“We often say, ‘We don’t feed the dairy cow, we feed the microbes in her rumen and lower digestive tract,’” says Keith Bryan, PhD, technical service manager, Silage and Dairy, at Chr. Hansen. That’s because a lactating dairy cow has one of the most unique and complex digestive systems.
For 30 years, Chr. Hansen has been working with probiotics for animals. The bacteria in our BOVAMINE® Dairy Probiotic and Multi-species Probiotic have long histories of providing essential microbial support to livestock. “Now, we’re taking these products to the next level with BOVAMINE® Dairy Plus. BOVAMINE® Dairy Plus takes the best of both product lines and offers four species of beneficial bacteria: unique strains of Lactobacillus animalis, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus licheniformis. This combination of organisms provides digestive support and overall GI tract stability,” says Oscar Queiroz, PhD, Global Product Manager.
Daily feeding of an effective probiotic product is an excellent choice to ensure that your dairy cattle function normally, that is, to produce milk, to grow calves in their bellies, and to defend themselves from stressful things in their environment. All of that starts with their capacity to get nutrients from their feed, to absorb those nutrients throughout a healthy digestive system, and to reduce the energy-robbing, milk-reducing impact of challenges to their GI tracts.
Strains matter
Not all probiotics are created equal. It is absolutely essential to focus on the strain of the organisms in your probiotic choice. For example, Lactobacillus animalis, strain LA51 is a unique organism with trillions of exact copies that have been fed to dairy cattle for over 20 years. No other Lactobacillus has the same genetics or the same functional characteristics as LA51. The same is true for the other organisms in new BOVAMINE® Dairy Plus. Our understanding of the unique characteristics of microorganisms and, most specifically, those characteristics that impact economically-important factors, is what differentiates Chr. Hansen from our competitors.
Science-based, research-proven
While there are numerous probiotic products available, only a few are truly science-based and research- proven. The four strains used in BOVAMINE® Dairy Plus are the most extensively-researched animal probiotic strains. More than 700 research trials have been conducted, more than 100 abstracts and 65 peer-reviewed articles have been published during the last 25 years.
“Everything we do is founded in science. Our innovation is the back-bone to our business, and we invest deeply in the right relationships, employees and processes to ensure that we continue to unfold and understand the power of good bacteria for the benefit of all,” says Bea Nielsen, director, Animal Health Innovation, at Chr. Hansen.
Chr. Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. We develop and produce cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors for a rich variety of foods, confectionery, beverages, dietary supplements and even animal feed and plant protection. Our product innovation is based on more than 30,000 microbial strains – we like to refer to them as ‘good bacteria’. Our solutions enable food manufacturers to produce more with less – while also reducing the use of chemicals and other synthetic additives – which make our products highly relevant in today’s world. Sustainability is an integral part of Chr. Hansen’s vision to improve food and health. In 2019 Chr. Hansen was ranked as the world’s most sustainable company by Corporate Knights thanks to our strong sustainability efforts and our many collaborative partnerships with our customers. We have been delivering value to our partners – and, ultimately, end consumers worldwide – for over 140 years. We are proud that more than one billion people consume products containing our natural ingredients every day. Revenue in the 2017/18 financial year was EUR 1,097 million. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen.
