DSM, 2022 Guidelines. 2022 Aquaculture and Ruminants OVN guidelines now available; Poultry and Swine are coming soon.

Sow Management and Feeding Strategies to Wean More Viable Pigs - Part 4

As we know, lameness is a common clinical manifestation in the swine industry worldwide, with multifactorial causes that impact an animal’s welfare, reduce productivity, promote premature culling, and, subsequently, cause significant economic losses (Lucia et al., 2000). Lameness can have infectious and non-infectious causes. Among the non-infectious causes are several risk factors closely related to gilt development that contribute to lameness, such as flooring types, housing conditions, congenital disorders, seasonal influence, nutritional imbalance, feed management, and genetic predispositions (Mondal & Biswas, 2021). However, when these risk factors are properly evaluated, the farm can reduce lameness, extend the reproductive life of gilts, and thereby improve pork production.

Mycotoxins: The Invisible Profit Killer, Part 2

In last month’s DSM Digest, we kicked off our three-part series looking at mycotoxins and their contamination impact on the feed and food supply chains. A brief review of three common indicators of stress (environmental conditions, crop health, and insect damage) provided insights into development of mycotoxins in the field. This month we look at the dynamic duo of weather and market constraints and how they play into the economic effect mycotoxins can have on balance sheets in livestock operations.

2022 Optimum Vitamin Nutrition Guidelines for Ruminants

Understanding the purpose, function, and vital importance that vitamins play in animal health and performance has been an ongoing area of focus. Vitamin supplementation guidelines by DSM, has been available for the last 70 years and has been reviewed and updated several times by invited recognized experts in their respective fields to address appropriate vitamin requirements specifically considering maintenance, growth, breeding and production. Most recently, the new 2022 Optimum Vitamin Nutrition (OVN) recommendations were announced and changes were made to account for industry and regulatory changes and new scientific research.

Nitrogen Utilization

Protein is essential for proper growth and development and overall health of an animal. Too much protein can have negative effects in the hindgut leading to hindgut fermentation and excess nitrogen. Excess protein and nitrogen contribute to disrupted intestinal barrier, increasing susceptibility to enteric stress or necrotic enteritis in poultry, and increased environmental nitrogen or ammonia. These negative effects can be reduced with improved protein utilization in the foregut and a redirection of nitrogen in the hindgut. Various strategies have been used to attenuate these effects in the small intestine or foregut, but not many have focused on the residual protein and nitrogen in the hindgut.

Specialty Blends

Do you know that DSM can provide premixes that go beyond typical mash and pelleted feeds? DSM can assist customers based on their unique application, whether it be for milk replacers, stress packs, water soluble blends, and more. With our in-house Premix Quality Lab, we can work together to ensure the quality and consistency of the proposed blend, while considering different aspects of the blends such as flowability, particle size and environmental temperatures. One of our more common specialty blends are water soluble premixes that ensure solubility for many different applications. Learn more about these specialty blends.

What is a Vitamin Requirement – How is it Defined?

Over the last 100 years, the concept of a vitamin requirement has changed from avoidance of deficiency to support for current industry production practices and objectives, which may include allowances for such things as egg hatchability, meat quality, or immune support during heat stress. Recent NASEM 2021 guidelines for dairy cattle now include such terms as Estimated Average Requirement, Recommended Dietary Allowance, Accepted Intake, or “Response”—all determined by an expert panel, approximately every 20 years. DSM Optimum Vitamin Nutrition (OVN®) guidelines start from these recommendations, new published research, and industry advances. The DSM recommendation in all species segments is to “Check and Adjust. For more sustainable farming.”

Sow Management and Feeding Strategies to Wean More Viable Pigs, Part 3

Previously, in this series of articles, we discussed some critical indicators in sow management, focusing on sow parity and litter size (Part 1) and how feeding younger and older sows differently can improve progeny performance (Part 2). This third piece will focus on the main factors that can impact sow and piglet performance during the lactation period. As we know, there are many factors to consider when it comes to maximizing performance during lactation, and sow farm managers must prioritize those that have the largest impact. Let's dive in.

Mycotoxins: The Invisible Profit Killer, Part 1

In the first article of our 3-part series leading into 2022 corn harvest, we will explore some of the factors that contribute to the development of fungal disease and subsequent mycotoxin production during the lifecycle of the plant. Predicting contamination is difficult since many factors influence the production of mycotoxins, but we will highlight three common indicators of stress (environmental conditions, crop health, and insect damage) that may provide some preliminary insights about what mycotoxin contamination will look like this fall.

Protein Sources

Protein is a major component of poultry diets as it is necessary for proper body function and optimization of performance. Broiler chickens have high protein requirements therefore it is necessary to feed optimum, high-quality protein. There are few protein sources used widely for poultry diets. These consist of both animal and vegetable sources. Soybean meal is the most used protein source with a crude protein content ranging from 40-48% including a well-balanced amino acid profile. It is essential to maximize protein utilization without affecting feed quality. Exogenous enzymes may be beneficial as exogenous protease can increase amino acid digestibly by unlocking the amino acid release in protein feed ingredients.

Strategies to Optimize Gastrointestinal Functionality in Piglets

For producers to raise healthy pigs it is critical the piglet has optimal gastrointestinal functionality. However, around weaning there are significant challenges that make this goal difficult to achieve. Optimal gastrointestinal functionality is a situation where the welfare, health and performance of the pig is not constrained by intestinal dysfunction (Celi et al., 2017). To achieve optimal gastrointestinal functionality, there has to be effective digestion and absorption of the feed which requires a normal and stable microbiota, appropriate structure and function of the mucosa and a balanced immune system.

Spotlight on Rovimix® Calpan, AKA Vitamin B5

Rovimix® Calpan is DSM’s market-leading source of pantothenic acid, vitamin B5. This critical vitamin is very stable in premixes and is required in relatively large amounts for broiler breeders and gestating/lactating sows. Biological functions of B5 include all aspects of protein and energy metabolism, which means that deficiency signs are very non-specific, such as poor growth or dermatitis.

Differential Diagnosis for Mycotoxicoses in Ruminants

The effects of mycotoxins are very wide and diverse and often can be hard to differentiate between problems caused by management, nutrition, and issues related to disease. DSM has most recently created a new tool available for troubleshooting mycotoxicosis in beef and dairy operations titled, “Differential Diagnosis for Mycotoxicoses in Ruminants.” This booklet highlights seven of the most relevant problem areas including reproductive failure, ketosis and fatty liver (subclinical), lameness, subacute ruminal acidosis, inflammation and immune suppression, mammary gland infections and high somatic cell counts, and reduced growth performance.

Technical Marketing Analytical Services (TMAS) Team

DSM’s Technical Marketing Analytical Services (TMAS) is located in Belvidere, New Jersey and provides DSM with a wide range of analytical services. Just in 2021, TMAS ran 12,362 assays. Key areas of support include customer inquiries, customer studies, blend plant operations and innovation projects. TMAS’ focus is on the analyses of vitamins, enzymes and carotenoids in various matrices including feed, premix and serum. It is currently staffed with four scientists with 72 years of experience combined.

Vitamin Stability

How stable are vitamins in premix? Analyzing vitamin stability allows us to provide accurate shelf life, storage times and ideal conditions for our premixes. There is currently limited data with DSM vitamins in the presence of trace minerals, choline, and supplemental antioxidants. Currently, Nutritional Services is working on a year-long Global Stability Project to answer these questions. Having this information under our belts will allow us to remain the leaders in the vitamin and premix space. Read this article for more information on vitamin stability and preliminary research results.

Happy 100th Birthday Vitamin E!

Vitamin E celebrates its 100th birthday in 2022, thanks to research designed to find out why lab rats grew normally but couldn’t reproduce when consuming milk-based, high fat diets supplemented (at the time) with all known vitamins. A mysterious factor in wheat germ alleviated the “fetal resorption” syndrome, later isolated in 1935, named Vitamin E, and synthesized by Swiss scientists in 1938.

Premix Carriers

Premix carriers are much more than just a filler ingredient. Commonly the largest single component of a premix, carriers act as the glue that holds your nutritive ingredients in homogenous suspension, while also significantly influencing bulk density and flowability. From the many available options, choice of carrier must suit the final application, be it grain free pet food, water soluble, or conventional livestock feed, while also providing sufficient carrying capacity for the range of particle sizes of each nutrient. Read this article to learn more about the direct impact carrier type and proportions can have on premix quality.

DSM Sustainability Update

DSM has joined the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs and the International Poultry Welfare Association. This industry association is an important forum that aligns with DSM’s strong focus on the sustainability of animal agriculture generally, and specifically North American poultry. This new membership adds to the associations in which DSM participates both in North America and globally. Read more to learn how your organization can partner with DSM on sustainability priorities and goals.

Sow Management and Feeding Strategies to Wean More Viable Pigs, Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed why sow parity and litter size must be considered critical indicators in sow management, as they have a considerable impact on litter performance. Now, we bring a new element to this conversation: gilt and sow nutrition. As some studies have demonstrated, to optimize sow performance, the type and amount of nutrients must differ in a young sow compared to older females (Boyd et al., 2008). In addition, using different approaches to feeding sows based on their parity also has some economic benefits. With that perspective, this article highlights how feeding younger and older sows differently can improve progeny performance.

Heat Stress

Summer months in many U.S. regions bring higher temperatures and increased risk of heat stress in dairy and beef animals. Heat stress becomes a risk when cattle generate and absorb more heat than they are able to dissipate. Dairy and beef cattle generate heat during digestion, therefore, high producing animals that eat more may be at greater risk during times when environmental conditions favor heat stress. In addition, cattle also absorb heat through solar radiation when outdoors and black hided cattle pose a greater risk of death loss during heat wave events compared to other hide colors. Heavy finished cattle with greater fat deposition have a harder time regulating heat effectively and can succumb to heat stress easier than light weight cattle. Compared to other species, cattle don’t effectively dissipate heat and rely primarily on respiration to cool themselves. When heat load accumulates throughout the day, cattle must rely on cooler temperatures in the evening hours to effectively cool their core body temperature to a safe range. During severe heat waves when temperatures remain high and animals generate accumulated heat load, other effective heat stress mitigation strategies should be implemented.

Microbiome Technology

Metagenome sequencing- A new method allowing a deeper view into the complexity of the microbiome. We can now discover more about the gut microbiome, its metabolic pathways, metabolites, and the effects on the animal. Instead of identifying and quantifying the types of microorganisms present, we can measure the functions and metabolites the microorganism is producing.

DSM Premix Quality Lab

Premix Quality involves much more than meeting nutrient targets - the characteristics of a premix and its components affect flowability, mixability, and homogeneity of a blend through premix manufacture, transport, and subsequent feed manufacture. But what are the properties of a good quality premix, and how are they determined? In the DSM Premix Quality Lab, novel ingredients, premix, and new sources of raw material are assessed for variables such as particle segregation, flowability, dust rating, particle size distribution and more! This article includes more information on how we assess ingredient and premix quality and use the information to improve blend traits.

Cartenoid Corner

Carotenoids are a unique class of compounds which are highly pigmented (yellow, orange and red). In addition to providing color, several carotenoids are potent antioxidants. DSM manufacturers 4 carotenoids in the Carophyll® line (Beta-carotene, Red, Yellow, and Pink carotenoids), and several more for human use such as lutein and lycopene. Carophyll® product forms are superior for their uniform beadlet composition, processing stability, bioavailability, purity, and science-backed performance. This article further discusses these carotenoids.

The Future of Animal Health and Well-Being

As demands for better livestock performance, health and well-being have increased over the years our need to be proactive has become critical. It’s not enough to wait for a health or performance problem to arise to then try to apply a solution. By doing that, we incur economic and welfare related losses before we can correct the issue. Today’s modern livestock production needs proactive and innovative solutions and tools to stay ahead of these concerns. This article discusses innovation in this space.

Cogranulation: The Latest in Enzyme Innovation

Precision, convenience, and quality are important values customers look for in feed additives. DSM’s cogranulation technology is a novel and unique formulation that brings all of these values to the customer. Ease of handling and application allow for better convenience. Precise levels of selected and purified enzymatic activity, improved consistency with cost savings, pelleting stability, reduced dust, better distribution and homogeneity bring precision and quality to the customer. Cogranulation is the way to go!

Piglet Health Starts In-Utero: How to Develop Immune Competency in Piglets Before and After Birth

Swine production faces evolving challenges to produce pigs more sustainably, achieve higher welfare standards to meet animals needs and consumer demands as well as being cost-effective. Also, advances in genetics have led to a trend of hyper prolificacy in sows, which poses additional challenges. Higher numbers of piglets born per sow per year has resulted in larger variation in piglet birthweight more metabolic challenges on the sow which, in turn, impacts the onset of colostrum and milk production, thus increasing the risk of less robust piglets at weaning and performance losses later in life.

Optimizing Fertility and Performance of Dairy and Beef Cows

Carotenoids are naturally occurring pigments found in plants that play a key role in optimizing cattle health and reproduction. Beta carotene is the most common type of carotene in plants and considered a provitamin A or a substance that the animal needs to produce vitamin A. It also serves as a powerful antioxidant to reduce the effects of oxidative stress that can negatively affect fertility and performance of dairy and beef cows. This article further discusses how beta-carotene can optimize fertility and performance of dairy and beef cows.

Sow Management and Feeding Strategies to Wean More Viable Pigs, Part 1

Getting strong and viable piglets at weaning starts with looking back to where they came from: the sow. Throughout the last few decades, the swine industry has done an outstanding job in terms of management of sows and optimizing numbers of farrowing units. As Lavery et al. (2019) highlights, we currently have hyper-prolific sows that can wean up to 31.3 piglets per year. Although pigs weaned per sow per year has been one of the primary metrics used to evaluate sow farm performance, there are other indicators that are valuable for swine producers, such as sow parity, litter size and the number of pigs successfully marketed per sow (per year). With that in mind, this article discusses the importance of assessing sow productivity on a lifetime basis and how it’s related to progeny performance.

Challenges Related to Testing for Mycotoxin Biomarkers

Mycotoxins are recognized for their effects on animal health and productivity, but diagnosis of mycotoxin-induced disorders is tricky as they often present with non-specific signs. Feed analysis is the widely accepted approach to monitor mycotoxin exposure. An alternative tactic is the application of mycotoxin biomarkers – assessing mycotoxin exposure directly in the animal by analyzing blood or other biological samples (urine, feces, etc.). Despite its potential, application of mycotoxin biomarker testing has major limitations. This article discusses some of key challenges to on-farm implementation of mycotoxin biomarkers analysis.

Preparing Premixes for Summer

April showers bring May flowers… and potential caking issues. Your Nutritional Services team is busy preparing our premixes to mitigate any potential issues for the upcoming hot, humid North American May to August climate. Through our experience, we are aware of certain products which can contribute to caking. Hygroscopic ingredients (tend to absorb and retain moisture from the air) are the worst offenders. The table in this article features three popular premix ingredients to watch out for along with their characteristics and known issues.

Coming Soon: Poultry Vitamin Survey 2022

In the North American region, we are re-surveying vitamin supplementation trends in several poultry production segments, including broilers, breeders, layers, and turkeys. These surveys, led by Dr. Nelson Ward and Dr. Doug Teitge, will be presented at the Arkansas Nutrition Conference in September 2022 and in print publications as well. This article discusses conclusions of a similar survey conducted in 2014 in US broilers representing >90% of the industry along with new factors that may affects the results in the upcoming 2022 survey.

Vitamin Nutrition — What Do Your Cattle Need?

At NCBA earlier this year we had the opportunity to discuss the critical role that vitamins play in optimizing health and performance in cattle throughout all stages of production. Since vitamins A, D, and E are considered essential nutrients, they are often required to be included in diets through a supplementation program since some feeds are inadequate in vitamin composition or the feed has been exposed to factors that compromise vitamin stability such as temperature, humidity, light, oxygen, and pH. This article examines these vitamins and provides some additional resources related to this topic.

Hatchability – Could Micronutrients Play a Role?

Hatchability is important not only for planning and producing saleable day-old chicks, but also for the quality of chicks and their growth and development throughout their lifecycle. The ability of a fertilized egg to develop into a viable chick depends on many factors. Temperature, humidity, and time are important components for ideal hatching. Another factor that plays a role in hatchability success is optimum nutrition, it is vital to overall health and should be safeguarded to ensure hatchability rates.

Interpreting Vitamin Analytics in Premix

You’ve received a result that the vitamin E in your premix is 85% of the expected level. What does this mean exactly? Is this a problem? The AAFCO Official Publication lists the allowed variation to the guarantee for a variety of nutrients. In the case of vitamins, this can range from +/- 45% for a small inclusion ingredient such as vitamin B12 to +/- 20% for a vitamin included at higher quantities such as vitamin E. This means that an analytical result of 80% to 120% of your expected level is considered acceptable.

Biosecurity

Biosecurity continues to be top of mind among the industry and virus transmission in feed and feed ingredients has become a focus of increasing research lately. As we are now in the heart of the winter months, many producers are deploying risk management strategies in their feed inputs as a tool to keep the feed secure. Good biosecurity practices help in producing a healthy herd.