by Kevin Scallon
Director of Technical Services

Improving the productivity of animal agriculture has always been, and will continue to be, a focus of researchers, nutritionists, veterinarians and farmers. Tremendous strides have been made in increasing the efficiency of producing meat, milk and eggs. In today's agricultural economy, efficient production is critical to the survival of any given operation.

With dairy cows we are feeding large quantities of forage and other ingredients that monogastric animals cannot utilize. We rely on microbes in the rumen to convert those ingredients into the nutrients necessary for the cow to be productive. Research has demonstrated that we can manipulate the populations of the many different types of microbes found in the rumen to change the fermentation process in the rumen. Addition of specific species and strains of microbes can improve the efficiency of the rumen at converting feed ingredients into milk.

ANC’s Micro NRG Plus and Micro NRG Plus/Biotin are two products that contain multiple species and strains of microbes to help increase the efficiency of feed conversion. Each of these products contains live cell yeast, yeast culture, live bacteria, enzymes and vitamins.

Research has shown that addition of live cell yeast to a dairy diet can support higher rumen populations of total bacteria, cellulolytic (fiber digesting) bacteria and lactate utilizing bacteria. The higher total bacterial population enables more complete rumen digestion of the overall diet and helps increase the flow of bacterial protein to the lower gut. Bacterial protein is very high quality protein as it contains the ideal proportions of amino acids, at high concentrations, relative to other protein sources. Cellulolytic bacteria break down the cellulose in the plant cell wall making more of the plant available for digestion. Lactate utilizing bacteria help control the rumen concentration of lactic acid, which helps to maintain a higher, more uniform rumen pH. Live cell yeast also has a very good oxygen scavenging capability, which helps to maintain an anaerobic environment in the rumen allowing for a more efficient fermentation process. Addition of live cell yeast also leads to increased dry matter intake, which is very beneficial during the transition process.

Adding specific strains of live bacteria is helpful in stimulating appetite, increasing feed intake and reducing the potential for cows to go off feed. Bacteria helps to maintain proper pH levels in the lower gut that can inhibit the growth of pathogenic microbes.

The enzymes contained in the Micro NRG Plus products are catalysts that act to help break down the complex feeds consumed by the cow into simpler, more readily available and easily digestible nutrients. Alpha amylase breaks down starch and complex sugars into simple sugars. Protease breaks complex proteins in amino acids. Betaglucanase breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. Hemicellulase and cellulase help break down the fiber that makes up the plant cell walls.

Micro NRG Plus/Biotin contains 20 mg. of biotin per 10 gram feeding. Recent research on biotin has shown it can increase milk production as well as being recognized as playing a role in enhancing hoof health.

While the Food and Drug Administration prohibits making any performance claims relating to the use of direct fed microbials, the sales of these types of products has increased signficantly. Dairymen recognize the financial benefits they provide.

However, not all direct fed microbial products are created equal. A recent survey of several popular brands of direct fed microbial products found that the Micro NRG Plus products contained three times the concentration of microbes compared to the product with the next highest concentration, and over 500 times the concentration of another well-known brand. All of the products compared contained lactic acid bacteria at varying concentrations and most, but not all, contained live cell yeast and enzymes. If you are contemplating the use of a direct fed microbial product in your herd, keep in mind that higher live cell yeast counts are typically better when it comes to the number of colony forming units per pound or kilogram. Make sure you are comparing product on an equal unit basis.