Alltech’s Dairy Protein Programme

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland.] –Every farmer values the importance of feeding the right protein source to their dairy herd at the optimal level in order for rumen bacteria to achieve maximum efficiency, and recent trials involving Alltech’s Rumagen® product indicate it is possible to improve animal performance, protect the farmer’s bottom line and minimize environmental impact.

In recent trials, Alltech’s dairy solution Rumagen, a product that contains a technology that allows for an efficient balance of protein supply in ruminants, was introduced into the diet of 130 dairy cows. It was found that this technology lowered diet Global Warming Potential (GWP) from 30.94 kg CO2 per day to 23.99 kg CO2 per day through optimizing the composition of the diet. Coinciding with this was an increase in milk production by 1.65 litres with a noticeable rise in milk components. During the trial diet, GWP was also reduced from 1.21 kg CO2/kg milk to 0.88 kg CO2/kg milk. Financially, this represents more than €0.20 income over feed cost per cow daily.

“The most important result from this trial is that it demonstrates it is possible to have a more efficient diet, with improved performance and financial results whilst lowering the carbon footprint for the herd,” said Sylvie Andrieu, Alltech's European technical manager for ruminants. "At Alltech, we have moved away from choosing between performance and profit, towards new technologies that will allow us to achieve both for our partners and customers. This includes new solutions for dairy producers with practical options to ensure the herd's future with good calf management."

Key insights from this trial stimulate questions such as “What if Europe’s nine million dairy cows could benefit from this program?” This could result in lowering their daily intake of protein by 0.2 kg per cow daily. It could also impact Europe’s importation of soybean meal. If Europe’s dairy herd was to become part of Alltech’s dairy program, a potential decrease of 0.5 kg of soybean per head per day could be saved. So for nine million cows, this could mean importing 1,428,000 tones less soybean annually.

Such scenarios will be posed at the seventh edition of Alltech’s Global Dairy & Beef, which is returning to Europe this Aug. 30 – Sept. 2 in the Centre International de Deauville, Normandy, France. Alltech’s Global Dairy & Beef forum is held annually and brings together some of the most progressive dairy and beef producers from around the world to enable them to network, share experiences and discuss plans for the year ahead.

The theme to this year’s Global Dairy & Beef is “What If?” following on from the Alltech International Symposium held in Lexington, Kentucky, last month. Some of the discussions will include:

• What if you could gain key insights into the evolved global dairy and beef landscapes?
• What if you could successfully shape your business to meet the needs of the predicted 2.4 billion extra people in the world by 2050?
• What if you could predict the future following the abolition of the EU milk quota or respond to the changing consumer trends in beef?

At the forefront of the agenda is how to farm an Efficient, Profitable and Sustainable (E=P+S) future. Alltech will examine the current industry and look at future trends, specifically addressing how farmers and producers can stay ahead of the curve. Registration for Alltech’s Global Dairy & Beef is now open; please click here for more details.