NATURAL animal nutrition company Alltech has showcased its innovative products at producer evenings in Oakey and Kenilworth. The evenings heard from Alltech nutritional advisors Toby Doak, Dr Susanne Roth and Victorian based Donal Blackwell, who also outlined developments in New Zealand.
On show were Alltech’s suite of products aimed at managing heat stress in both Queensland’s dairy and beef industries. The products included the controlled released nitrogen source Optisync, Yea-Sacc, Bioplex minerals, the organic selenium source Sel-plex, and Micosorb A+, which is used to control potentially dangerous mycotoxins in feeds.
The evening heard that heat stress could result in 10-25 percent drops in milk production. Cows used more energy on maintenance and reduced dry matter intake. Heat stress also lowered fertility rates, making in harder to bring cows back into calf.
“Heat stress is a real issue right across Queensland, particularly for dairy cattle, which is essentially a cool climate animal,” Dr Roth said.
“The most obvious signs of heat stress are cattle seek shade and cool areas and are generally less active. But heat stress also results in hormonal changes, decreased immune functions and also decreases the efficiency of the rumen.
“The challenge is how was can best manage in terms of both herd health and productivity. There is why Alltech has developed this suite of products that allows cattle to better cope with the combination of higher temperatures and humidity.”