News round up: Country Junction Feeds advancing solutions

Posted on October 23, 2017 by admin

Where is the world of of feed headed in 2018 and beyond?

One place to get a window on the latest innovations is Country Junction Feeds. Here are five perspectives on progress:

Rising to new levels of nutrition, health, care and performance

In a world of farming and ranching that is increasingly shifting to natural, more efficient, bio-based approaches for elite level animal care and performance, innovations in feed and nutrition are quickly rising to the forefront.

"Advances in feed and nutrition approaches have always moved at a steady rate, but today both the pace of innovation and the interest in this area is spiking much higher than ever before,” says Darrell Kimmel, manager of Country Junction Feeds. “The bottom line for farmers and ranchers is more choice, better options, and more opportunities to get more value out of feed to greatly strengthen their results."

Leading the charge for antibiotic-free solutions

New expectations. New challenges. New opportunities.

All are coming together for the next generation of livestock production, as demand shifts toward an emphasis on antibiotic-free approaches.

"There is pressure everywhere, not just in agriculture, to have more judicious use of antimicrobials,"says Dr. Tom Inglis of Poultry Health Services, part of Poultry Partners. He is one of the principals involved in a new partnership involving Country Junction Feeds and Poultry Partners. "At the same time, consumers are more interested than ever in how their food is produced and they are challenging industry to raise the bar on everything we do. Part of that expectation is more judicious use of antimicrobials. We’re seeing this reflected in the rising demand for antibiotic-free meat products."

Innovating while boosting profitability

Glass half full, or glass half empty? There are different ways to view the increasing pressure to limit the use of antibiotics across animal agriculture.

The new expectations present a big challenge. But they also create opportunities – specifically, by placing a stronger focus on how livestock industries can make better use of other options in the toolbox.

“The push toward antibiotic free is happening a lot quicker than many expected,” says Bernie Grumpelt, ruminant nutritionist at Country Junction Feeds. “Our focus is helping producers provide what the marketplace is demanding. There’s no silver bullet to replace antibiotics, but there is a lot that can be done through feed and nutrition strategies, to keep as many animals as possible on an antibiotic-free stream without sacrificing performance, health or overall profitability. In fact, the results can be much higher across the board for operations that take advantage of the latest options.” Read More.


Leadership in certified organic feed

As strong momentum continues in organic food demand in North America and around the globe, advances at the feed mill level are rapidly evolving to help everyone from producers to retailers ensure consistent supply and capitalize on expanding opportunities.

“Our focus is always on supporting farmers and their industries, to have the resources required to provide the best nutrition for their animals and take advantage of evolving market demands,” says Dr. Nancy Fischer, a nutritionist with Country Junction Feeds. The company is celebrating a nine-year anniversary as the first major full line commercial feed mill in Western Canada to offer a broad range of pelleted and crumbled certified organic feed.

“The organic market continues to be an area where the demand is far higher than the supply,” says Fischer. “One of the major hurdles is a lack of certified organic feed. Nine years after we started down this pathway, we are continuing to invest and innovate at the mill level, while partnering with producers and industry, to help address this need.” Read More.

Advances in milk replacers

As livestock producers strive toward new innovations to optimize the health and productivity of their animals, right from the start, new advances in all-natural, nutritionally optimized milk replacers are stepping up to the challenge.

“The more we learn from the growing body of science, the more clearly we understand just how critical it is to maximize nutritional support during the early stages of an animal’s life,” says Bernie Grumpelt. “Milk replacers are a nutritional technology that is rapidly advancing in sophistication and has an important role to play. The right approaches during the early stages of development with young animals allow producers to lock-in unique advantages that carry forward throughout the production cycle, turning a great start into a great finish.” Read More.

The only full line feed mill producing organic feeds in Alberta