Category: What’s New

Two Minutes in June

Summer is here, and although fuel prices typically increase due to seasonal travels, they have been steadily on the rise all of 2022. As dealers, you are well aware of the freight fees and challenges associated with increased fuel prices. However, it is no time to despair. And it is definitely not time to let your customers cut back on their mineral inputs. 

John Jeffrey, BioZyme ® Beef Business Development Manager, offers an interesting perspective, as he spoke of a fuel comparison app he recently used to make sure he could find the best product available to optimize his fuel mileage before filling up. 

“Cows are like tractors or trucks. We want to get the best mileage and the most miles per gallon out of them, so we need to invest a little more up front to get the good stuff to them. Plan ahead for success and manage your herd or operation like you would your summer vacation and know where to get the best fuel along your trip,” he said. 

When input prices are at their highest is when the prebiotic Amaferm® offers the greatest value. Amaferm is designed to enhance digestibility by amplifying the nutrient supply for maximum performance. It is research-proven to increase intake, digestion and absorption. Therefore, adding Amaferm to the diet either directly or through one of the mineral programs BioZyme offers is a great way to help make sure that your livestock continue to perform to their highest. 

“Cutting input costs isn’t always the key to profitability. We sell pounds, and performance pays,” Jeffrey said. 

Bird Flu Numbers Slow Down 

Although the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has proven fatal to nearly 38 million birds in domestic flocks across the U.S. since early February, the USDA data suggest the threat is fading. A viral disease that spreads best in cold conditions, bird flu typically dissipates with the arrival of consistently warm weather. 

Nutrition Company Gives Back to its Customers

Working in agriculture is a natural gamble. Producers take a chance every day with the markets, weather, breeding and feeding decisions. Since we know that livestock producers are natural risk takers, BioZyme® Inc., makers of Vita Ferm® and Gain Smart® nutrition products, want to reward that risk this summer with a Lucky 7 Promotion. 

This promotion is one way to show livestock producers that we understand the challenges they are facing during these unprecedented times, and we care. For each of 7 weeks this summer, 77 winning tokens will randomly be placed into bags of product manufactured in the Saint Joseph, Missouri-plant. The “lucky” winners will receive prizes that range from caps to gift cards to $777 cash. Seven weeks x 77 tokens each week means 539 prizes.  

“Our company motto is ‘care that comes full circle,’ and this is 100% the reason we are doing this for our customers,” said Lisa Norton, BioZyme President and COO. “It’s a way to give back to producers who are feeling the effects of market volatility and supply chain instability.”  

Starting June 1, the 7 products below will have a special “Lucky 7” sticker on the outside of the bag. These specially-marked bags may contain a winning token:  

  • 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® 

The tokens are biodegradable and will not hurt the livestock if ingested or the environment if not found when pouring out the mineral.  

Winning tokens must be claimed via the Lucky 7 website https://biozymeinc.com/lucky7 to receive a prize. Each winning token depicts the specific prize won and the corresponding prize number.  All prizes must be redeemed by Dec. 30, 2022. 

“My late husband Bob always loved to give back. As we continue to give back, we honor Bob, honor the company he loved and the customers he cared so much for,” she said. Bob Norton, CEO, unexpectedly passed away in April.  

For a full list of rules and eligibility for the BioZyme Lucky 7 promotion, visit: https://biozymeinc.com/lucky7.  

CHANGES COMING IN JUNE 2022 Known at this Date

LUCKY 7 PROMOTION KICKS OFF JUNE 1

The BioZyme leadership realizes the challenges facing production agriculture; therefore, the company is offering a promotion this summer to give back to producers, as way to demonstrate “care that comes full circle.” Starting June 1, the 7 products below will have a special “Lucky 7” sticker on the outside of the bag. These specially-marked bags may contain a winning token:

  • 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®

For each of 7 weeks this summer, 77 winning tokens will randomly be placed into bags of product manufactured in the Saint Joseph, Missouri-plant. The “lucky” winners will receive prizes that range from caps to gift cards to $777 cash. Seven weeks x 77 tokens each week means 539 prizes. The tokens are biodegradable and will not hurt the livestock if ingested or the environment if not found when pouring out the mineral.

Winning tokens must be claimed via the Lucky 7 website https://biozymeinc.com/lucky7 to receive a prize. Each winning token depicts the specific prize won and the corresponding prize number. All prizes must be redeemed by Dec. 20, 2022.

VITA CHARGE CATTLE DRENCH TEST MARKET

Beginning in June, a 32 oz. Vita Charge® Cattle Drench will be available through select Sullivan’s Supply mobile locations. We intend to use the next couple months and the Junior Nationals to test this product in the show market and adjust, as necessary. If the sales support it, the product will be added to the price list later this summer.

SHIPPING & PRICING

In April, BioZyme made the following changes due to extremely volatile supply chain, highly fluctuating market pricing and fuel surcharges:

  • Beginning with all orders placed April 4, a ship date of 3 days will be automatic; extended requested ship dates will not be available.
  • Any order for a custom requires a call to the Outreach Support Center (ORSC) to request a price. These requests will take a minimum of 24-hours to be processed and confirmed.
  • A SCMV (Supply Chain Market Volatility) charge will be listed as a separate item on the invoice. The rate for the SCMV charge will be evaluated weekly and adjusted with the fluctuating market, so you are not paying a fixed rate if the cost goes down. By utilizing this charge, rather than raising product pricing for the entire month, allows us to follow the lows in the market and pass the value on to you.

Please reach out to your Area Sales Manager for more information.

EMPLOYEE CHANGES

  • Ellie Sennett is the Marketing Brand Manager- Vita Charge.
  • We have three Sure Champ Summer Interns: John Hogberg, Jacob Johnson and Garrett Maloney.

Carrie’s Animal Health Relies on Word – of – Mouth Marketing

Carrie Brewton is no stranger to the cattle business, and she knows the importance of keeping cattle healthy and performing. She and her family have always provided mineral for their herd in north central Louisiana. However, challenges in getting their mineral combined with SuperiorLivestock partnering with VitaFerm® and Gain Smart® in their value-added programs, made it easier for her family to change up mineral brands.

Although her family wasn’t unhappy with the mineral they had been using on their cow-calf operation, it kept getting more challenging to get product and keep it stocked. When Superior partnered with the BioZyme® brands, and John Jeffrey talked to them about the Amaferm® advantage, it seemed like an straight forward decision to add to their mineral program.

Carrie’s Animal Health is a family-owned business near Clarence, Louisiana, with the primary customers being Carrie’s dad, brother and brother-in-law. The news of positive results they have experienced had spread to others in their area, and Carrie’s business has branched out to others. She said the products work and help with weight gain and overall health.

“I really like the Vita Charge® products we use. We get in quite a few yearlings and have been successful when we start them off with that product,” Carrie said.

Carrie’s primary customer base is comprised of cow-calf producers who feed the Concept•Aid® products. She also sells Gain Smart and Vita Charge–a winning combination for weaning and backgrounding calves prior to selling them on Superior.

With her dad, brother and brother-in-law all working as Superior Reps, it made sense to promote, use and sell a nutritional product that Superior recommends and partners with. Carrie and her family are glad she made the decision to sell BioZyme. And they are thankful for the positive results that others are having too. Carrie’s Animal Health is one dealer that shows the value of word-of-mouth marketing.

Meet the BioZyme Family

Team: Quality

Leader: Theron Cooper

Number of people currently on your team: 8

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

Lori Cruz – Quality Manager Lori leads the quality aspects ensuring that the facility is compliant with cGMP practices and maintains OMRI, SFSF, FAMI-QS quality systems. She ensures accurate and properly documented records are maintained for all certification audits.

Ryan Hoefling – Senior Manager of Sampling and Testing. Ryan oversees the sampling and testing of BioZyme products. Ryan ensures the analytical equipment is calibrated and reporting accurate results. In addition, he coordinates testing results with process continuous improvement opportunities and assists in production processes such as fermentation. Ryan also focuses on knowledge development of new products with improved properties and their uses.

Kelsey Goforth – Lab Manager Kelsey assists in the collaboration of the fermentation and production process by preparing the AO inoculant for the fermenters at the Easton facility. She also conducts microbial screenings to ensure the inoculant and fermentation batches are free of contaminating organisms.

Jakey Lian – Sampling and Testing Manager Jakey is the Sampling and Testing Manager at Stockyards and conducts sampling, testing, and inspection of all inbound materials and finished products manufactured by BioZyme. In addition, he maintains and manages the retention of samples.

Kelly Cortez – Housekeeping Manager Kelly manages the housekeeping staff and implements the overall house keeping plan of the facilities in accordance with the BioZyme weekly Norty Score card evaluations and the related SOP’s and checklists.

Sam Fones – Sanitation Specialist Stockyards – (Front) Sam conducts housekeeping and sanitation tasks at the Stockyards Front Warehouse zones and keeps our front warehouse areas clean and orderly.

Jordan Ide – Sanitation and Utilities Operator – (Easton) Jordan conducts housekeeping and sanitation tasks to keep the Easton facility clean and orderly. In addition, Jordan assists the night fermentation operations.

Theron Cooper – Director of Quality Theron is responsible for establishing quality, testing and reliability standards and ensuring they are implemented across the Supply Chain.

How does your team help with “Care that comes full circle” for BioZyme customers:

The Quality Team helps with “Care that comes full circle” for BioZyme customers by helping the broader BioZyme Team in the production of Safe, Accurate Products with reliable and proven performance that our customers can rely on.

How Should Your Customers #Preptowin This Summer?

SURE CHAMP + VITA CHARGE WILL HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS #PREPTOWIN

#PreptoWin applies to more than just the showring. As the makers of Sure Champ® and Vita Charge® products that help livestock exhibitors prepare their animals to excel during times of stress like traveling, being in different environments and climates and also times of transition, BioZyme® knows how important it is to help young people #PreptoWin in life as well.

This month we want to spotlight several products and programs available to exhibitors to help them move from the barn to the backdrop – and that backdrop might be with their winning animal or a winning speech.

#PREPTOWIN IN THE RING

Sure Champ is a line of livestock show supplements that work proactively to assist with the challenges created by the show environment. Sure Champ uses only the highest quality components and proprietary ingredients to generate high-yielding results.

#PREPTOWIN ON THE ROAD

Vita Charge is a perfect complement to the Sure Champ line prior to travel, when you’re on the show road and when you get back to your home barn. Vita Charge is a fast-acting, multi-species supplement for use during stressful times when livestock need protection or assistance in recovery. The products offer versatility in many forms making application easy, depending on what is best for your animal.

Vita Charge Liquid Boost, Vita Charge Gel, Vita Charge Clench Gel & Vita Charge Climate Control Gel

#PREPTOWIN IN LIFE

Sure Champ offers a variety of resources to help young people succeed outside of the showring as well. Sure Champ in the Classroom is an online portal for beginner and experienced exhibitors, parents and teachers to learn. It offers basic tips about animal selection, care, nutrition and preparation. It also provides blog posts about preparing a cover letter and resume, getting ready to give a speech and even offers several how-to videos for cattle and pig care. Of course, the Sure Champ Classroom is also home to the very popular “Mark That Card” series, providing judging classes, with placings, cuts and reasons.

#PREPTOWIN THIS SUMMER

It won’t be long, and our team will be hitting the road for its Sure Champ Summer Tour, where we are excited to work with several youth organizations across the country to support several Junior National Shows. This is a great way for us to engage and interact with the future.We also hire interns each summer to help us promote our products at the various events, just another way that we are giving young people an opportunity to explore a career path. This summer you can find us at:

•The Exposition – Des Moines, IA

•Maine/Chi Junior Nationals – Louisville, KY

•Charolais Junior Nationals – Grand Island, NE

•Simmental Junior Nationals – Madison, WI

•Hereford Junior Nationals – Louisville, KY

Two Minutes in Ag: May

The other day I saw a meme on social media that said, they call it May because, it “may” rain, it “may” snow, the sun “may” shine, the wind “may” blow. Honestly, I felt that “may” have been the most accurate thing I have seen online in a week or two. I know I am ready to plant veggies and flowers, but May Nature sure isn’t ready for that, so instead, we’ll celebrate with my favorite protein.

May is Beef Month. That is definitely worth celebrating! Although many protein choices offer great flexibility and choices, beef is always a great choice. And the researchers associated with the Beef Checkoff are always one step ahead developing new recipes. Just last weekend, I was looking for some new ideas for the endless supply of ground beef we have and couldn’t believe all the options at https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/ recipes. Check it out for some new ideas, quick recipes and more. I know my family was excited to try something besides tacos or burgers!

Now is the Time to Enroll in CRP. USDA is accepting more than 2 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and landowners through the Conservation Reserve Program general signup, the first of the program’s multiple signups occurring in 2022. Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux says about 90% of enrolled acres were accepted, and the agency hopes to encourage producers to consider additional enrollment options in the Grassland and Continuous signups, both of which are currently open.

“Our conservation programs are voluntary, and at the end of the day, producers are making market-based decisions as the program was designed to allow and encourages,” says Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a statement. USDA has been under pressure by some to allow for early release of contracted CRP acres to encourage additional production with potential Ukrainian shortfalls. An estimated 3.4 million acres of enrolled CRP acres expired this year.

Cattle on Feed. . .were up 2% from April 1, 2021, to the same time this year to 12.1 million head. This is the highest April 1 inventory since 1996. A lot of that supply was in Texas and the west and could be attributed to the prolonged drought.

Letters From Lisa – May 2022

This month’s focus is on Sure Champ® and Vita Charge®, two product lines that have experienced growth. What has created this success? Supporting young people involved in livestock. I know you are wriggling your nose right now, and thinking this lady is nuts. Nuts since we all know that helping young people doesn’t grow sales or pay bills. While whether I am nuts or not is debatable, my response is not. Economics are not all that matters, even in business.

BioZyme®, under the leadership of Bob Norton, started supporting youth in livestock back in 2007 when it became the title sponsor of both the National Junior Hereford Expo and the National Junior Angus Show. Why did we do this? Because these events and junior programs help create and shape youth that matter. As I was writing this note to all of you, I took a moment and asked Bod why he started making this a focus. His response was pretty simple, “The people in the industry are a lifestyle worth working to sustain. Livestock families are unique and special and extremely important to the welfare of the community, the state and the country.”

Darcy from the blog, Success is Reason Enough, lists the following facts about youth people who show cattle, but in my opinion, it applies to kids who show any animal.

  • They wake up early before school, to feed and care for their animals.
  • They stay up late in the evenings working hair, feeding rations and making sure their steer is rinsed one more time before they head to bed.
  • They know how to respect others.
  • They know how to receive critique, how to ask questions and how to push just a little bit longer.
  • They know how to evaluate their own cattle and others; and how to defend themselves verbally in front of a judge.
  • They know that one little tweak in a showing can be the difference between a championship slap…. or nothing.
  • They know that whatever you placed first or last…. you still need to shake the judge’s hand.
  • They can load up a trailer and set off to a show halfway across the country by themselves, because they know how to care for their livestock and budget their money, so they still have enough for diesel on the way home.
  • They know that those around them are trying to beat them in the ring…. but when they walk out the gate, if a fellow showman needed the proverbial shirt off their back, they’d hand it to them in a heartbeat.

That sounds like the perfect applicant for every position we have at BioZyme. And without this type of workforce in out future, the USA will never reach its full potential.

If you are still asking why we do this, let me reiterate that these young people are our future. More importantly, they are agriculture’s future. And for them, the experience of showing matters. And making kids feel like they matter; well…. it matters to us.

Changes Happening In May 2022

CHANGES COMING IN MAY 2022 Known at this Date

SHIPPING & PRICING:

  • In April, BioZyme was forced to make the following changes due to an extremely volatile supply chain, highly fluctuating market pricing and fuel surcharges:
    • Beginning with all orders placed April 4, a ship date of 3 days will be automatic; extended requested ship dates will not be available.
    • There will be no custom price list. Any order for a custom requires a call to the Outreach Support Center (ORSC) to request a price. These requests will take a minimum of 24-hours to be processed and confirmed.
    • A SCMV (Supply Chain Market Volatility) charge is listed as a separate item on the invoice. The rate for the SCMV charge will be evaluated weekly and adjusted with the fluctuating market, so you are not paying a fixed rate if the cost goes down. Utilizing this charge, rather than raising product pricing for the entire month, allows us to follow the lows in the market and pass the value on to you.

Please reach out to your Area Sales Manager for more information.

  • LTL Calculator
  • This tool and its results are for estimation purposes only. There are no guarantees these rates will be accurate when a shipment is rated and booked. If the carrier has Interline on the calculator this could take an additional 6 days or more to receive your order. The Logistics Team usually picks the lowest cost unless it is Interline. If you would like to keep the lowest rate on freight and would like to go interline, please reach out to Ashley Jones at ajones@biozymeinc.com. (interline- a shipment that is transferred between two or more carriers for movement to final destination).

EMPLOYEE CHANGES

  • Patti Long is the Executive and Leadership Business Administrator.
  • Justin Packard has been hired as the ASM in Oklahoma.
  • Samantha Albers is the Marketing Manager – Small Livestock (DuraFerm & Backyard Boost).
  • Kylie Patterson has transitioned from sales to the Marketing Manager – Show Livestock (Sure Champ).

CHANGES COMING IN JUNE 2022 Known at this Date

PRODUCT UPDATES

  • Watch for a new product to join the Backyard Boost line in June. We are very excited to grow this product offering. Look for more information to be forthcoming in the Dealer Center and via email.