Reminder! Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no product shipping or order pick up, Wednesday, November 23 – Friday, November 25.
Our offices are closed Thursday and Friday to allow employees time with their families. Business will resume as normal, Monday, November, 28.
Congratulations to these dealers who completed Chapters 3 & 4 of the Master Dealer program in October! Master Dealer is just one action to help increase your product and business knowledge and help grow your business!
Master Dealer Chapter 3
Master Dealer Chapter 4
It’s time to opt-in for the Q4 Dealer Mailer, featuring VitaFerm® Concept•Aid®. If you would like to to opt-in, send an email with your mailing list to Shelia Grobosky, Marketing Brand Manager – Dealers & PR: sgrobosky@biozymeinc.com by November 30.
By Shelia Grobosky, Marketing Brand Manager – Dealers & PR
Corn and soybean harvest begins to wind down, and the leaves crunch under foot on the way to the barn each morning. Those subtle reminders combined with the need for a hoodie or light jacket are evidence that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. There are many things to be grateful for this year, including the opportunity to work with those of you who market the BioZyme® products I am passionate about, and ultimately show care that comes full circle.
Of course, there is an election this month. I hope everyone took time to go to the polls and made their voices heard. We still live in a democracy, last I checked, and the process still should thrive.
I don’t have to remind the dealers how big of a logistical nightmare that transportation is; however, just in case you tried to forget, there is a looming railway strike that could yet happen in November. In late October, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) joined more than 100 other national and state trade organizations in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to work with the railroad unions and railroads to avoid a strike. The letter made clear “the overwhelming concern that a rail shutdown would have a significant impact on the U.S. economy and lead to further inflationary pressure.”
With the holiday season basically upon us, many folks are focused on the economy – both from a spending and a profit standpoint. According to Rabobank analysts’ forecast, lower real wages will negatively impact protein consumption in the remainder of 2022 and the first half of the new year.
In one article on porkbusiness.com, Glynn Tonsor, professor of Ag Economics at Kansas State University who also tracks consumers buying habits through the Meat Demand Monitor, said the country is indeed in a recession. One indicator of that can be tracked by consumer spending, including protein.
“We’re seeing some trading down within the protein complex. Think about going from a bacon product to a ham product, or from a ribeye steak to a sirloin steak. There’s a lot of examples like that,” Tonsor said.
So, while the economy and transportation issues might feel like we are in a world of gloom, remember, there is still always something to be thankful for. Count your blessings each day and remember what is most important. Faith, family, friends, good business partners and the promise a bright future.
Danielle Johnson, Dunn, North Carolina, is the new BioZyme® Inc. Area Sales Manager (ASM) in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. In her role, she will work with the dealer network to promote the BioZyme product lines and brands and educate dealers and customers about high-quality nutrition.
Johnson has an extensive background and passion in agriculture and animal health, having been raised on her family’s fifth-generation row crop farm and cow-calf enterprise where they also raised thoroughbred horses. She earned an associate degree in Agribusiness Management with a double major in Livestock and Poultry Management from North Carolina State University. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agriculture Education – Professional Service from North Carolina A&T University. Johnson has five years professional experience in the feed sales industry.
“I love this industry. I am extremely excited about my territory, and I look forward to building strong and trusting relationships with the dealers and customers,” Johnson said.
As the ASM, she will travel the three-state area and work closely with dealers to keep them informed on product offerings and help them educate their customers on the best ways to use the BioZyme products.
“Danielle brings a wealth of product knowledge and industry experience to this role. She will be able to hit the ground running with the elite products that BioZyme offers. Her passion for the agriculture industry is evident when you talk to her. I am so pleased to have Danielle join the BioZyme family in the ASM role,” said Bob Burkham, BioZyme National Manager of Supplement Sales.
Johnson enjoys being outdoors when time allows. Her hobbies include fishing and hunting.
EQUINE & COMPANION ANIMAL PRODUCTS NOW FEATURE NASC QUALITY SEAL
BioZyme® Inc. and Cogent Solutions Group, a BioZyme company, have proudly joined the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) and will now carry the NASC Quality Seal on products specifically designed for the equine and companion animal markets.
With the explosion of the companion animal supplement market in recent years, the NASC was developed to help consumers make informed decisions. The NASC works “to promote the health and wellbeing of companion animals and horses that are given animal health supplements by their owners and to protect and enhance the animal health supplement industry.” BioZyme and Cogent Solutions Group are proud to have met all the criteria to become an approved member of the NASC and provide superior supplements for horses, dogs and cats under the Vitalize®, Hyaluronex® and Trixsyn® brands.
Companies that are members of the NASC must go through rigorous quality assurance audits, meaning they deliver the absolute highest-quality products available on the market. Along with demonstrating quality standards and cGMP compliance, all outward facing marketing material including the BioZyme and Cogent Solutions Group websites and language were reviewed, product labels were audited and updated, and all product ingredients were reviewed by the NASC scientific advisory committee. The last step was a third-party onsite audit of the companies’ manufacturing facilities to ensure all quality standards were met or exceeded.
The NASC seal will be a rolling change as packaging inventory is exhausted. Be watching for the NASC seal soon!
VITALIZE® HORSE TREATS AVAILABLE IN HOLIDAY PACKAGING
Vitalize® Horse Treats will once again be available in limited-edition holiday packaging starting November 7. These carrot-flavored prebiotic snacks for horses make a great gift in the removable packaging in festive wrap.
SMALL PACK PRICING CHANGES COMING
Pricing for 2023 on Animal Health (small pack) products will be released this month to give everyone enough time to make necessary adjustments. Please watch for a separate email that will be coming to relay more information about this change that will affect MAP pricing. It is important to stay current on all pricing issues, and email is the quickest, most efficient communication method to reach all dealers.
CHANGES MADE TO AMAFERM® PELLET
The calcium in the Amaferm pellet now has a slight increase from 2 to 3% to fit the product in the bags more efficiently. You might notice a slight difference in the tags; however, there should be no other noticeable differences.
THANKSGIVING HOURS AND SHIPPING
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 24, the BioZyme offices will be closed Thursday, November 24-Friday, November 25. No orders will be shipped or be available for pick up Wednesday, November 23-November 25. The office will resume business as usual on Monday, November 28. We wish all dealers, their families and staff a blessed holiday and are grateful for your faith in our products.
NEW EMPLOYEE
Danielle Johnson is the new ASM for Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Imagine eating lunch with a local celebrity – it’s kind of like Cheers, except nowhere near Boston. Enning, South Dakota. The local establishment is multipurpose. It is a restaurant/bar, convenience store and post office all in one building. It was a Tuesday in September, and local BioZyme® dealer Tee Hale of Hale Feeds was having lunch with his ASM Brett Tostenson and Marketing Brand Manager – Dealers Shelia Grobosky. Tee was more like a local celebrity, where nearly everyone stopped by to pat his back, shake his hand or just exchange a few good words.
Tee is a well-rounded local guy who has a lot going on. This particular day he took time from his schedule to talk to Brett and Shelia about what he likes about BioZyme, the products and how he works to market them.
As an on-farm dealer who is also a cow-calf producer and has a passion for horses, he understands the needs of his customers. And as a friend and neighbor, he wants those customers to succeed. That is one reason carrying the products with Amaferm® is so important to him. One of his friends built him a small shop on his ranch that Tee finished on the inside to carry small pack products like Vitalize® and Vita Charge® along with some horse supplies and gloves.
“We want to make a living doing what we love. That’s the best part about running cows and feeding the products. I can tell them what I’ve seen with my own eyes. You know what to expect,” he said.
In the heart of cattle country, Tee’s number one seller is VitaFerm® Concept•Aid®. However, the Vitalize products are also growing in popularity. He has formulated his own ration of horse feed that includes Vitalize Equine Free Choice mineral mixed with other ingredients like oats and beet pulp, which is popular with his customers.
Even though Tee is well known in his community, he values the marketing assistance that BioZyme provides the dealer network. He keeps current on the Master Dealer Program. His Facebook page is linked to Promoboxx, he engages with the Quarterly Dealer mailers, and he works with his ASM to provide timely promotions to his customers to promote products that will work for their operations.
With an easy-going spirit and a willingness to try new things, it is easy to see why Tee is successful in his BioZyme dealership. Thanks for showing your customers care that comes full circle, Tee!
VitaFerm® and Amaferm® will be featured on the next episode of The American Rancher on RFD-TV, 9 p.m. EDT, Monday, October 31.
It will feature Jason & Katie Jagels of Jagels Land & Cattle sharing how Amaferm works to their advantage in the Nebraska Sandhills.
Congratulations to these outstanding dealers who have completed Chapters 3 & 4 of the Master Dealer Training Program! Way to take your business to the next level!
Master Dealer Chapter 3:
Master Dealer Chapter 4:
We’re just wrapping up National 4-H Week (October 2-8), although some celebrate October as 4-H month, the official start of the new 4-H year, much like in the area I live in. I just enrolled my daughter, Lily, for her first year as a Cloverbud. She is excited to be a “real” 4-H member next year where she can join the dog club, take the fishing project and continue showing pigs in the youth and junior shows and not only the open show.
As I was sharing with Lily why she should want to join 4-H, which seemed like a harder sell than necessary for a 7-year-old, I didn’t dwell on the time in the show ring, the nights before the fair arguing with my mom about the number of cookies to plate for the judge or even about the pages and pages of record books I kept every year. Instead, I focused on the experiences and people that shaped me into the person I am today.
Chances are a few of you were also involved in 4-H and shared similar experiences. I’d like to reflect on just a few of the memories I shared with Lily that enticed her to join the Alexis All Stars, and I imagine these memories might jar a few of your own.
My list is endless. I could continue to discuss decision making, expressing gratitude through writing thank you notes, working with others, keeping records, balancing feed rations, developing a love of photography, getting my first writing gig as the club reporter and more. However, I think in this Two Minutes, you’ve figured out, I’m pretty passionate about 4-H. So are approximately 6 million others who have chosen to join America’s largest youth development organization. I’m excited to officially be a 4-H mom and watch my little progeny gain lifetime experiences and friendships!
