BioZyme Incorporated News

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Experienced Cattlemen Relies on Amaferm Advantage 24/7. With nearly half a century in the cattle business, Steve Groves has learned from his experiences, both good and bad. But when he learned about the advantages that a precision prebiotic offered his herd from conception through weaning, that was one experience he wasn’t going to let slip away. In fact, he believes in the Gain Smart weaning program combined with the VitaFerm program for his cows so much; he became a BioZyme dealer so he could share the results with his peers and neighbors.

“I can’t stress enough what Amaferm does for a cow. Increasing absorption of what you are feeding them, it is just helping them do a better job,” said the self proclaimed Amaferm guru who has been in the cattle business for 47 years.

Groves owns River Bend Cattle at Garland City, Arkansas. At just 300 feet elevation, in the southwest corner of the state, the cow/calf producer and BioZyme dealer said that Amaferm is one of the main reasons he switched his mineral to the BioZyme products.

Amaferm is a precision prebiotic that is designed to support digestive health. It is research proven to increase intake, digestion, and absorption.

The Weaning Advantage - Groves is a firm promoter of the three step Gain Smart program when he weans his calves. He gives them all a dose of Vita Charge Cattle Drench at weaning time and then starts them on the Vita Charge Stress Tubs and Gain Smart mineral.

“Gain Smart is really economical on my calves. I have had awfully good results. No sickness. Their health is right where it should be. I don’t worry about consumption for the first 30 days. They will usually slow down,” Groves said.

If he feels his calves are overconsuming their Gain Smart, he will put salt at the bottom of the feeder, so they have to eat the mineral first, then eat some salt for a few days before he refills the feeder with mineral. He always felt like different types of grass made them crave salt.

Groves will ship his calves in early July when they reach about 800 pounds. Since they are getting fleshy, he switches them to Gain Smart Stocker HEAT around May 1. He said the cattle continue to eat well and gain well for those last two months, even at heavier weights with the HEAT package, which helps them maintain their core body temperature while supporting performance and gain in

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heat and fescue situations.

Amaferm for the Herd - Groves has shortened his calving window to 60 days since using the VitaFerm products. He calves in January and February, so his cows start on the VitaFerm Concept•Aid 5/S in December and are on that mineral until late April or early May when they switch to VitaFerm HEAT. They consume HEAT until mid-October and then eat Cattlemen’s Blend until December when they start back on the Concept•Aid 5/S.

Groves said he initially started solely using the Cattlemen’s Blend mineral, and he experienced a slight increase in his conception rates. He decided to try the VitaFerm Concept•Aid 5/S to see if he could take it up one more notch. He said he did. In addition to his commercial cow herd, Groves puts embryos in about 60 cows each year, and he knows how easy it is for those cows to lose a calf, and if they lose a calf, they are out everything.

“I will do anything I can to hold that embryo. We’ve had great results with the VitaFerm Concept•Aid,” he said.

Sharing the Message - Groves does not run eared cattle but instead settles for a mix of Red Angus and Simmentals; however, he does cull for heat tolerance since the heat and humidity do take a toll on the cattle in his climate. He said he would hate to think about running cattle – both cows and stockers without the HEAT minerals he uses.

With the results he has seen in his own herd and his passion for Amaferm, he said it just made sense that he started selling the BioZyme products. Groves said some producers just “look over the fence” at what he’s doing and then ask questions. Another group of progressive producers, much like he, try the products and proclaim that they “don’t know how they got by without them for so long.”

“I have people always asking me how I can calve in a 60 day window? To me, it is the most economical thing about raising cows is to keep the calving window short, so I can feed all my cows the same. If I have one dry cow and I have to feed her with the wet cows for four or five months, that costs money and she gets too fat,” he said.

Amaferm’s absorption benefit is the tie that binds all the BioZyme products together to deliver the whole package to Groves and his customers. From breeding to calving and weaning and beyond, he is a believer in products from VitaFerm to Vita Charge and Gain Smart. He knows his cattle are healthier and higher performing because of these programs.

To learn more about the Gain Smart weaning program or the Amaferm advantage found in the BioZyme products, visit www.gainsmart.com.

Why Quality Cow Nutrition is Vital Pre-Calving. Calving time is much anticipated across the country. It’s a time of renewal; it’s time to see how those mating decisions panned out and to watch those cows turn into maternal miracles for another season. Preparing for calving season doesn’t just happen by getting some fresh bedding and making sure your calf pullers are nearby and clean, “just in case.” Progressive producers start getting their herd ready for calving at least 60 days in advance by making sure their cows in late gestation are getting the best nutrition possible.

A complete mineral package in the last 60 days prior to calving provides your cows with the added nutrients they need for reproductive success, including lactation. In addition to assisting the cow with her health and additional requirements, the calf is receiving pass through nutrients from its mother, resulting in healthier calves with more vigor at birth.

VitaFerm Concept•Aid is a line of vitamin and mineral supplements formulated for beef cattle and designed to support quick repair of the reproductive tract and more energy for reproductive success when fed 60 days pre-calving through 60 days post breeding. The Concept•Aid products contain high concentrations of Vitamin E and organic trace minerals. The Amaferm advantage provides increased nutrient absorption and digestion, leading to healthier and heavier calves giving you added performance from the time the calves hit the ground.

Research has also shown that Amaferm increases the energy available to the animal resulting in more milk production as well as to the ability to initiate and maintain pregnancy and fertility.

By providing your cows with this premium nutrition 60 days pre-calving, you are amping up essential nutrients needed for reproductive success at calving. Not only is calving and lactation a stressful time on the mama cow, but it is also the time when her nutrient requirements are the highest all year. Why not take a proactive approach to add essential nutrients prior to when they are truly needed?

VitaFerm Concept•Aid contains 2.5 times the NRC for quicker impact and organic trace minerals for more stability and higher bioavailability. Furthermore, higher levels of Vitamin E allow for quicker reproductive tract repair post calving. Another benefit of VitaFerm Concept•Aid is cows that clean out more quickly.

“We’d been looking for a good

mineral. We were having some issues with retained placentas, and heifers that weren’t cleaning as well as we had thought they should, so we thought we’d try a real good mineral. We feel that we’ve seen a difference there. We’ve been really happy with the VitaFerm Concept•Aid,” said Kevin Bennett, a Hereford breeder from Benton, Wisconsin.

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of feeding this quality mineral to cows prior to calving is the increased health and performance of their calves. Calves are typically healthier at birth and, due to increased milk from their healthier mamas, grow faster and more efficiently.

“We experienced scours, coccidiosis, weak calves, cows that wouldn’t breed; you don’t even know all the problems I had. One year we lost 35 calves. Since I switched to VitaFerm our cattle are just nicer. Nice hair coats on them, healthy, and calves that are healthy when they are born and stay healthy. Think of the live calves I am taking to the sale barn. I am saving bull calves that I can sell for $3,800-$4,000 and selling registered heifers for $1,200-$2,000. Look at the calves that I’m saving and having the availability to sell. It’s just a no brainer,” said Angus breeder Wade Wilson of Watford City, North Dakota.

Live calves, healthier calves, growthier calves. Cows that produce milk and clean their placentas. Those are things that make calving a happier time on cattle operations across the country. A good calving season starts with quality nutrition and comes down to performance that pays. That’s part of the Amaferm advantage that is found in VitaFerm Concept•Aid. Start the program 60 days pre-calving and experience the difference.

To find out more about the variety of VitaFerm Concept•Aid formulas or to take a short quiz to find the right one for you, visit www.VitaFerm.com.

A Bigger Plan Paves Path to Agriculture Passion. “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9. Perhaps no other verse is more fitting for one former softball player turned future agriculture teacher. Growing up in Rockingham County, Virginia, the most abundant ag county in the state, it might seem natural for a young person to be involved in 4-H or FFA, especially if she was growing up on her family’s farm.

Kendall Knicely had other plans that included eventually going to college on a softball scholarship. Her family’s legacy was also rooted in athletics. Her great uncle made it to the major league, and his jersey hung in her high school gym. Knicely was the pitcher for her competitive team until one tournament when her health took a turn for the worse.

“Back in 2011, I was at a softball tournament, and I got really ill and had a lot of weird symptoms like nausea and couldn’t eat and was losing weight. My mom was my coach for my team, and she thought this was really odd, so when we got back home, we scheduled some doctor appointments, and they couldn’t figure anything out. They just thought it was acid reflux. That was the end of that,” said Knicely, who was just 11 at the time.

A very sick athlete and mom were determined to get answers, so they traveled from Virginia to Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, where they got them. A diagnosis of a congenital heart birth defect revealed that her aorta would compress her esophagus every time it would pump blood to the size of a pin needle down at the bottom, which is why Knicely couldn’t eat very much and why it would hurt to breathe when she exercised.

“At that point, my symptoms had become so severe, I had to quit softball. There was really no way, especially as a pitcher, with my aorta connected directly to my arm, I could continue to do that. They did tell me I could have surgery, but there was only a 50 percent survival rate, so my mom immediately shut that down,” Knicely recalls.

Turning Point - As an active young person, Knicely wasn’t about to sit around and mope. She started researching other activities in her hometown of Bridgewater that could keep her busy. That is when she read about 4-H. One of her friends who lived on a dairy farm was involved in the youth program, so she decided it would be a good way to spend time with her and make other new friends. When she learned she needed to take a project, she proposed the idea of a sheep project to her mom, although her family only raised cattle. She started with two Suffolk lambs and never looked back.

“Their names were April and May.

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