Antibiotic use and dubious meat labels claiming the contrary have again put cattle producers in a tough spot.

 

But it's not just beef cattle when there are also dairy cattle being affected; and beyond the risk of antibiotic resistance, the other pressing matter is making cattle production more sustainable and climatefriendly.

 

These resulted in a multitude of challenges and scrutiny that dairy and beef industries in the 21st-century face. That cattle are now considered the top agricultural source of greenhouse gases globally is not helping things along. As noted by Frank Mitloehner, a professor at the University of California's Department of Animal Science, one cow can, in a year, belch 220 pounds of methane, which is 28 times more potent in warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

 

We have previously emphasised (pages 4-5) that "governments, industry players and their partners have their roles to fulfill" Greening Beef & Milk Production in supporting livestock industries to control antibiotic use, and believe the same should apply to all other aspects of livestock production and the supply chain.

 

As a matter of fact, major feed additives companies (or companies with a focus in this area) are crucial in proliferating the appropriate solutions and products worldwide through their extensive networks.

 

In this regard, we see DSM as an example: the Dutch multinational corporation developed Bovaer, its methane-reducing supplement, which it will provide to NAPCo, one of Australia's biggest cattle companies, through a recent collaboration and supply agreement.

 

In this issue's Cover Story, another aspect of cattle production we would look at is nutritional health.

 

"For dairy cows, calcium and phosphorus are the most important minerals with several structural and biochemical functions," DSM's Yoshinobu Nakatsuji writes (page 8). "According to research, in order to achieve enhanced dietary (calcium) absorption driven by vitamin D metabolites, greater than normal concentrations of 25-OH D3 (Calcifediol) in plasma are required."

 

Hence, DSM created the 25-OH D3 product, Hy-D® - by adding this product, "All benefits associated with high circulating levels of vitamin D3 in blood are obtained faster and maintained longer," Nakatsuji adds.

 

In the not-so-distant future, cattle production can be greener and has less of an adverse impact on the environment. Additionally, with antibiotic-elimination solutions, healthier cattle can be bred to meet growing meat and milk demand.

 

The full article is published on the May 2022 issue of LIVESTOCK & FEED Business. To read the full report, please email to inquiry@efeedlink.com to request for a complimentary copy of the magazine, indicating your name, mailing address and title of the report.