The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.
Jul. 8, 2020 – Teaneck, N.J. – No matter what stage of lactation a dairy cow is in, her health is closely tied to producer profitability. Throughout the lactation cycle, cows are exposed to stressors that have a negative impact on the immune system, increasing the risk of infection and disease — and treating these issues can raise input costs. Phibro Animal Health designed the OmniGen™ family of nutritional specialty products to help dairy cows maintain a healthy immune system for improved health during all phases of lactation.
To show the effectiveness of OmniGen in helping to maintain a healthy immune system in dry, pre-fresh and lactating dairy cattle, Phibro conducted on-farm demonstrations over 11 years with more than 650,000 dairy cows. The data were compiled from dairies in the OmniGen Immunity Challenge field studies between 2007 and 2018.
“This large-scale field study confirms that feeding OmniGen every day helps support a healthy immune system,” says James Chapman, Ph.D., Senior Research Leader, Collaborative Research for Phibro. “It’s impossible to eliminate all stressors within a dairy, but OmniGen nutritional specialty products have proven to be an effective tool in helping dairy producers better prepare their herds to withstand the inherent stress associated with the lactation cycle, among other stressors, which can make a dairy more efficient and more profitable.”
OmniGen Immunity Challenge Yields Herd Health Data
The data were gleaned from the on-farm demonstration program called the OmniGen Immunity Challenge. Throughout the demonstration, participating dairies were supported by a Phibro dairy team member who helped evaluate and assess herd health and milk production. OmniGen nutritional specialty product was added to feed formulations and fed to all dry and lactating cows for 90 to 120 consecutive days. Records were monitored for mastitis, ketosis, milk output, somatic cell count and death, among other parameters.
While demonstrations were conducted and data was collected over a broad range of years, number of cows and geographies, specific health results demonstrated the impact a healthy immune system has on cow health and input costs associated with veterinary visits, treatments and mortality:
- Mastitis cases declined by 12.6% (based on 550 herds reporting)
- Metritis incidence in fresh cows declined by 20.9% (389 herds reporting)
- Ketosis in fresh cows was down by 18.5% (257 herds reporting)
- Retained placenta cases in fresh cows dropped by 19.8% (413 herds reporting)
- Death loss declined by 17.2% (727 herds reporting)
“The role the immune system plays in influencing dairy cow reproduction and health continues to be researched,” says Chapman. “Phibro developed the OmniGen Immunity Challenge program as a tool to educate and assist dairy owners, along with their nutritionists and veterinarians, to see firsthand the impact it can have to support immunity — and the better the immunity, the lower the input costs required to respond to health events. By optimizing a cow’s immune function, producers can expect improved cow health, milk production and milk quality — three components integral to a profitable dairy operation.”
OmniGen products combine selectively sourced ingredients, including all-natural aluminosilicates, vitamins and yeast components, produced with Phibro’s formulation expertise and unique processing technologies. Phibro’s OmniGen portfolio is designed to enhance the success of both animal agriculture operations and the animals in their care.
For additional information on the OmniGen portfolio of nutritional specialty products, visit TheOmniGenDifference.com or contact your local Phibro Dairy Technical Specialist.
About Phibro Animal Health Corporation
Phibro Animal Health Corporation is a diversified global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of animal health and mineral nutrition products for livestock, helping veterinarians and farmers produce healthy, affordable food while using fewer natural resources. For more information, visit www.pahc.com.
