Dealer Spotlight: Proven Sires Services

Provides Nutrition Needs To Bull Customers and Others

Cattle producers are often said to be the original stewards of the land. Their genuine passion for caring for their land and livestock is in their blood. They know if they take care of their cattle and the land, the cattle will take care of them. Taking care of his cattle before and after the sale is how Mark Rohr, Proven Sres Services, Hays, Kansas, became a BioZyme® dealer in 2014.

As the owner of Lazy H Ranch, where he markets between 100-150 registered Angus and Charolais bulls each spring, he wanted to be sure that those bulls continued to receive the best nutrition possible after the sale. That’s when he became a dealer and started recommending his customers use the VitaFerm® and Vita Charge® products to keep their new bulls healthy and reproductively sound.

“I wanted to offer the best of the best for my bull customers. At least 35% of my customers have started feeding VitaFerm, and that accounts for at least 50% of my bull sales,” Rohr said.

As a VIP dealer, Rohr not only offers the best products to his customers; he also offers top-notch service. He connects with them each monthly, if not more often and makes sure they have everything they need. He answers their questions promptly and relies on his ASM and National Sales Director for answers when he doesn’t know the answers, knowing they will respond quickly.

He suggests utilizing the ASM as a lead to new customer relationships. He appreciates when the ASM makes a cold call first to explain the Amaferm® advantage and ROI of the various product lines. Then, he can follow-up and share his own unique experiences with his customers. As a user of the products, Rohr can give first-hand accounts of what the products do, how they work and the benefits he has experienced in his own herd.

Building trust is the first step in any business relationship, according to Rohr. To build trust he shares his own experiences and works potential customers using other products into the VitaFerm products gradually.

“Offer them a product we have that their company doesn’t. Something like Vita Charge to help reduce stress with vaccinations and weaning. Or if I want them to try the VitaFerm products, I tell them not to go full-bore, but to try it on half or part of their cows so they can see the difference for themselves,” he said.

Rohr hosts a customer appreciation event each summer. He also makes sure to have plenty of BioZyme and Amaferm information available at his sale so his customers can leave with the information they need about a high-quality nutrition program.

As the industry becomes somewhat more volatile, Rohr said sharing key benefits that can be looked at as opportunity costs of the products will be even more important than ever. For cattle producers those include conception rates, especially for those utilizing A.I. and embryo transfer, calf vigor at birth and cows cleaning themselves at calving. Bull fertility is also key.

“I am in partnership on another set of bulls on feed at another location, under different management but the same mineral program, using a different vet service, we had 100% semen check there, and that vet wanted to know what we do to make that happen. As far as fertility in our bulls, the VitaFerm mineral and Amaferm advantage has been awesome,” Rohr said.

With results like that, it’s easy to see how Rohr can use personal experiences to build his customer base and help his bull customers at the same time. Thanks for being a part of the dealer network, Mark!

Prep To Win With Sure Champ EVERY. DAY.

By now, your customers should have their summer show projects, and with schools transitioning to remote learning in mid-March, there’s no doubt many lessons were taught and learned in the barn throughout the month of April. Make sure those livestock projects keep healthy and stay on feed and water with the added nutrition from Sure Champ®.

Sure Champ is a line a of livestock show supplements that proactively work to assist with the challenges created by the show environment. But they also are effective while at home preparing for the shows. Sure Champ uses only the highest quality components and proprietary ingredients proven to generate high-yielding results. All Sure Champ products include Amaferm®, shown to impact intake, digestibility and absorption. Amaferm is research-proven to increase water and feed intake. In addition, research shows that Amaferm decreases body temperature in heat-stressed animals.

Including Sure Champ in your livestock’s diets every day will help them stay healthy, stay growing and help you achieve your goals in the show ring. Check out these great Sure Champ products:

  • Sure Champ® Cattle – 50 lb. bag – A pelleted, daily vitamin and mineral supplement for show cattle that can be top-dressed or mixed in a ration to improve digestive health, stimulate appetite and optimize health. Sure Champ Cattle contains organic zinc, copper and manganese and the maximum allowable level of selenium, as well as vitamins A, D and E along with niacin and B-12 for added growth, bloom and health.
  • Sure Champ® Ration Builder – 50 lb. bag – A 32% protein pelleted base mix, fully fortified with vitamins and minerals and the Amaferm ® advantage. Intended to use to build complete feeds for cattle creep, growing and finishing rations by adjusting inclusion rates.
  • Sure Champ® Extreme – 50 lb. bag or 25 lb. bucket – Formulated for all livestock species. A pelleted, daily supplement for show livestock that can be top-dressed or mixed in the ration to promote appetite and digestive health. Includes ingredients designed to help support animals during extreme temperatures and support hoof and coat care. Also contains garlic, considered a natural insect repellent, biotin and zinc for hoof and coat care.
  • Sure Champ® Spark® – 25 lb. bucket – A pelleted, concentrated daily supplement with Amaferm and MOS for show livestock that can be top-dressed or mixed in the ration to drive appetite to higher levels and improve digestive health. Also contains biotin and zinc to promote healthy skin, hair and hooves.

Check out all of the testimonials we have available to share with your customers now: https://surechamp.com/cattle-testimonials/https://surechamp.com/cattle-testimonials/

Dealer Spotlight: Jeff Cluxton & Sons

Second Generation Dealer Provides Services and Answers to Livestock Challenges

Providing a quality product to customers while delivering top-notch services are traits that come naturally for second-generation BioZyme dealer Jeff Cluxton, at Ripley, Ohio. Jeff’s dad, Tom, started using VitaFerm® products in 1974 and became a dealer. The family has appreciated the impact that the BioZyme products have had on their 175 head cow herd and have shared that with their peers.

“VitaFerm’s been good to us. It’s a product that we strongly believe in as users of it, so it helps us be able to sell it to people. We’ve always used the product here on the farm, so we know what works best for people.

If they are in the embryo world, we try to direct people to Concept•Aid® products. Even our commercial cattle producers, will use the Concept•Aid 8/S or the Concept•Aid tub,” Jeff said.

Perhaps the thing that differentiates Jeff and assists him in helping others is the relationship that his family has had with local veterinarian Brian Cowdrey. According to Jeff, Dr. Cowdrey’s parents used the VitaFerm products and now he uses them too. And when a client has a challenge that can be fixed with the help of a nutrition product, the vet sends his client Jeff’s way, which Jeff says makes for a unique situation.

“If the customer will be obedient and do what the veterinarian recommends, we get a lot of business from Dr. Cowdrey. Word of mouth from the vet drives a lot of my business. About four to five years ago we had an outbreak of anaplasmosis here in the county, and word of mouth and VitaFerm offering CTC and IGR became a very popular product around here,” he said.

But that isn’t the only relationship that has helped Jeff grow his business. He said he’s been able to market the VitaFerm Gain Smart® Stocker and Vita Charge® Stress Tubs to the Buckeye Valley Beef Cooperative. The group of local, younger beef producing families are working to raise beef for the consumer to buy from the farm or through local retail outlets, with the knowledge that this beef is locally sourced and has never been treated for sickness. This group of progressive cattle producers has used the Gain Smart Stocker to help ensure the cattle they are feeding for their ultimate customers put on healthy, efficient pounds and meet their strict criteria. He said they use the Stress Tubs at weaning.

As an on-farm dealer, Jeff says he is always available to help his customers. He does chuckle that his wife suggests he set some office hours, but he says he’s here to help. For instance, he has an old truck that he’ll leave a bag or two of mineral in if someone is in the area at a kid or grandkid’s ball game and wants to pick it up. He even tells about a customer who drove out of his way to get 20 bags because Jeff had the product he wanted on hand.

“I won’t turn down a customer. I will help someone out. People are busy, but you can gain a lot of business by being flexible,” Jeff said.

He shares a story from last Christmas. Since he’s also an Umbarger dealer, he has the chance to sell Weaver show supplies. Somebody had ordered a show box for Christmas gift. He offered to wrap and deliver to the customer’s front porch on Christmas Eve when that family was at another Christmas celebration. The customer was overjoyed by the service Jeff provided. He said by providing that type of service, he sees the potential of a return customer for show feed or breeding mineral in the long-term.

One of the most valuable lessons Jeff learned from his dad, and one he shares is to always be willing to find out the answer to a question when you don’t know the answer.

“Always be truthful and honest to your customer, and they will always come back to you. If you don’t know the answer, be willing to say you don’t know but you will find out. That goes a long way for you.”

Jeff Cluxton & Sons is a dealer that shows care that comes full circle while differentiating his business through long-time user experience and outstanding customer service. He’s sharing the knowledge from his dad with his customers in Western Ohio. Thanks for being a great dealer, Jeff!

Check Out Our Virtual Producer Meetings and Vitalize Equine Health Seminar

Did any of your customers miss out on our Virtual Producer Meetings or our Vitalize Equine Health Seminar? Don’t worry, we have them covered! They can sign up for the email versions today using the links below.

Link to the Virtual Producer Meetings form: https://vitaferm.com/virtual-producer-meetings/

Link to the Vitalize Equine Health Seminar Form: https://vitalizeeq.com/vitalize-equine-health-seminar/

Changes Happening in May 2020

NEW PRODUCTS

  • VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S HEAT® will be available May 1, 2020. VitaFerm Concept•Aid 5/S HEAT is a free-choice vitamin and mineral supplement for beef cattle specifically designed for reproductive success when fed 60 days pre-calving through 60 days post-breeding. Also contains HEAT to help prevent heat stress during temperatures of 70 degrees and above, or anytime cattle are grazing fescue.
  • DuraFerm® Sheep Concept•Aid® HEAT® will be available May 1, 2020 but will NOT ship until May 15, 2020. DuraFerm Sheep Concept•Aid HEAT is a mineral supplement for sheep specifically designed to help prevent heat stress during temperatures of 70 degrees or above. Especially beneficial to combat the challenges of getting ewes bred in the summer. Also contains garlic to deter insects.

SHIPPING UPDATES

  • Published Pallet rates are no longer available via the Terms and Conditions document. In lieu of published rates we have built and launched a new app called LTL Freight Calculator. Estimated shipping rates for LTL shipments can be calculated via the BioZyme Dealer Center and the LTL Freight Calculator. Visit https://dealers.backofficeapps.com/freight/calculator/new
    NOTE: This tool and its results are for estimation purposes only. BioZyme, Inc makes no guarantees that these rates will be accurate when a shipment is rated and booked.

PRODUCT UPDATES

  • Vitalize® High Performance has moved to a 40 lb. bag and is now using the same bag design as the other Vitalize pellet products.
  • In response to customer requests for a more durable and weather resistant bag, we are beginning to switch our bagged products from multi-wall, paper to Biaxially Oriented Poly Propylene bags. Starting May 1, 2020, Vitalize Digest More Plus 40 lb., Vitalize Protein Pellet and Vitalize High Performance will begin shipping in the new bags.
  • Amaferm® Digest More® has changed names to Amaferm Pellet and will ship in the same style bag as Amaferm granular.

INGREDIENT UPDATES

  • The impacts of coronavirus are being felt in the supply chain. The effect is most noticeable for vitamins, which have increased dramatically because of tight global supply. We are working diligently to mitigate the effects of the shortage to our products and minimize price increases.
  • Due to reduced fuel demand the ethanol industry has seen significant supply chain challenges. As a result of quality and supply issues we have changed to a new DDGS supplier with a more consistent product. This has resulted in a lighter bulk density and smaller particle size that is noticeable in some of our products.

PRODUCTION UPDATES

  • Cogent Solutions Group, our sister company in Lexington, KY, will be expanding their operation and moving into a new facility the week of May 8-15, 2020. Production of Vita Charge® and Vitalize® products will be shut down during that time. We have increased production over the last few weeks to cover that down time and don’t expect any delays on shipment of Vita Charge and Vitalize products.

EMPLOYEE CHANGES

  • Ailee Langdon is no longer with BioZyme. If you need any type of assistance that Ailee used to help you with, please reach out to Jennifer Miller at (816) 596-8785 or jenmiller@biozymeinc.com.
  • To better align the organization, some alterations have been made to job titles in Supply Chain. Dan Wiezba is the Senior Manager of Plant and Production, Kevin Glaubius is the Senior Manager of Formulation & Regulatory, Sam Norton is the Senior Manager of Efficiency & Safety, Dennis Delaney is the Senior Manager of Quality Control, Stephen Mohn is the Senior Manager of Inventory, and Tyson Vordestrasse is the Senior Manager of Fermentation.
  • Hayley Keck, our Marketing Brand Coordinator, has taken on additional responsibilities. While she will continue to manage the companion animal brands for BioZyme and Cogent, she has now acquired coordinating efforts relating to Amaferm marketing domestically. Hayley will help implement the Amaferm E-Blast Series, improve the Partner Center and coordinate efforts for the Food Export Program. To best accomplish these responsibilities, Hayley now reports directly to Kristi Stevens.

Changes Coming in June 2020

NEW PRODUCTS

  • We are looking forward to rolling out a new economical VitaFerm product line June 1, 2020. Watch your email for more information.

DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS

  • On June 1, 2020, VitaFerm® Cow Calf, VitaFerm® Cow Calf Mag and BioZyme® Cattle Flex 5 will be discontinued to make way for our new line (see above). 

PRODUCT UPDATES

  • In response to customer requests for a more durable and weather resistant bag, we are beginning to switch our granular products from multi-wall, paper to Biaxially Oriented Poly Propylene bags. In June VitaFerm® HEAT®, DuraFerm® products, and some Gain Smart® products will begin shipping in the new bags. VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® mineral products and the Gain Smart® Stocker line will transition to the new bags in July. The remaining products will transition over the next 6 months.

BRAND UPDATES

  • On June 1, 2020, “VitaFerm®” will be removed from the Gain Smart® product names.

Get That Good Gut Feeling With Vitalize

Did you know that 67% of U.S. households have at least one dog? That’s a whopping 85 million households with dogs, and surely some of those are your existing customers. As “man’s best friend” dog owners want what is best for their four-legged friends and will oftentimes spend any amount of money on food, vet costs, toys and supplies to make sure their fur babies are happy and healthy.

That’s why BioZyme® has created a canine line of Vitalize® products, specifically formulated with the Amaferm® advantage to maintain that “good gut feeling.” Just like the equine Vitalize, this line of supplements is designed to improve digestive health and gut integrity, keeping your customer’s animal healthy and performing.

Regardless if their canine companion is a working cow dog, show dog, hunting dog, guard dog or a sit on your lap and look cute dog, your customers want what is best for it. Vitalize offers three forms of supplements for dogs:

  • Vitalize® Dog – available in 1 lb. or 40 lb. bucket – a top dress vitamin and mineral supplement for dogs in all stages of life that need or deserve extra fortification and improved digestive health.
  • Vitalize® Dog Recovery Gel – 15 mL tube – a 3-in-1 gel that provides faster recovery during stressful times such as high performance, antibiotic therapy, worming, surgery recovery, sickness or digestive upset such as diarrhea or vomiting.
  • Vitalize® Alimend® K9 – 6 oz. bottle – unique blend of: MHB3® Hyaluronan, H. erinaceous (Lion’s mane) extract, and AO-Biotics® that supports gastric health and GI tissue in dogs.

Horses can face numerous health challenges, including colic, ulcers, dysbiosis, weight management problems, going off-feed, and diarrhea. The equine line of Vitalize products offers research-proven solutions to help combat these problems. These supplements contain precision prebiotics to improve digestive health and gut integrity, keeping your customer’s horse healthy and performing. If they are good enough for some of the world’s best show jumpers and rodeo athletes, aren’t they good enough for your customers? To help your customer decide which Vitalize supplement is right for his or her horse, visit the Simplified Product Guide.

Check out what some of our customers had to say!

Don’t Miss Our Next Episode of The American Rancher Tonight!

TODAY IS THE DAY!! Don’t miss our next episode of The American Rancher airing tonight at 9 PM EST on RFD-TV.
This episode features Tracy and Wendy Savage with Lumberjack Farm and Ranch in Warren, AR and our VitaFerm HEAT products.
Tune in to Dish channel 231 or DirecTV Channel 345.
Check out a sneak peek here: https://youtu.be/7_DJs9MUw4A

Don’t Miss Out On Our Vitalize Equine Health Seminar!

Our Vitalize Equine Health Seminar will take place on April 23rd at 5 PM central featuring Lynsey Whitacre, PhD discussing The Impacts of Stress on Your Horse. This Seminar is completely FREE to attend, so be sure to sign up and invite your customers too!

You and your customers can sign up using this link: https://vitalizeeq.com/vitalize-equine-health-seminar/

BioZyme COVID-19 Information

Below you will find important information about BioZyme’s response to the challenge of COVID-19. To ensure you receive any important updates, please sign up for our text alerts by clicking the link in the top right corner of the Online Dealer Center.

Official Government Issued COVID-19 Information:
We encourage you to be aware of the best practices outlined by the CDC and WHO in an effort to prevent the spread of illness.

FAQs About COVID-19

Steps to Help Prevent the Spread of COVD-19

Families First Coronavirus Response Act

 

Important Information for BioZyme Dealers:
We understand the growing concern surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) across our communities. From the onset of this situation, we have been listening to the experts as we work to meet the challenges of this extraordinary situation. We are closely monitoring and following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), to ensure we are doing our part to keep everyone in our circle safe, but continue to be able to feed the amazing animals that ultimately contribute to our survival.

We are actively monitoring the situation and assessing risks and are ready to implement immediate changes to ensure a high level of safety and provide the best possible experience during this time.

  • We have introduced rigorous additional cleaning procedures to our facilities and have increased the number of wipes, hand sanitizers, and other cleaning materials available to employees while in our facilities.
  • We’ve taken sensible steps to help protect our team of employees. This means we’ve advised our employees to follow the public health authorities’ guidance regarding personal health and hygiene. Additionally, we’ve implemented significant social-distancing measures that include moving some of our workforce to home office environments and suspending all non-essential in-person meetings and travel.
  • We have advised our sales team against in-person visits as we assess the ongoing situation. We have a talented sales team who knows their territories best, and regardless if they see you in person or not, they will be working from home to best represent you. They will still be accessible via phone, email and text, so reach out to them with your questions or ideas of how we can grow business (times like these tend to help us think).
  • Our buildings remain open to transportation and essential visitors.  If you have any questions the local number to reach our Customer Care team is: 1-800-821-3070.

Our employees, customers and business partners are the heart of our company and we look forward to serving your needs wherever and however you choose to engage with our products and services.

 

 

How BioZyme is Protecting Our Employees:
BioZyme Infectious Disease Preparedness & Response Plan.

Vendor / Visitor Entrance
Vendors and visitors will not be allowed in the building unless:

  1. It is an employee support vendor. If this is case, they must fill out this BioZyme Health Screening Survey and email it to Sam Norton (snorton@biozymeinc.com) before arriving.
  1. If the vendor or visitor is not an employee support vendor or on the approved visitor list – they will not be allowed in the buildings until after the shelter in place for Saint Joseph, Missouri is no longer in effect.

Essential Employee Letter:
Employees that must come to the Stockyards or Easton facilities to ensure production of our products continues uninterrupted are being provided an essential employee letter to carry with them. Click Here to download the letter.
All employees who are able to work remotely are doing so, including the Sales Team, International Team, Outreach Support Center, Marketing Team and Office Support Staff.

Changes Happening in April 2020

DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS

  • VitaFerm® Sure Start Pellets and VitaFerm® Roughage Fortifier have been discontinued.

SHIPPING UPDATES

  • FedEx has agreed to reduce the 50-70 lb. handling fee from $24 down to $6. We are still working on getting the entire fee waived but did get a 75% reduction. Currently, this impacts orders of any 50 lb. bagged product and cases of Vita Charge Drench.
  • As of March 1, 2020, fulfillment of small pack products [Page 2 items] is via FedEx at our sister company in Lexington, KY. Therefore, small pack products will no longer be top loaded on pallets. All orders will be shipped separately via FedEx Ground. Customers will be billed actual shipping rates of FedEx for small pack orders.
  • As of March 1, 2020, we began transitioning from pallet rates on LTL shipments to actual quoted rates via carriers. This will include additional fees charged by carriers for farm/residential deliveries [determined by the carriers, not BioZyme], lift gate service fees and any fees associated with delivery appointments and/or driver assistance.

PRODUCT UPDATES

  • The impacts of coronavirus are being felt in the supply chain. The effect is most noticeable for vitamins, which have increased dramatically because of tight global supply. We are working diligently to mitigate the effects of the shortage to our products and minimize price increases.
  • Effectively immediately, some production changes have been implemented to ensure the continued quality of the bagged Vitalize® products. You will notice a slightly smaller pellet size and a more uniform, consistent product.
  • Vitalize® High Performance will be moving from a 50 lb. bag to a 40 lb. bag once current inventories are exhausted, sometime in mid-April or early May.
  • Starting May 1, 2020, Amaferm® Digest More® will change names to Amaferm® Pellet and will ship in the same style bag as Amaferm® granular.
  • VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S IGR and VitaFerm HEAT® IGR require annual registration which has been completed for 2020. We have received approval for states including: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE APRIL CHANGES