Many consumers worldwide believe moving to a no antibiotics ever program is a responsible way to safeguard food production and meet food security goals around the world.
To meet this growing segment of consumer demand, many poultry producers have begun looking for the right products to help shift their flocks to a no antibiotics ever program without health and production setbacks.
It was also one of the important themes discussed in the episode of “Built in America: INNOVATION NATION” on the Fox Business Network on August 30, 2020, that featured Amlan International. During that episode, viewers saw the mountains of research Amlan does to find these new mineral and animal health solutions for livestock producers.
Terrence O’Keefe, content director at WATT Global Media, was featured on the episode to share how this trend is being achieved at the farm level. The media company has provided extensive coverage on this topic to communicate the changes that consumers are starting to ask of the global livestock industry.
“One of the approaches of no antibiotics ever production that has shown some success for a lot of companies is using a combination of additives in the diet,” O’Keefe says. “It could be enzymes to allow the bird to more thoroughly digest the ration; it could include also a prebiotic or a probiotic.”
A prebiotic is a compound that helps feed the good bacteria and then you seed the bird with good bacteria by giving them the probiotic, O’Keefe says.
“Not all products are the same, so it’s important that producers test them,” he adds. “They are all safe, but how effective that mixture is going to be depends on the individual complex.”
It’s About Balanced Nutrition
Finding the right mixture of products is a challenge that takes a lot of time, money and research. Working with a team of animal health experts and nutritionists is key.
“There are many positive strategies out there to achieve less use of antibiotics in poultry production. We see this a growing segment for Amlan and one where we can provide leadership to help producers make changes in their operation that positively improve their operations and the health of their flocks,” says Flemming Mahs, President of Amlan International. “Producers tell us that they have seen positive results in challenge reduction and improved feed efficiency with these strategies.”
It’s also one of the reasons Amlan has invested considerable time and resources to create Varium®, a performance feed additive helping producers achieve healthier poultry production without the use of antibiotics. While it is not a pre- or probiotic, Varium is a natural product that works to improve feed efficiency, leading to healthier flocks and can improve producer profits.
Watch the full episode to understand how Varium improves the animal’s gut health.
The TV episode also includes perspective from Dr. Glauber Sartori Maier, an animal nutritionist for Coasul, an agricultural cooperative with 9,000 associates in 28 cities in the southern part of Brazil. Coasul has standardized on Varium for more than a year in their poultry feeding regimen when they moved to antibiotic-free production. They were recently ranked #1 in feed efficiency by the top-rated company that provides accurate comparative user data to the livestock industry.
Click here to learn more about the changes they experienced after the transition.
For more information about the no antibiotics ever trend in poultry and strategies from Amlan to make the transition, explore this section of the Amlan International Education Center.
