Q. Tell us a little bit about your role within the livestock industry.
A. I market Amaferm, a unique prebiotic that is the only ingredient in the industry that actually stimulates fungal branching in the rumen. All the customers’ feed is therefore available to the cattle, and since there is more total population functioning in the rumen, the cattle get to use every cubic inch of their rumen space more efficiently.
It is delivered through loose mineral, tubs, pellets and rescue products in the form of liquid, paste and boluses.
I work with 30 dealers in the Dakotas and Montana.
It’s exciting work because our customers actually see a difference in the performance, vigor and appearance of their cattle.
Q. What exactly is a prebiotic?
A. People generally confuse a prebiotic with probiotics and yeast. A prebiotic, like Amaferm, actually stimulates the animal’s system to make more digesting population - bacteria, fungi, protozoa.
There are as many as 150 billion in a teaspoon of normal rumen fluid, and a prebiotic works like a fertilizer in the rumen. It is infinite, and a ruminant’s advantage over a non-ruminant.
A probiotic adds live bacteria, a finite or specific number. Yeast is food for the “bugs,” and is finite and limited.
Q. Tell us about BioZyme.
A. BioZyme is an employee-owned company with a fermentation plant and a production plant in St. Joseph, Mo. It markets Amaferm in the U.S. and internationally. We do extensive digestibility research.
Q. What are the main issues facing animal science today?
A. The main issue in animal science today is being efficient enough to face market dips and stay in business.
Another important issue is learning to manage forage resources to grow and protect grass well. Learning to wisely manage lower value feed ingredients, such as straw, beet pulp, syrup, corn stalks, etc., in a ration helps profitability. The cheaper it is, the harder it can be to manage.
Q. What gives you the most hope in today’s struggling industry?
A. This cattle industry is populated with young lions. They work hard, think hard, reason smart. Many have very supportive people in their circle - parents, spouses, friends. Their attitude and work ethic is very humbling and inspiring to me,
Would you like to be featured in this segment? Know of anyone who’d be perfect? Email
kstromsodt@agweek.com
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