Canada's Nuvac rolls out bacterial feed additive

NUVAC Sciences de la vie, a Canadian company represented in Vermont by the nonprofit Economic Development Council of Northern Vermont, says it has developed natural bacterial products that can help dairy cows increase milk output and break down manure.

 

Gauthier and Bill Zuccareno of the development council supported the company's claims with data detailing increases in butterfat, protein and volume for dairy cows using BoviPlex, a feed additive. The company also had data showing that MaxiCharge, applied to manure pits, speeds the "aerobic digestion" of manure solids, eating it like "Pacman," as Gauthier put it.

 

Gauthier said patents for the process of growing the bacteria are pending in the US and Canada. The ingredients are approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US and by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

 

Agriculture Secretary Roger Albee said the company's presentation was interesting, but as there were a lot of products with similar claims on the market, more questions would have to be answered in order to assess its true benefits.

 

Farmers who tried it for a three-month period with a control group said dairy cows tested produced milk with higher protein content and in larger quantities.

Reed calculated that the cost of the product could be recovered if daily milk production increased by about 1 1/2 pounds per cow, though so many factors entered into milk and crop production it was difficult to attribute changes to one cause. But he was convinced that MaxiCharge had worked in the manure pit since there was no longer a crust in the manure pit.

 

Zuccareno, from the development council, said he was at first skeptical about the product as well, given the other products that did not work as claimed. He added that NUVAC would have a mountain to climb in convincing people but the company has done its homework.