Instead of listening to presenters from the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, let’s hear from some of the participants. I spoke with many of them but only interviewed four. I think they give you a pretty good sense of how international this conference is.
Let’s start with Georgios Valergakis, Greece. He attended since he thinks we live in an “era of efficiency” and believed this type of gathering would be very useful. I asked him if the economic problems we hear about in Greece translate to the dairy industry but he says that it “is not that bad.”Georgios Valergakis Interview
Next up we have Johann Gasteiner from Austria. Johann was interested in nutritional disorders and the topic of SARA brought him to the symposium. He says it’s a big topic and “everywhere.” Johann Gasteiner Interview
Another participant was Christof Fry from Germany. He works at a feed mill so it was interesting to hear that he was attending to find new ideas to improve the products his company offers to their customers. He says the information he collects will be helpful in the long run for his business. Christof Fry Interview
And finally I spoke with Uldis Ositis, Latvia. He says the symposium has provided him with the information he was looking for. He found the presentations to be at a very high scientific level. Uldis Ositis Interview
One of our presenters at the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech focused on the issue of sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in grazing dairy cows. Finbar Mulligan is from University College Dublin, Ireland.
He was presenting some new research on this subject. He found that diet is important and that you shouldn’t assume that because grazing cows may be eating more forage they automatically have an adequate ruminal pH. The study found about a 10 percent incidence of SARA which is similar to other studies. He said that the symposium has brought out how much difference of opinion there is on this subject such as whether or not there are different types of SARA, that they’re only related to grain or starch diet overload or some other factor.
The Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech has come to an end. It has been two days packed with presentations on a very specific topic that is of growing importance to the industry, Rumen Health: A 360 Degree Analysis. I think we did look at the subject from just about every angle possible.
I started my coverage of the conference with a preview interview with Sylvie Andrieu, European Ruminant Technical Manager, Alltech. So what better way than to wrap it up in the same way?
Sylvie says it was a wonderful symposium, especially the discussion opportunities and interaction between people from a large number of countries. She also notes how interesting it was that some of the researcher presenters questioned the SARA concept and think that it should perhaps be renamed. It was clear that what is called SARA is more diverse than was thought. I concur with Sylvie that the feedback I heard from attendees has been very positive. Hopefully this means the symposium goals were achieved.
I’ll have more interview posts after the U.S. holiday weekend so until then . . .
Dr. Andre Bannink, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, conducted a presentation titled, “Variation in rumen fermentation and rumen wall during transition period” during the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech. I spoke with him about his topic during our gala dinner reception.
He is a “modeler” which means he develops mathematical models which predict how the animal responds on a diet. He says there’s a big debate on rumen acidosis here at the symposium and a lot of questions being asked. For a solutions symposium he thinks more questions have been raised than answers. His presentation focused on how well a high yielding early lactation dairy cow rumen can adapt to a big increase in feed intake. He conducted a test comparing two groups of dairy cows. One received a very quick increase in feed and the other was “steamed up” (his term) much more slowly. The main conclusion was that the rumen wall was very capable of adapting to either strategy with very little difference between the two. They compared 10 days to 20 days. So now he thinks further work should be done to see if there is a limit to how fast you can “steam up” a dairy cow.
The final day of the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, was started by Dr. Ad van Vuuren, Wageningen UR Livestock Research. We sat together on the bus from our hotel this morning and I asked him about the session he would be moderating.
His session focused on rumen adaptation and animal health. He says “rumen fermentation in dairy cows is one of the main contributors to the feed efficiency of dairy cows so it’s very important to maintain good, healthy rumen fermentation not only from the point of view of the environment or animal welfare but especially from animal production.” He says that practical nutritionists often over simplify solutions when answers to rumen health problems are more complicated. So he sees a need for more out of the box thinking and encourages new ideas which is what the symposium is hoping to do.
The Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, is not only technical presentations on rumen health but an opportunity to network with fellow dairy industry professionals and have some fun. Our gala dinner last night took place at the DierenPark Amersfoort, a very nice zoo. We ate very near the elephant exhibit in a facility called De Oliphant. I sat with participants from Brazil and Poland and we had a great time.
Today is the final day of the symposium. I’ll continue posting interviews on various topics over the next week with a break for this weekend’s holiday so check back if you’re interested in more on this topic. I will keep updating the photo album through the end of the symposium today.
Dr. Juan Tricarico brought the history of yeast research to the audience at the Dairy Solutions Symposium. He is Research Manager for Ruminant Nutrition for Alltech. He says there is a lot of information about yeast and its mode of action. He hopes that participants in the symposium will leave with a better understanding of how yeast affects rumen function and improves the ruminal environment as a whole so that it can be used more effectively. This will give the dairy farmer a bigger bang for their buck when they invest in yeast products.
“Modifying the rumen to reduce the risk of acidosis” was the title of Prof. Sergio Calsamiglia’s presentation at the Dairy Solutions Symposium. He works in the veterinary school at Universitat AutÒnoma de Barcelona.
He says research shows that acidosis is not just a pH problem but related to the type of feed you’re using. There is evidence that although using bicarbonate helps, it doesn’t solve the problem. Conversely, there are feed additives that don’t impact pH but help the problem. He says he thinks the term acidosis may mislead people since there are products like yeast that can help the problem even though it is not a buffer. The bottom line is that good nutrition and animal care is the most important thing to work on.
Prof. Joachim Kleen, Alta Genetics Germany, told us all about SARA in dairy herds at the Dairy Solutions Symposium. SARA is sub-acute ruminal acidosis and becoming a real problem. Understanding it better and what is being done to reduce or control it was the subject of his presentation.
As most dairy farmers might think, proper nutrition and animal care is the best way to decrease the impact of this rumen fermentation disorder. I spoke with Joe before his presentation to get his take away message for participants of this Symposium.
He says that it’s a subject we know a lot about but “we do not know a lot how ruminal acidosis is working, what it’s effects are.” He says he’ll be happy if symposium participants take away from his presentation that there are conflicting aspects to this problem.
The Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, was opened by Prof. Wouter Hendriks, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. There are 250 attendees at this year’s event being held at Utrecht University.
The overall topic for the Symposium is rumen health in dairy cows. I spoke with Wouter just before we got started. He says that the good rumen health will result in lowered methane emissions and greater animal welfare and this conference will focus on innovations and research being done to accomplish this.
The presenters for the Dairy Solutions Symposium 2010, sponsored by Alltech, got together for dinner this evening. I’ll be interviewing most of them over the next couple days.
To get a preview of what this conference is all about I spoke first with Sylvie Andrieu, European Ruminant Technical Manager, Alltech. She says that the initial idea for this conference came from the idea that most give you a “little bit of everything” instead of more in-depth information. So they’ve selected one central topic for all the presentations to focus on. In this conference the focus will be on rumen health. There are 250 registered participants and the hope is that they will go home with practical solutions.
Post Update: I didn’t have a photo of Sylvie when I first posted this but now I do after she presided over the first afternoon session.
Hello from Utrecht, Netherlands where I’ll be attending the 2010 Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech. Just got in this morning and after a short nap went for a walk. Right away I came to an outdoor market and was very pleased to see dairy products on display.
For lunch I had a really good brie and vegetables sandwich. I figure I’ll be eating pretty well the next couple days so it was strategic thinking to start out on the light side. Hopefully I’ll get to sample more of the cheeses made here in this region. I’ve just started a photo album for this event and have some photos from my walk in it: Dairy Solutions Symposium 2010 Photo Album
This evening I’ll be attending a dinner for speakers and others involved with the Symposium and we’ll get started officially tomorrow morning.
This is where I’ll be this week. The fifth annual Dairy Solutions Symposium put on by Alltech and the Centre for Animal Nutrition will take place this week and I’ll be there to cover it. It will be held at Utrecht University on Thursday and Friday. You can look for the first posts sometime on Thursday.
Rumen health is of critical importance for efficient transformation of dairy cows diets into nutrients. As such it is a major cause of economic losses in the dairy industry and important in maintaining the health and welfare of the animal.
This two day symposium, Rumen Health: A 360 degree Analysis, aims to bring together leading scientists in dairy nutrition to discuss a variety of topics including the impact of rumen pH on ruminal digestion, occurrence and prevention of sub-acute rumen acidosis, maintenance of an optimum rumen function and Ruminal adaptations during the transition period.
For you Twitter fans and I know there are a lot of you in the dairy business, follow the conference hashtag: #AlltechDSS
Alltech just held its annual International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium and I was able to attend once again. Discussion dinners are an important part of the program and I attended the dairy discussion.
There I met Kevin Tuck, Global Ruminant Product Manager, who has been with the company for about 20 years. He says that the dairy business outlook is pessimistic right now even though we have a growing population that needs a nutritious dairy product. So, for Alltech, he is seeking input from customers so they can come up with solutions to help them during this challenging time. Kevin has done this on a global basis and says he hears one common denominator from all areas of the world. That is to “reduce the cost of producing a pound or liter of milk.” Another way of putting it is “how can I get more out of my existing feeds.”
Wrapping up the Global Dairy 500 Conference was Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech President. Dr. Lyons summarized many of the presentations with a series of take home messages. The focus was on the future of dairy farming, the integration of a brand, methane production, cow comfort, tourist attractions, education, milk marketing with nutrition also being a key topic. Additionally, a strong message that came out of the presentations was to “record the data” and that body conditioning is critical. As Dr. Lyons said, “Talk to the cow and the cow will talk to you.”
During his closing remarks Dr. Lyons introduced the Agri Aware program that Alltech has sponsored. The educational program for school children of all ages now has it’s first video module featuring “A Day in the Life of a Dairy Farmer.” We watched the video and then Dr. Lyons called on participants to go back home, take the program and have it translated into their languages.
You can listen to Dr. Lyons remarks below. And don’t forget to check out my photo album from the event. If you didn’t attend you can see what you missed!
The final panel discussion at the Global Dairy 500 Conference focused on future technologies in the dairy industry. Presenting were Matthew Smith, Alltech and Dr. Karl Dawson, Alltech.
I spoke with Dr. Dawson immediately following his remarks. He says some of the technologies in methane recovery offer a new cost saving line for the farmer by producing bioenergy. Feed management technologies offer a lot as they change, especially in nitrogen management. He says their goal was to bring these to the attention of the dairy farmer so they will consider them as they make future plans.
You can listen to my interview with Dr. Dawson below:
What are the 5 things you would do differently in dairy today? That was the question our opening panel on the final day of the Global Dairy 500 Conference had to answer. Amazingly they each seemed to have very similar answers.
I spoke with panelist Nigel Lok, Nigel Lok Family Trust, South Africa. He says they milk about 700 cows.
Before getting back to the dairy portion of the Global Dairy 500 Conference I have one more video clip from our visit to the Kentucky Horse Park. This one was during our ring show that included a set of miniature horses pulling a wagon. I thought you’d enjoy it.
The participants in the Global Dairy 500 Conference were treated to a show at the Kentucky Horse Park that included many different horse breeds and traditional costumes.
I spoke with rider of the Arabian horse named D’artagnan.
He’s 11 years old and on loan to the Park by his owner.
The Kentucky Horse Park opened in 1978 and is the world’s only park dedicated to man’s relationship with the horse.
I also shot a video clip which includes an interview with the other horses and riders.
You can listen to my interview about the Arabian horse below:
The future of milk marketing was the subject of our last panel of the day here at the Global Dairy 500 Conference. The afternoon activities include tours of the Alltech headquarters and a dinner at Kentucky Horse Park.
I spoke with Harm Holman, European Dairy Farmers, Netherlands after the session concluded. He’s pictured tall and in the middle. Harm says he milks 140 cows.
He says it’s very important to be an entrepreneur that has to make a profit and to be competitive. Like other panelists he sees larger farms and less farmers in the future. In his part of the world he says that those who have the most simple systems are doing the best. He also believes that becoming more efficient and lowering input costs is vital to success in dairy farming today. He’s optimistic for the best farmers in the future, meaning that not everyone will survive in the next 5 to 10 years.
Instead of listening to presenters from the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, let’s hear from some of the participants. I spoke with many of them but only interviewed four. I think they give you a pretty good sense of how international this conference is.
One of our presenters at the 
The 
Dr. Andre Bannink, 
The final day of the Dairy Solutions Symposium, sponsored by Alltech, was started by Dr. Ad van Vuuren, 
The 
Dr. Juan Tricarico brought the history of yeast research to the audience at the 
“Modifying the rumen to reduce the risk of acidosis” was the title of Prof. Sergio Calsamiglia’s presentation at the 
Prof. Joachim Kleen, Alta Genetics Germany, told us all about SARA in dairy herds at the 
The 
The presenters for the 
Alltech just held its annual International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium and I was able to attend once again. Discussion dinners are an important part of the program and I attended the dairy discussion.
Wrapping up the Global Dairy 500 Conference was Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech President. Dr. Lyons summarized many of the presentations with a series of take home messages. The focus was on the future of dairy farming, the integration of a brand, methane production, cow comfort, tourist attractions, education, milk marketing with nutrition also being a key topic. Additionally, a strong message that came out of the presentations was to “record the data” and that body conditioning is critical. As Dr. Lyons said, “Talk to the cow and the cow will talk to you.”
The final panel discussion at the Global Dairy 500 Conference focused on future technologies in the dairy industry. Presenting were Matthew Smith, Alltech and Dr. Karl Dawson, Alltech.
What are the 5 things you would do differently in dairy today? That was the question our opening panel on the final day of the Global Dairy 500 Conference had to answer. Amazingly they each seemed to have very similar answers.
The participants in the Global Dairy 500 Conference were treated to a show at the 
The future of milk marketing was the subject of our last panel of the day here at the Global Dairy 500 Conference. The afternoon activities include tours of the Alltech headquarters and a dinner at Kentucky Horse Park.