| 23 nzdairy pastures an advantage for manager Carlos and Bernice Delos Santos with family. DAIRY PEOPLE » Carlos & Bernice Delos Santos Supplied by Maria Brown, director of MicroMed, and a Naturopathic Nutritionist trained in functional medicine. probiotics in the feed aiming to improve rumen fermentation, protection against stressors and supplementation of medical treatment. “The most common expected bene icial e ects of probiotics were more e ective calf raising, larger milk yield, more stable rumen fermentation and improved stress resistance. None of the respondents experienced any negative e ects.” [The use of probiotics in nutrition and herd healthmanagement in large Hungarian dairy cattle farms; Zsoka Varhidi, Marietta Mate, Laszlo Ozsvan] It is a well-known fact that probiotics inhibit pathogenic growth. Within New Zealand there is a good selection of probiotic suppliers, selling single strains, to multi-strains, to commensal proprietary blends derived from soil and water microbes. The soil and water-derived probiotics o er an added advantage in that they are the commensal microbes or ‘native’ microbes - those that ‘reside in and on the living organism’. This is opposed to ‘transient’ microbes that travel through the body, doing good whilst they are in there, but essentially leaving the body shortly afterwards. The soil and water derived microbes, called ‘commensal’ microbes, also operate as a meta-organism, creating a complete eco-systemwherever they may be found. As a meta-organism, they all operate ‘together’ as one unit, supporting each other and living in a mutually bene icial relationship. In a world where adaptation is essential, perhaps it is humans who need to take a closer look at what Nature provides, and work one step closer to see if we can replicate an environment on our farms that is more aligned with the microbial ecosystem that supports ‘life’ and good health. With many European countries having targets in place to reduce antibiotic use across all animal industries, it may simply be a matter of time before the pressure is on in New Zealand to follow suit. Mastitis is currently New Zealand’s number one health issue for dairy farmers, with around 85% of the yearly farm-related antibiotics being used to treat this condition alone. The decrease in productivity is cause for concern, outside of the fact that the World Health Organisation declared that anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity; so this is not a situation we should take lightly. Mis-use and over-use of antibiotics has led us to a point where we are seeing the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens, (this alone may make farmers rather nervous) on top of the anxiety farmers already face today in a world currently limited by emissions-reduction targets. Pregnancy issues, ( a 15% rate of ‘inability to conceive’), and other health conditions such as foot health, oral health and udder health along with overall body condition, will force farmers to crunch the numbers even harder this year. To boot, the latest statistics show that by the end of lactation there were 7.5% of cows who were infected with a major pathogen, often Strep, uberis, not just the minor pathogen CNS (Corynebacterium). So where to from here? Many farmers are choosing the natural approach and have already converted to organic, where holistic health is the main focus. One of the top-rated natural alternatives to antibiotics and some drugs is probiotic use, and interestingly a Hungarian study published in 2022 showed that since 2018, 69.6% of the dairy cattle farms in Hungary used 5Ltr discounted bundles available, email sales@micromed.co.nz Introductory offer - 20% OFF - use discount code NZDAIRY
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