As the feed and food supply chain faces continual pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, global animal health and nutrition company Alltech remains committed to helping the industry tackle this challenge. As part of this commitment, Alltech has announced the addition of its non-protein nitrogen source Optigen to its Carbon Trust-accredited offerings.
The Carbon Trust has certified that the inclusion of Optigen in a cow’s diet can decrease the global warming potential of that diet and improve nitrogen utilization. The Carbon Trust has validated that the replacement of high-carbon ingredients (such as soya) with Optigen significantly reduces the risk of a high carbon footprint. Optigen is a technology that provides a sustained release of ammonia to rumen microbes at an ideal rate, which helps to avoid periods of excess rumen ammonia, thereby reducing nitrogen excretion.
The Carbon Trust is a global organization that provides independent advice to businesses, governments and institutions on reducing carbon emissions. Earlier this year, Alltech’s flagship brand, Yea-Sacc, was also validated by the Carbon Trust to reduce methane emissions and nitrogen excretion.
“Relieving the burden of nitrogen excretion on the environment is possible by optimizing rumen function, and Optigen offers a proven way of achieving that,” said Matthew Smith, vice president of Alltech. “This award from the Carbon Trust is another fantastic landmark as we continue to help producers lower their footprint while increasing their profitability.”
Measure before you manage
The Alltech In Vitro Fermentation Model (IFM) is an effective tool for predicting farm- and feed-specific emissions. IFM simulates rumen fermentation and evaluates the digestibility of individual ingredients, compound feed and total mixed rations.
“By measuring the gas production of diets with IFM, we can calculate how much potential energy will be lost and the expected emissions per animal based on feeding a certain ration,” said Smith.
Through its Alltech E-CO2 service, Alltech is the leading global provider of Carbon Trust-accredited environmental assessments. Assessors gather information from across the entire farm and provide a bespoke report outlining the levels of emissions from each source, along with a total carbon footprint for the farm.
“We help producers understand where their farms fit into the emissions picture and then make recommendations to improve efficiencies,” explained Smith. “Using our assessment tools, we can predict the probable economic benefits as well as the expected reduction in carbon footprint from our suggested added efficiencies, and then we work with farmers to achieve those benefits.”
Find out how Alltech is working together for a Planet of Plenty at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held May 19–21, in Lexington, Kentucky.
