Author: mackinzegray

HAY TESTING, NUTRITION SERVICES CAN IMPACT YOUR CUSTOMERS’ PROFIT

At the end of the day, we want our customers to achieve their goals, to produce healthy, high performing animals that work for them to achieve a profit. If that happens, we have also achieved our goal. But to help them make sure they are getting the proper nutrition to their animals: they need to know what nutrients they already have available in their forages and feed. However, just because a particular cutting of hay looks superior to another doesn’t mean it has the nutrients that a cow herd needs to thrive. That’s why it’s important to BioZyme® Inc. To provide forage testing to its customers. Forage testing ins the only way to check nutrient levels and provide information on the nutrients present and those that the need supplemented during the times when they are needed most.

Forage testing is a management practice that helps you plan ahead to make the best nutritional decisions for the herd. Testing in the early fall will help your customers know which forages to feed during which stages of production and the proper amounts of protein and energy they need to supplement.

Before collecting forage samples, be sure each lot of hay is identified by field and cutting number so the producer will know which sample came from which lot. For example, nutrient needs peak at lactation as the cow is trying to maintain her own condition, raise a calf and prepare for breed-back, so producers will want to make sure their highest quality hay is kept from that lot for that period of the production cycle.

Once you collect the samples, work with your Area Sales Manager to get them sent in and analyzed. The results are typically generated within a week, indicating any deficiencies in energy or protein. In addition to knowing the nutrient content of your forages, it is also important to know the amount of each lot of hay the customer has and the number of cows to feed when working with the BioZyme Nutrition Team to plan the next steps.

In addition to forages, producers might consider other feed alternatives like crop residues, bakery or grocery store wastes. Regardless of the feedstuffs, the nutritional value needs to be known so proper supplementation can take place. Producers must consider the cost per unit of energy or cost per unit of protein, and those calculations need to factor in more than just the feed and supplements.

After the tests are analyzed and interpreted and the protein and energy needs are determined, there are five ways to supplement proteins using the Amaferm® advantage. Producers can:

  • Feed mineral with Amaferm. Get the most out of what your cows are consuming by increasing intake and digestibility. This is the least expensive option as the added cost of Amaferm is less than 5cents per cow, per day.
  • Feed VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® Protein Meal. This is a granular, free-choice mineral. In addition to the mineral, supplemental protein is provided.
  • Feed VitaFerm Concept•Aid Protein Tub. The tub provides the same nutrition as the protein meal but adds the convenience of the tub form.
  • Feed VitaFerm 30-13% Protein Tub. This VitaFerm product offers the highest level of protein, but vitamin and mineral levels for maintenance during times of year when nutrient requirements are not as high.
  • Feed VitaFerm Conserve®Protein Tub. This economical vitamin and mineral supplement for beef cattle that supports the health and condition of the whole herd with 20% protein.

Letters From Lisa – September 2022

Inspired accountability keeps everyone accountable 

At BioZyme we desire a culture that drives what I like to call inspired accountability.  Inspired accountability is every leader’s dream, as it is accountability that is driven from inside the individual not accountability that is driven with a whip, financial incentives, more days off or performance reviews.  Sounds impossible, especially in a time in our country where accountability of anything including being nice to people seems to have disappeared.  

Webster’s Dictionary defines accountability as: “the obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions.” At work, that might look like owning a mistake and sharing it as a learning experience or giving a presentation around your personal contributions and their impact. 

Henry Evans, the author of “Winning with Accountability,” says accountability is “clear commitments that in the eyes of others have been kept.” Here, the phrase “in the eyes of others” is key. On teams, accountability isn’t just about making and keeping commitments; it’s also about transparency and sharing with teammates along the way. When we make our commitments visible to our teammates (through daily check-ins, quarterly reviews, an annual tool or some other format), everyone is empowered to ask follow-up questions, check on progress and help move work forward. 

Fostering a culture of inspired accountability is one of the hardest things I have had to try and do as a business leader. I struggle with it daily and if I am totally transparent, I would say I am closer to failure than success. So how do I have the right to write this article? I probably don’t, but maybe some of the things I try to do to lead the accountability desired will jump start your brain and you can share back what has worked for you to help me out. Below are just a few of the items I try to keep in my head: 

1. Model inspired accountability 

When it comes to building a culture of inspired accountability, change starts with you. Team accountability is impossible without strong personal accountability in place first, so it’s important to first work on yourself before approaching an accountability conversation with others. 

Page Break 

2. Set clear expectations 

It may sound obvious but doing what your teammates expect of you requires clarity around what’s expected in the first place. Unclear expectations and lack of specificity create accountability gaps. To fill these gaps and reduce ambiguity, try to be as specific as possible. 

3. Create a “safe space” environment 

Trust and feeling safety when taking risks are foundational to building a culture of accountability. 

4. Use the Accountability Puzzle 

This puzzle (created by Henry Evans) consists of four pieces where each reinforces the others. When a single piece is missing, so is accountability. The four are: 

  1. Clear expectations 
  1. Deadlines with a specific date and time 
  1. One owner of each task 
  1. Sharing specific commitments with another person so we can hold each other accountable 

According to a recent study in Inc magazine, 93% of employees don’t understand what their team is trying to accomplish (let alone how they can contribute to help get there), and 85% of leaders aren’t defining clear enough expectations for employees in the first place. Without accountability standards and accountability systems in place, folks will constantly struggle to know what’s expected of them to perform to their fullest potential. 

This is a hard topic, but together I think we can get it done. Agriculture understands inspired accountability more than any other industry in my opinion.  I mean who gets up at 3:30 am to blow out a steer or heifer, lunge a horse, feed the chickens, check the weather or markets????? 

Two Minutes in September

Fall will officially kick off later this month, but harvest is already in full swing in many parts of the country. Too many farmers, ranchers and their families fall victim to accidents during harvest that might have been easily prevented with a little extra time and caution, so please stay alert during harvest this year. Slow down, be aware of your surroundings and take a break or trade off with someone if you are starting to feel tired. We all know it is a busy and important time of year, but there is nothing more important than your life. 

Back on the livestock side of things, Rabobank has released its third quarter outlook for 2022. The global beef market remains strong. However, that could change depending on consumers pocketbooks for the rest of the year. Most beef retail prices continued upward in Quarter 2 or remained steady. Although Q2 prices did not increase much compared to the first quarter, most are between 5 and 11 percent higher than Q2 of 2021.   

Due to the widespread drought, calves and feeder cattle have moved into feedlots at a faster pace in the first half this year. The July 1 on-feed inventories were near year-ago levels at 13.4 million head, but reduced supplies outside of feedlots by 1 million head. As a result, Rabobank expects a more noticeable shortfall of market-ready cattle by winter. 

The beef cow herd has liquidated at a record-high pace since early in 2022. Cow slaughter increased to 12.7% for the first half of the year, and the 4 million head forecast for annual slaughter is nearly 500,000 head above last year. By the end of July, 54% of the beef herd was facing moderate to severe drought levels. With a La Nina weather pattern forecast into the winter, the downtrend in cow numbers, feeder cattle supplies and ultimately beef production could mirror the 2014 cycle lows by 2024 or 2025. 

Regardless of if you are weaning calves, fall calving or chopping silage, the BioZyme Family wishes you a safe and happy fall!  

CHANGES COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2022

AWARD-WINNING BACKYARD BOOST® BALLS LAUNCHED

In an effort to continuously expand its product lines and diversify, BioZyme® Inc., will introduce two new award-winning products in its Backyard Boost® product line this month. Chicken owners can now purchase Backyard Boost Busy Balls, a prebiotic treat to help bounce boredom. Furthermore, all bird enthusiasts will have the opportunity to buy a similar product, Backyard Boost Songbird Balls, a tidier alternative to bird feed.

The World Pet Association (WPA) recently named the Backyard Boost Busy Balls and Songbird Balls the Best New Bird Products during its New Product Showcase at Super Zoo in Las Vegas.  Super Zoo is North America’s largest pet industry marketplace with more than 1,000 companies exhibiting and is solely open to retail companies who want to do business.

SHELF LIFE EXTENDED ON SMALL PACK PRODUCTS

Upon completion of extensive shelf-life testing, the shelf life of Vitalize, Vita Charge, Sure Champ and Backyard Boost liquid and gel products as well as Vitalize Horse Treats is now being extended to 24 months from the manufacturing date of the product. This process started in July and will continue through the Fall as product inventory runs low and new inventory for each product is produced with updated labels.

If you ever do you have questions about the shelf life of a product, check the product center or contact the Outreach Support Center.

LUCKY 7 WINNERS STILL COMING FORWARD

Even though summer is turning to fall this month, our summer promotion is still taking place. We know that it takes a while for product to go through the distribution channels, but we certainly have enjoyed seeing all the Lucky 7 winners to this point. Be sure to continue to encourage you’re your customers to watch for specially marked bags of products. They might be the next winner! All prizes must be redeemed by Dec. 20, 2022.

Continue to promote the value of Amaferm year-round and care that comes full circle, the reason behind this promotion. Regardless of if your customer finds a token, they and their animals will always be a winner with the Amaferm advantage.

Specially marked bags that could contain a winning token include:  

VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S HEAT®

• VitaFerm® HEAT®

•VitaFerm Conserve® Garlic

•Gain Smart® Stocker HEAT®

•VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S with ClariFly®

•VitaFerm® HEAT® CTC 3G

•VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S HEAT® with ClariFly®

LABOR DAY HOURS

The BioZyme offices will be closed on Monday, September 5, for Labor Day. No orders will be shipped or can be picked up on Friday, September 2 or Monday, September 5. Business will continue as usual on Tuesday, September 6.

Dealer Spotlight: 5 F Feed

5 F Feed might not be the longest-time BioZyme® dealer, but they are a long-time BioZyme user who saw a good chance to share the products with others when it came available. Court and Traci Fedderson are cattle producers in the Nebraska Panhandle who had used the Vita Charge® and VitaFerm® products. When their local dealer was going out of business a few years ago, they saw that as opportunity. 

“We had used the product a long time. Once you get people to try it, it really does sell itself,” Court said. 

Located near Rushville, 5 F Feed is open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. Court said his customers know they can always come pick up products when they need them. When the Feddersons first bought the feed dealership, it was their third full-time business he and his wife, Traci, were operating, but with its growth, they have been able to phase out one of their enterprises to concentrate on their BioZyme business. They have opened a second location in Harrison, about 100 miles west, where one of their customers lives, and it is convenient for other customers to get product. 

Court believes some of the best products come from the Vita Charge line due to their quick response. He said that when the users can see them in action, they will understand how the Amaferm® works in other products.  

“We use the Drench in the fall and Neonatal in the spring. They are not that expensive, and they work fast. When you bring bawling calves and hit them with the Drench and they go to eating and drinking, you can see that change right away,” he said. 

He encourages new dealers to keep the Vita Charge products like those mentioned on hand and keep them affordable. If they do that, the rest of the products will be easier to sell. 

Another way he used the Amaferm to a customer’s advantage was through a custom product. He had a customer feeding about a 30% protein forage cube, and had a custom cake made that was 20% with Amaferm added to it. He said that customer saved about $10,000.  

Court takes advantage of multiple marketing opportunities during the year. He opts in for the quarterly dealer mailers. And last spring, he created buyer numbers for his producers with sales that had a coupon for his business on the bottom – another unique way to promote his business. 

With a unique perspective and a passion for the products, there’s no doubt that 5 F Feed is here for the long haul. Thanks for being a great BioZyme dealer!  

Meet the BioZyme Family

Team: Domestic Business Development 

Leader: Alan Lee, Director of Domestic Business Development 

Number of people on your team: 9 

Key Responsibilities: The Domestic Business Development Team is responsible to create and grow business opportunities across all brands and in all sectors of the industry in the United States. They work closely with the sales and marketing teams to collaborate on educational, marketing and sales efforts to make sure the BioZyme name and its brands reach customers in all corners. 

List of each team member and role they play at BioZyme: 

Alan Lee, Director of Domestic Business Development – Oversees the Business Development team as a whole in addition to building valuable relationships with distributor. 

John Jeffrey, Beef Business Development Manager – Works with the beef sales and marketing teams to create sales plans for the VitaFerm® and Gain Smart® product lines and to get those products into the beef sectors. Develops relationships with customers and dealers, to ensure the best outcomes for the products and works closely with other beef members of the Business Development Team to create awareness. 

John Tucker, Large Beef Accounts Specialist – Helps grows the sales of larger beef accounts through the identification large-scale seedstock and commercial cattle breeders, stocker operators and feedlots. In addition, he cultivates relationships with veterinarians, nutritionists, feed mills and other segments of the industry to promote the proactive health of beef cattle through a quality nutrition program. He will work with the sales team to help secure business in a particular geographic region when needed. 

Chris Cassady, Ph.D., Technical Beef Sales Manager – Uses his knowledge and understanding in the beef industry to educate producers and dealers about the benefits of Amaferm and how it can help the producer improve his or her bottom line. Represent BioZyme as a speaker at multiple educational functions and writes articles and creates educational materials for dealers and customers. 

Lori Lawrence, Show & Small Livestock Business Development Manager – Works with the sales and marketing teams to create sales plans for the Sure Champ®, Vita Charge®, DuraFerm® and Backyard Boost® product lines and to get those products into their respective sectors. Develops relationships with customers and dealers, to ensure the best outcomes for the products and works closely with other members of the Business Development Team to create awareness about BioZyme and the Amaferm advantage. 

Lynsey Whitacre, Ph.D., Companion Animal Business Development Manager & Sr Manager of New Product Development – Works with the sales and marketing teams to create plans for the Vitalize® horse and dog product lines and to get those products into various equine disciplines and canine lovers’ hands. Develops relationships with customers and dealers, to ensure the best outcomes for the products and works closely with other members of the Business Development Team to create awareness about BioZyme and the Amaferm advantage. 

Rod Hutcheson, Animal Health Business Development Manager – Explores one of the newest segments of the BioZyme business, the animal health industry. He works to build and cultivate relationships with veterinarians and those animal health suppliers to get the BioZyme products on their shelves to make sure all animals are afforded the care that comes full circle. In his role, he works with various other sales and marketing staff. 

Mike Wadle, Additive Territory Manager – Primary responsibilities include promoting Amaferm and other additives to use in feed mills and operations across species. Works closely with the nutritionists and others on the sales, business development and marketing teams to create a cohesive message across all species. 

Wyatt Marshall, Texas Equine Sales Specialist & Event Support – Assists with Vitalize sales in Texas and the Southwest, where a large number of horses are located. He also works closely with the equine business development and marketing staff to support equine events throughout the U.S. In his Event Support role, he works closely with all BioZyme marketing brand managers to make sure the national events run smoothly and the BioZyme presence is noted in a positive manner. 

How does your team help with “Care that comes full circle” for BioZyme customers: Our team reaches a multitude of customers and can show them that we genuinely care for the ultimate customer, the animal, by educating the distributor, the dealer and the customer about the nutritional benefits of Amaferm and all of our products. At the end of the day, if the animals we take care of are not healthy, performing and gaining, our customers aren’t successful. We want our customers to be successful. They are also a part of that care that comes full circle.   

WHAT TOOLS SHOULD YOU INVEST IN TO GROW IN 2022 AND BEYOND?

The school supply list can be both friend and foe – for some there is nothing more exciting than purchasing that brand new on-trend backpack and pack of colored pencils. Yet, in some districts, organizations actually conduct fundraisers where they will purchase your kids’ supplies for a nominal fee or donation to save you the headache.

Just like the parent investing in their students’ supplies, are you making the correct investments in your company’s technology and tools to help your growth for another year and the years after that? Are you still scratching notes on the yellow legal pad your granddaddy used in the last century due to its sentimental value, or have you updated to tablet sand smartphones to help track your customers and their orders?

Business owners – both big and small – have lots of balls to juggle. We’ve got five tech tools to help you increase efficiency and potentially help you grow your business.

Project Management Software

It’s hard to know what you’re supposed to do when you can’t find that yellow post-it note or the corner of that feed sack you wrote a reminder on, so how is the rest of your team supposed to keep track of your tasks and theirs? Project management software is a relatively in expensive investment to share and track your business’s regular tasks and special projects, see who is assigned to which task, and monitor progress and deadlines. A variety of software options exist, and most will allow use on both your computer and phone for easy tracking of projects.

E-mail Marketing

With customers seeking information at their fingertips, an e-mail newsletter is the way of the future. Yes, there is value in the printed word, but for fast, quick blasts of information to get out to your customer list, having those emails on file makes this method of marketing the next wave of great marketing.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Building relationships is key to your business success. Although you might still keep all your customer information on an index card, CRM software will help you track sales patterns, manage and track outreach and even let you see who is visiting your website or opening and reading your emails. A quality CRM program will often help you increase your customer support.

Data Backup

This is perhaps the area to be most proactive in since most of us wait to backup our data only AFTER we have lost it all and are reacting to a bad experience. It’s easy to accidentally delete or corrupt data. Software conflicts and malicious actors can cause major disruptions. SaaS (Software as a service) marketing vendors back up data at the platform level, but you can’t access that information to restore your account.

Backup software gives you full control and immediate access to your critical business data. If something happens, you can restore your data in a few clicks.

HR Management

Few small businesses can afford to hire a human resources administrator. HR management software tools take care of everything from payroll and shift scheduling to distributing important company announcements. They can be a little more expensive, and there is no mobile app because of the sensitive nature of the material.

Just as there are boxes with 12 crayons and 64 crayons, your business can invest in five or 55 technologies to help it succeed. These five are technologies that every company, regardless of size can use to help them grow.