"Farmers and ag officials had plenty of questions for Becky Timmons, the global director of applications research and quality for the Alltech animal feed nutritional supplement company, as she gave a presentation on the 'Nutrition Revolution' to about 100 people as part of the company's North American Lecture Tour in Brookings, S.D., last week.
The nutrigenomics program she has been working on has been turning on and off important genes (epigenetics) as the company tries to achieve more of the animal's genetic potential and find solutions for the ag industry to boost production per animal and provide a more nutritious product.
Timmons talked about the Alltech Angus program, where the Kentucky-based company has been feeding 75,000 cattle and has been able to address the consumers' requests that meat be more nutritious, taste better and have lower cholesterol and backing it up with surveys from highly satisfied customers at 150 restaurants in the Lexington, Ky., area and a butcher shop where the meat is almost always sold out.
As another point of proof, she said at a company dinner recently the 2,400 guests cut their steaks with a spoon.
She also noted that a long list of restaurant chains, including Wendy's, Burger King and Outback Steakhouse, are interested in their product and working on possible agreements with cattle producers and Alltech.
Two questions from the audience focused on how the company is turning on and off genes in the animal's genetic makeup.
Timmons was asked why genes should be manipulated in the current meat product that is known to be safe. She replied that the company is not changing or modifying genes, but simply turning on and off those already there to improve nutrition in the meat. -----------------------
The audience was also interested in how producers can get involved in the Alltech Angus feeding program and perhaps become producers for a large restaurant chain or have a processor build a facility in South Dakota, where there are five beef cattle for every state resident.
Timmons said that the owner of Outbreak Steakhouse has said he has never seen meat like the Alltech Angus and is on board with the project.
However, the audience wondered how a cow/calf operator, processor or feedlots could join the program and get a long-term contract with a chain and if this could be sustainable so the companies could be guaranteed a needed supply.
Timmons said it's a difficult transition, but it will involve working with a restaurant or chain, talking with its current producers and setting up a trial.
'It's not a simple little change,' she said.
Yeast added that he's sat in on those meetings already and it's amazing how the chains have a lack of knowledge of where its meat is coming from and the meat industry. -------------------
He said what's happening now is that the chains are forming alliances with producers to lock up a meat supply to make sure they get the product they need and the hope is they will pursue more of the Alltech nutritional program meat in the future.
'That's where we are now, working on all of the logistics of this,' Timmons said. ---------------------
And the product has been cost neutral, or even perhaps a little less because of the faster time to reach market weight.
Yeast said the key to profitability on the farm in North America is new technology, as the days of low labor costs are unlikely.
"It's amazing what we've been able to do since the sequence of the bovine genome, poultry genome, swine genome and how much those advances have led to the genetic improvement of our animals," Yeast said. ----------------
Increased genetics has been the reason for increased animal performance in the past 40 years, and more advances lie ahead, said Timmons.
With the bulk of the cost of meat coming from feed costs, she said that nutrigenomics and epigenetics are two pieces to a puzzle as the company with its nutritional toolbox does its share to try to help feed a growing world population and give consumers a more nutritional product that they are demanding."
http://www.tristateneighbor.com/news/livestock/article_c069164e-4c24-11e1-8b5d-001871e3ce6c.html
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