Producers Can Go Pro To
Keep Livestock Healthy
COLUMBUS, Ohio Pro
ducers who want to keep their
livestock free from disease,
reduce antibiotic use, and lessen
the likelihood of foodbome ill
ness may want to try probiotics,
said Teresa Morishita, an Ohio
State University Extension vet
erinarian and associate profes
sor in the Department of
Veterinary Preventive Medicine.
Probiotics is a general term
that refers to the natural bac
teria normally found in the stoc
mach or intestine of healthy
animals. When an animal be
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STEP 1
STEP 2
STEPS
STEP 4
Graze lightly in Nov.
WHEN FERTILIZED AND GRAZED
PROPERLY, BARENBRUG FORAGES HAVE Mega Millet
MORE THAN DOUBLED MILK YIELD PER Not Available
ACRE COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL ■" *o®°
PASTURE.
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comes sick, disease-causing bac
teria called pathogens replace
the normal bacteria, Morishita
said.
“By treating animals with
probiotics, the goal is to have
normal bacteria colonizing all
the intestinal sites within the
animal, so bad bacteria can’t
attach and cause disease,” she
said. “This concept is called
competitive exclusion.”
Probiotics are most often used
in animals just born or hatched.
Young animals have no intesti
nal bacteria, so treating with
IMPROVE YOUR PASTURES
AND HAVE TONS OF SUMMER FEED AS WELL
f r *
Plow or Roundup about mid to late May. This way
you can still utilize your sprihg growth
Fertilize and drill in one (or a blend of several) of
the fine forages described at right or plant
“Master’s Choice” Silage Corn. Corn does very
well where pasture is plowed down. This may
also help break up disease or insect cycles in
old pastures.
Graze or cut sorghum sudan at 24 in. (Approx. 40
days after seeding and every 30 days
thereafter). Warning: neverfeed sorghum sudan
when it’s less than 18” tall.
About mid Sept, plow or disk in manure and plant
a high quality Barenbrug Grass Legume Mix.
Always take a soil test before new seeding.
On Farm
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Mark Rehak Carl Martin
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Henry King
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probiotics the earlier the
better helps establish a good
set of bacteria before pathogens
arrive, Morishita said.
This treatment also is recom
mended during times of stress
for the animal, such as during
vaccination or after the out
break of a disease.
“Probiotics are not a wonder
drug. They are a preventive
medicine step,” Morishita said.
“Disease can still occur despite
their use, and if it does, an anti
biotic would likely be needed to
kill the pathogens. Then normal
bacteria could be reestablished
to reduce the possibility of
future illnesses.”
But the use of probiotics early
CENTURY BROWN MID RIB (BMR) Hybrid Sorghum Sudan from
Walter Moss Seed Co. .This premium forage has outstanding regrowth and
tillering characteristics. The BMR trait increases the digestibility of the stems
and reduces lignin by 40 to 60%. Because of this farmers will see increased
milk production, or weight gams. The softer leaves and stems make for a more
palatable feed.
MEGA GREEN Delayed Maturing Hybrid Sorghum x Sudangrass from
Walter Moss Seed Co., is a very high yielding multi-leaf variety designed for
hay or grazing. It has the potential to out yield silage corn. When left to grow it
can reach heights of 12 ft. or more with out making a seedhead. Here in
Lancaster Co. I have not seen it go to head at all Extra leafy leaves can reach
3 in. wide and 4 ft. long.
Both Mega Green and Century can be no tilled into old alfalfa stands after first
cutting to double your haylage yields. Because of the high sugar content cows
really go for it and milk well too.
MILLENNIUM BMR Hybrid Forage Sorghum, from Walter Moss Seed
Co., is used as a low cost high quality alternative to corn silage. In a 1999 on
farm comparison in Ephrata, PA it out yielded corn almost 2 to 1 in dry weedy
conditions at 25 tons per acre with 70% moisture. It was planted in rows with a
corn planter and chopped with a regular cornhead when the gram was m soft
dough stage. This hybrid has exceptional levels of sugars and NSC which
provides extra energy and nutrition. Large gram panicles add to the nutritional
content and energy of silage.
BARKANT FORAGE TURNIP from Barenbrug is a very leafy turnip that
has won yield trials including one in Berks Co. PA where it was seeded May
18, 1999 and harvested June 30th and rivaled the yield of Sorghum
Sudangrass. It had a RFV of 216. It can also be mixed with Sorghum Sudan
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on should lessen the potential
for invasion of harmful bacteria.
“It’s always better to prevent
disease before it occurs rather
than wait to treat it once it ar
rives because with increased
sickness comes morality, and if
an animal dies, whatever was
spent to raise it to that point is
lost,” she said. “Sickness also
can cause reduced feed effi
ciency and growth rate, result
ing in a loss of economic value.”
Taking steps to prevent dis
ease using natural bacteria re
duces the need for antibiotics.
Fewer antibiotics decreases the
potential for harmful bacteria to
develop antibiotic resistance,
Morishita said.
Probiotics also are being stud
ied as a way to reduce the poten
tial for foodborne illness in
humans.
“The public concern over
food safety has pushed more re
search into this area. The con
cept is that introducing more
good bacteria will reduce the
pathogens that cause foodborne
illness, so when animals are
slaughtered, the risk of carcass
contamination is lowered,” she
said. “We’re looking at the
effect of probiotics on sal
monella, E. coli and Campylo
bacter right now.”
Lactobaccilus acidophilus is
one type of bacterial normally
found in the gut of animals. It
gives off a substance that makes
the stomach and intestines more
acidic and less environmentallv
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friendly to pathogens.
The use of natural, nonharm
ful bacteria to prevent patho
gens is not a new idea. The
concept has been around for
more than 30 years, but it has
become more effective in recent
years, Morishita said.
“The key is using specific bac
teria isolated for use with spe
cific species of animals,” she
said. “In the past, probiotic use
had variable results because the
host specificity had not been to
tally worked out yet. Now that
it’s been determined which bac
teria work best for each type of
animal, they are more effective,
and probiotic use is picking up.”
More stable forms of packing
also have made probiotics more
effective. They usually come in a
freeze-dried form and are given
to animals by either mixing
them with water or incorporat
ing them into feed, Morishita
said.
The cost of probiotics is about
the same as antibiotics and is not
expensive. They cost less than a
penny a bird for poultry produc
ers, she said. Forms of the prod
uct are available for poultry,
pigs, cattle, sheep and horses.
“Use of probiotics is not new
or harmful,” Morishita said.
“It’s nature’s way of reducing
pathogens, and we’re just trying
to help shift the scale.”
For more information on pro
biotics, those interested can con
tact Morishita at (614) 292-9453.
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