Dear Valued Customers,

As the year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support and trust in Bio-Ag. Your loyalty and feedback have been the cornerstone of our growth and success.

Holiday Schedule Announcement

In observance of the holiday season and to allow our team to spend time with their families, please note our upcoming schedule:

Holiday Closure: We will be closed from March 29th, 2024.
Back to Business: We will resume regular operations on April 1st, 2024 at 8:30 AM.

From all of us at Bio-Ag. We wish you a wonderful long weekend filled with peace, happiness, and prosperity. Here's to a fantastic 2024!

Get the most out of your Bio-Ag account by taking advantage of our referral program: Farmers Helping Farmers

Farmers Helping Farmers is a great way for you to get other farmers interested in the Bio-Ag products that you love. It’s simple:

• You promote Bio-Ag products to a new client.
• They contact us and purchase Bio-Ag products.
• They tell us who referred them.
• You receive a $40 product voucher [after their first purchase].
• Your name will also be placed in a quarterly draw for a $100 product voucher!

The Bio-Ag News Spring 2022

Welcome to our Spring 2022 Newsletter! If this is your first time please enjoy various articles written by the staff here at Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors.  Every quarter we bring you new and exciting content about industry trends, agricultural events and more.  We always welcome comments from our readers and even provide ad space when available.  If you want to receive an emailed copy or paper copy please call our office and our call takers will be happy to put you on our mailing list!  For all other inquiries please click here:

SIGN ME UP!

Inside this issue:

• From the President
• Avian Influenza Information
• Dates to remember
• Recipe of the season: Baked Lentils with Cheese
• Updated Delivery Minimum Qualifiers and Fees
• Happy Reading!

READ ME!

MINIMIZING BIOSECURITY RISKS

As we see reports of the highly pathogenic H5N1 we have tips for decreasing your biosecurity risk on your farm.

• Have dedicated non-porous boots for your barn.
• If visiting a different farm wear booties or disinfect boots before going back into your barn.
• Have dedicated clothing (coveralls) for the barn.
• Don’t wear your barn clothes or boots off your farm.
• Personal hygiene – Wear gloves and wash hands after being in your barn.
• Limit contact with feces.
• Dedicate storage containers and equipment for feed and feces.
• Dedicate a drop off area for deliveries.
• Transportation vehicles should be clean, disinfected and if traveling between farms.
• Proper storage and disposal of used consumable items.
• Observing self-quarantine if highly contagious diseases are suspected.
• Contact your veterinarian if you suspect an illness.

For poultry specific tips have a look at this announcement from Feather Board Command Centre https://www.fbcc.ca/file.aspx?id=624e56a9-eaca-4ca5-a8c5-9ea5f33b95d6 

The Bio-Ag News Winter 2021

Welcome to our Winter 2021 Newsletter! If this is your first time please enjoy various articles written by the staff here at Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors.  Every quarter we bring you new and exciting content about industry trends, agricultural events and more.  We always welcome comments from our readers and even provide ad space when available.  If you want to receive an emailed copy or paper copy please call our office and our call takers will be happy to put you on our mailing list!  For all other inquiries please click here:

SIGN ME UP!

Inside this issue:

From the President
Soft Rock Phosphate & Black Earth Orders Needed!
Dates to remember
Recipe of the season: Coconut Candy

Happy Reading!

READ ME!

Winter Nutrition for Beef Cattle

Heading into the colder months it is important to keep in mind the extra requirements for our livestock. Whether you are bale grazing or have the herd back in the barn, recognizing two main concepts will help ensure the animals make it through the winter with enough vitality for another successful year!

First, the cold temperatures require the animal to expend more energy to keep warm. Cows that live outside will require some form of wind break and will require more feed to keep warm.

Secondly, the feeding of stored feeds means fewer fresh nutrients from pasture. Stored feeds lose vitamins and some other nutrients continually all throughout storage.    

Body Condition

Learning how to assess the body condition of your animals can tune you into changes that may need to be made in the animal’s diet. Condition scoring is especially tricky in winter when animals have thick coats, you may need to get your hands on the animals to properly assess. The animal’s body condition before winter begins will determine the quality of feed required. Cows that are too thin will be required to gain weight during the winter to be able to deliver a healthy calf, provide sufficient amounts of milk and get bred again for the following year. The amount of feed and feed quality required to overwinter a thin cow is significantly higher than a cow in good condition.

Extra Mineral and Vitamin requirements

• Supplying enough mineral is very important during winter.
• Those who free choice mineral exclusively will notice mineral consumption will increase in the winter months! Usually, the same goes for Seaweed meal, especially towards the end of winter.
• Continue to provide free choice salt as well

Water

• Still very important in winter; drives consumption of feed
• Need some way to keep it unfrozen
• Will drink closer to required intake if warmed a little (not ice cold)
• Cold water can slow digestion and cause issues especially if drink a lot at once

Digestibility in Forages

• Higher digestibility means that ruminants can get more energy out of the hay
• Being aware of strategies to make high quality forages is very important for “grass fed” animals
• Having good digestibility in your forages makes it less likely that you need to supplement grains
• Low digestibility and poor quality forages will result in weight loss
  • Monitor the herd for signs of energy deficiency such as:
    • Consistently distended rumens
    • Scruffy hair coat (different from long hair)
    • Rumination more than 60 chews
    • Spinal chill- hair standing up on back around shoulders

Molasses for extra energy

• Consider supplementing molasses if more energy required
• Molasses also helps with fiber digestibility

Cold Stress

• During those extremely cold and windy days cows will need to increase their consumption of forage to stay warm
• Make more feed available during these times and do not let them run out

Natural Detox

• Autumn and fall bring on a natural detoxification process. Think of colds in humans!
• Winter dysentery and pneumonia in the fall and early spring can be the result of the body not having the capability to deal with the expulsion of toxins
• During spring and fall it is important to provide enough vitamins and binders (such as clays) to expel toxins successfully

Calving

• 3-6 weeks before calving consider lead feeding higher quality forages in preparation for calving
  • An easy way to do this is to offer alfa-alfa forage as part of the ration
  • Make the change gradually over 1-2 weeks
• Adequate energy is required to, not only grow a calf inside, but also make lots of milk for the calf once born
• Adequate protein is required to make antibodies for high quality colostrum
• Lactating cows consume 30-50% more so be ready to increase feed once the calves start coming
• If cannot meet energy or protein requirements with forages then consider supplementing with grains and/or molasses.

Know your Forages!

• Test forages ahead of time so you can manage for potential shortcomings
• If continue grazing in winter, test the quality of the feed on that pasture to ensure you don’t run into an issue of extreme weight loss- often these pastures are very low quality
• Pair lower quality forage with higher quality to ensure consistent nutrition throughout winter
• Keep your high-quality hay to feed beginning 3-6 weeks prior to calving until back on pasture
• Forages containing legumes will have higher protein than those with just grasses.
• In general
  • Forages made early in the season will have high digestibility and lots of good energy (longest days of sunlight) so don’t wait until July to make all your forages
  • 2nd 3rd and 4th cuts will be higher in protein than 1st cuts
  • 4th cuts and even 3rd cuts that are made late in the season and/or had lots of rain during growth will have very little fiber and high amounts of insoluble protein and need to be slowed down with forages that contain more fiber.

As always, Bio-Ag is here to help you with all your nutrition inquiries and high-quality mineral and vitamin needs! We can test your forages and put together rations and mineral programs for your herd. Please don’t hesitate to contact us or myself directly at [email protected]. Helping you ensure your animals are in the best health is our passion!

~Dr. Kathrine Stoeckli

Mycotoxins are toxic chemicals produced by (fungi) molds.

Modern farming practices are depressing the plant’s immune systems and microbiome, making them more prone to severe fungal infections. Mycotoxins can develop in the field pre-harvest and during storage post-harvest.  Post harvest mycotoxins develop when high moisture feed is not stored properly. If consumed by livestock these chemicals can have toxic effects on the animals.  Cleaning moldy grains can help reduce levels of mycotoxins, as the fines usually have the highest amounts.  Mycotoxins rarely occur in isolation; Additive and synergistic effects can make seemingly low levels of mycotoxins dangerously detrimental to animal health.

Heat treatments and processing DO NOT inactivate mycotoxins. Don’t forget that finished feeds with and without by-products can be a significant source of mycotoxins. Some feed mills have better quality control than others.

Preventing Post-Harvest Mycotoxins

Poor storage and inadequate bunk feed-out are two controllable variables in the reduction of mycotoxins for silages. Aeration mycotoxins and refermentation mycotoxins can be very dangerous to animal health. Farmers must make sure as little air as possible gets into the bunks when scraping off feed and must keep moisture out.

Keep grain stored cool and dry. Clean out bins before new crop

Silage- prevent air from penetrating when taking off the face of a bunk or bag. Use a defacer or similar. Harvest at right moisture and ensure silage is packed tight enough and use a forage product to ensure proper fermentation...Bio-lac/Seaweed/Sugar.

Testing

Visual inspection is not reliable. Mycotoxins are tiny molecules the are not visible. On the other side…the presence of visual molds does not always mean mycotoxins are present. There are 1000+ Mycotoxins out there. Bio-Ag now offers a test called Myco 7 which test for the presence of 7 common mycotoxins. Mycotoxins almost never occur in isolation. If you have one mycotoxin chances are you will have more accompanying it. Additive and synergistic effects can make seemingly low levels of mycotoxins dangerously detrimental to animal health.

Signs and Symptoms of Mycotoxins in Poultry

1. Immune suppression symptoms
2. Gut disturbances/oral erosions
3. Uneven growth patterns
4. Ruffled feathers

Turkeys are more sensitive than broilers • Young birds are more sensitive than older birds.

Mycotoxins Change Gut Microbiome

Mycotoxins damage intestinal cells and gut environment. Beneficial bacteria are killed off. Gut immunity is compromised and parasites such as coccidia can take over. Clostridia thrive in mucoid environment induced by chronic inflammation.  

Reproductive system

Always keep in mind when presented with reproductive issues, this includes egg quality in layers! Immune system – All mycotoxins a ffect immune system and suppress it, should be on the list when having disease outbreaks.

General Signs

Most other symptoms come from indirect cause of which immunosuppression is the main sign. This means increased susceptibility to disease and vaccine failure.

Often times waxing and waning symptoms and growth are a sign that there is a problem. This will present as variability in uniformity of bird weights.

Ruffled feathers from compromised nutrient absorption and protein synthesis.

Oral lesions can be visible as mycotoxins are caustic. The feed particles sit in mouth. Lesions can occur in esophagus as well. Look for a rough appearance and can ulcerate and bleed. Lesions can go all the way down to gizzard and proventriculus and contents will reflux upwards.

Condemnations of liver. Aflatoxins are especially hepatotoxic but many other mycotoxins also damage the liver. Pancreatic enzymatic activity harmed by aflatoxin and so feed isn’t digested properly. Mycotoxins can impair kidney function. Swollen kidneys, urates and dehydration.

Gastrointestinal tract is damaged. Mycotoxins kill rapidly dividing cells, these include intestinal cells and immune cells. See signs such as enteritis, diarrhea, slick feces, and shiny feces from fat malabsorption.

Specific signs

Fusarium toxins can cause bowed legs and knocked knees in turkeys.
Ergots can cause claws and combs to become black and fall off.

Signs and Symptoms of Mycotoxins in Dairy Cattle

1. Gut disturbances
2. High SCC
3. Low Milk

Freshening cows are at highest risk for developing illness due to mycotoxin exposure. They have the highest stress. When a cow doesn’t eat (drop in feed intake at calving) the gut loses integrity and becomes leaky allowing mycotoxins to be more easily absorbed. Mycotoxins will damage the gut lining. Rumen microbiome and fermentation becomes dysfunctional when molds are ingested. Think of how penicillin is an antibiotic. Colostrum and even milk can contain mycotoxins, calves can become sick when drink this milk. High SCC, Mastitis and Metritis can also be a sign of mycotoxin issues because if the immune suppressive effects.

General Signs 

• Gastroenteritis
• Bloody stool
• Inconsistent manure quality is frequently a sign
• Reduced Dry Matter Intake
• Suppressed immune function
• Reproductive failure

Signs and Symptoms of Mycotoxins in Swine

1. Gut disturbances
2. Fertility issues
3. Failure to respond to veterinary treatment

All mycotoxins have an impact on growth and immune system. Combinations of mycotoxins can make symptoms unpredictable.

Immune System Depression

• Vaccines don’t work
• High rate of disease
• Lack of response to medical treatment (antibiotics)

The Bio-Ag News Fall 2021

Welcome to our Fall 2021 Newsletter! If this is your first time please enjoy various articles written by the staff here at Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors.  Every quarter we bring you new and exciting content about industry trends, agricultural events and more.  We always welcome comments from our readers and even provide ad space when available.  If you want to receive an emailed copy or paper copy please call our office and our call takers will be happy to put you on our mailing list!  For all other inquiries please click here:

SIGN ME UP!

Inside this issue:

• From the President
• Ruth Knight: Reflections on the Joy of Farming
• Kathrine's Korner: Mycotoxins
• Product Specials
• Dates to remember
• Recipe of the season: Zucchini Fudge Cake

Happy Reading!

READ ME!

The Bio-Ag News Summer 2021

Welcome to our Spring 2021 Newsletter! If this is your first time please enjoy various articles written by the staff here at Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors.  Every quarter we bring you new and exciting content about industry trends, agricultural events and more.  We always welcome comments from our readers and even provide ad space when available.  If you want to receive an emailed copy or paper copy please call our office and our call takers will be happy to put you on our mailing list!  For all other inquiries please click here:

SIGN ME UP!

Inside this issue:

• From the President
• Product Specials
• Date to Remember
• Bio-Ag Turns 40!
• For Sale
• Product Updates: BioCharge Dry
• Recipe of the Season: Tangy Tuna-Mac

Happy Reading!

READ ME!

FILLED: Dairy Account Sales Representative

Who We Are:

Bio-Ag is a leading livestock nutrition company based out of Wellesley, Ontario. We have nearly 40 years of experience in the Ag industry and do things a little differently. We sell across Canada and export our products to the U.S.A., Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Ireland.

First, the realities:

• The hours won’t be 9-5. You’ll get calls from clients at weird hours (they’re farmers after all).
• We’re not a huge multi-national company, so we probably can’t pay you as much as they can

A bit about us:

• We think differently. As a farm-based business, we have a great culture and family feel, but we are growing, if this appeals to you then we might be a good fit.
• The hours are flexible – if you are getting the work done and hitting targets.

Let’s talk about what you’ll do:

We’re not going to hide this with fancy terms – we need you to make new sales.

• You are a motivated and enthusiastic individual looking for the chance to focus on dairy all day long, every day.
• You’ll work with dairy farmers to ensure their on-farm production and performance goals are being met while turning them into Bio-Ag fans.

We are looking for experience:

Before we get to the details, you need to be eligible to work in Canada and have a valid driver’s license.

It’s great if you’ve got a few years of sales experience and/or nutrition experience. Both are better. More importantly, you have a drive and desire to talk to people about dairy.

We do need someone who can pay attention to details, so when you reply to this posting, put in the subject line: I love dairy!

Benefits for you if you work here:

We want people with enthusiasm and ideas. We’re smaller, so we don’t have rigid and bureaucratic processes. Sure, we’ve got some, but not like the big guys. We help each other out. And we’re kind to each other. We pay you every two weeks, like clockwork. We work together to get through issues. We pay you a bonus when you hit your targets. We have health benefits. We’re flexible.

Benefits for us if you do:

We get somebody who is driven, enthusiastic, plus someone who’s humble enough to know they’re part of a team (basically someone people like working with). And because you tick those boxes, we get a teammate who’s increasing sales along the way!

Technology:

We have Business Central ERP as our primary business application.  This includes a great CRM capability.  We also use Office 365.  You need to be proficient with Microsoft Office products.  We can teach you the CRM system.

How to apply:

Please Send Resumes to [email protected] with the subject line "I love Dairy!"