Category: What’s New

#FeatureFriday: A Day in the Life of BioZyme® Employee Susan Day

Title: Senior Manager of Formulation & Regulatory

Number of Years at BioZyme: 11.5

Describe a “typical” day in your job: My email is my to-do list, so I start the day running through what needs to be done. Depending on the day, I may be balancing rations for customers, updating formulas for our products, working with the international regulatory group to expand our product coverage internationally or being involved with other teams as a nutritionist/regulatory person.

What is the most interesting thing you ever have done at BioZyme: Working with the International Regulatory Team and learning how things are different in other countries.

Share a funny story about one of your days at work: I typically work from home, but I was in the office a month or so ago and Chris Blakeney stopped by the office I was in to welcome me to BioZyme. He asked how long I had been working here, and I laughed and told him a long time! I appreciated the fact that he saw a new face and wanted to make me welcome, I thought it was very sweet.

What has been one of the biggest challenges: Making sure the proper systems are in place to get things done in a timely manner.

Why is care that comes full circle important to what you do? I formulate the mineral products used on farm, but also help the customer through diet formulation so I can help provide an excellent product and make sure the customer is set up to take full advantage of that product by providing the proper diet to use it with.

What is something you enjoy doing outside of the office? Spending time with family and friends, reading, watching our free-range chickens run around.

Changes Coming in March

CHANGES FOR SURE CHAMP® EXTREME WITH CLARIFLY®

Sure Champ® Extreme with ClariFly® is now labeled for sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. We are discontinuing the 25-pound bucket of Sure Champ Extreme and replacing it with a 25-pound bag of Sure Champ Extreme with ClariFly, in addition to the existing 40-pound bag. Watch for this on the March price list.

AO-BIOTICS® EQE ADDED TO BACKYARD BOOST® DAILY ESSENTIALS

Starting in March, AO-Biotics® EQE will be added to the Backyard Boost® Daily Essentials, in addition to Amaferm®. EQE is the first-and-only postbiotic designed specifically for layers using patent pending technology. The addition will help enhance egg quality, number of eggs, and egg mass. This will be a rolling change as inventory of the current stock is sold.

NEW LOADING SYSTEM NEARLY READY

The renovation at the BioZyme headquarters includes a more efficient loadout system that will be ready for customers picking up products by mid-to-late-March. Customers will still check in at the office, but then will be assigned a dock number at the new load out location north of the check-in office. Once loaded, trucks will exit through the news driveway.

MORE BAG CHANGES IN THE FUTURE

As packaging inventories are depleted, customers will see some changes in the Vitalize® and Sure Champ® bags. We will be moving away from the paper bags to the poly bags to make packaging higher quality and more consistent across brands.

CHANGES COMING IN APRIL 2023

REBRANDING OF HYALURONEX AND TRIXSYN PRODUCTS

Exciting changes are in store for Hyaluronex® and Trixsyn® joint health products as they officially become part of the Vitalize® brand in April. Be watching for design reveals and news about the change in the coming month!

Two Minutes in February

By Shelia Grobosky, Content & PR Manager 

Earlier this month, I attended the Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in New Orleans, an event I look forward to each year. One of many highlights for me is attending the Thursday morning CattleFax Outlook Seminar, and this year’s outlook was filled with more optimism than I have heard in several years. 

That optimism was refreshing and reflected in several areas. Let’s start with the weather pattern. It’s fascinating to see the charts and hear Meteorologist Matt Makens forecast weather patterns for the next nine months. According to Makens, La Nina is on her way out and El Nino is coming, meaning we can (fingers crossed) say good-bye to the drought that has plagued so many parts of the U.S. by summer. This perhaps won’t be noticeable immediately as these weather conditions happen over the Pacific Ocean and impact the atmosphere, and it does take a significant time for the atmosphere over the land to catch up with what is happening between South America and southeast Asia.  

Following the principle of supply and demand, it is clear to see why cattle prices continue to climb and hold steady. The drought impacted the cattle inventory in 2022, and according to CattleFax analyst Kevin Good, U.S. cattle numbers are expected to decline around another 1 million head to about 29.2 million. Beef demand remains strong. Good says that in 2022, we had the highest per capita U.S. beef consumption in 12 years at 58 pounds. Still, in the face of that supply we also had record retail beef prices at $7.35 per pound. Beef exports are also still strong, and on average, they add $500 per fed steer to cattle markets. 

The other item to note is that consumers don’t just want beef; they want high-quality beef, and they are willing to pay a premium for Choice or Prime. To create that higher quality beef, more dairy cows are being bred to beef bulls to take advantage of the market premiums of beef-on-dairy calves vs. straight dairy calves. Good said that about 7% of fed cattle slaughter is beef-on-dairy animals and anticipated that to grow to 15% by 2026. 

Randy Blach, CattleFax CEO concluded the session with an overall positive outlook, expecting improvements in the weather pattern and a tighter supply to distribute more money though all sectors of the cattle industry. 

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#MeettheTeamMonday: A Day in the Life of Ronda Gottswiller

Title: Purchasing Specialist

Number of Years at BioZyme: 31

Describe a “typical” day in your job: I start the day checking emails and production schedules for urgent needs or changes. Then, place orders for production requirements timed with available storage. Following up with orders based on forecast for items with much longer lead times. Then, reviewing inventory receipts and item cost.

What is the most interesting thing you ever done at BioZyme: I went to Las Vegas for an AFIA meeting. It was my first time to Las Vegas and a city that large.

Share a funny story about one of your days at work: Many, many years ago working as customer service we ran our own trucks for delivery. We would get the orders to fill the semi, plan the route and turn the sheet in for the plant to load. We had a particular dealer somewhat infamous for last minute changes to those trucks, and our plant manager was a good guy but had a tendency to yell. One day I requested a load change, and the plant manager started yelling at me and echoing down the halls. The company owner Butch Ehlert heard the shouting and came down the hall and somewhat loudly told the plant manager not to ever yell at me like that again. Up until his retirement the plant manager used to joke that I got him in trouble with the boss. He still yelled fairly often but not at me after that, at least not loudly.

What has been one of the biggest challenges: The global supply chain crisis with rising cost and items that are unavailable.

Why is care that comes full circle important to what you do? I’m an animal lover at heart and have been involved with farming my whole life. I am proud to produce a product that is beneficial, not only for the animals, but for the people raising and caring for them.

What is something you enjoy doing outside of the office? Horseback riding, rodeo and camping in the mountains.

Changes Coming in February

VITALIZE® ALIMEND® UPC CODES CHANGES COMING

Beginning February 1, 2023, Vitalize® Alimend® products will feature an updated UPC. Please reference the table below for changes.

CHANGES TO AMAFERM BAG

As part of the rebranding of Amaferm to AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, the bag design will be updated. This change will begin in mid-February, but will be a rolling change as bag inventory is depleted.

CHANGES COMING IN MARCH 2023

CHANGES FOR SURE CHAMP® EXTREME WITH CLARIFLY®

Sure Champ® Extreme with ClariFly® will now labeled for sheep and goats in addition to cattle and pigs. In addition, we are discontinuing the 25-pound bucket of Sure Champ Extreme and introducing a 25-pound bag of Sure Champ Extreme with ClariFly, in addition to the existing 40-pound bag. Watch for this on the March price list.

AO-BIOTICS® EQE ADDED TO BACKYARD BOOST® DAILY ESSENTIALS

Starting March 1, AO-Biotics® EQE will be added to the Backyard Boost® Daily Essentials, in addition to Amaferm®. This will be a rolling change as inventory of the current stock is sold. However, as dealers get the new product, it will be a great marketing tool, especially for added egg quality and more sellable eggs.

#MasterDealer Monday

Congratulations to the following dealers for completing the Master Dealer Training Program, Chapters 3 & 4 in December. We know that you are fully committed to your businesses!

Master Dealer Chapter 3

  • Cordell Farm & Ranch   
  • Kings Angus Farm          
  • Reiss Seed Inc   

Master Dealer Chapter 4

  • Herbert Show Feeds      
  • Darlington Feed, LLC     
  • Lazy JB Cattle Works     
  • Reiss Seed Inc   

Two Minutes in January

As we enter a new year, it seems like a good time to set some new goals. I prefer the term goals over resolutions, because the average resolution lasts 32 days. I sure hope I can stick with something I want to achieve longer than just a month. 

A new year also means new changes in leadership following the November elections, like getting a new Speaker of the House. Following are a few hot topics impacting agriculture from Washington, D.C.  

It’s the year of the farm bill, and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), the new House Ag Committee Chairman is already hosting a farm bill listening session in his home state in January. With just six months until Congress breaks for summer recess, Thompson wants to act on getting a farm bill passed that “prioritizes the needs of the farmers, ranchers and foresters,” according to one media report.  

Another news bit from D.C. that impacts you and your customers is the looming definition of WOTUS (Waters of the United States). Late in 2022, an interim definition from EPA was introduced. The new rule would give federal protection to large waterways, like interstate rivers and streams and wetlands that are adjacent to them. Wetlands would be considered adjacent if they are connected to those larger waterways with “relatively permanent” surface water connections, or if they have a “significant” hydrologic or ecological “nexus” to those protected tributaries. This is definitely something to keep watching in the headlines of your local farm publications and the online newsletters you receive. 

Finally, technology is getting even bigger and more advanced each day. According to an article in Farm Journal’s PORK, Dragonfly Aerospace launched its first imaging satellite from the SpaceX launch site in Cape Canaveral, Fla., this month. “Named EOS SAT-1, this is the first of seven ag-specific satellites to be launched over the next three years, which is boasted to be the first such constellation focused on image data collection for agriculture. The constellation will maintain low Earth orbit and collect imagery for EOS Data Analytics with the goal of collecting high-quality data for crop monitoring, application mapping, soil moisture, yield prediction and biomass levels.” 

Technology is everywhere. Even places we don’t think about.