Methane emissions from ruminant livestock contribute significantly to the large environmental footprint of agriculture. Ruminant production accounts for about 81% of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) from the livestock sector, 90% of which results from rumen microbial methanogenesis 1 . A considerable worldwide research effort has investigated various mitigation strategies and the ruminant farmers are putting in a lot of effort to improve
the sustainability of their operations, with reduction of methane emissions (one of the most potent greenhouse gases) being a top priority.

In ruminants, methane production is linked to fibre digestion: methanogens bacteria consume the hydrogen produced by cellulolytic bacteria. The resultant hydrogen accumulation is toxic for rumen microbiota, so methane production and eructation are important to keep the rumen healthy.

Methane production is therefore linked to dry matter intake. This means that it is crucial to carefully consider feed intake when looking to increase milk and meat production.

Several approaches have been studied in many countries with the aim of reducing methane emissions of digestive origin.  Various research has suggested that live yeasts such as Biosprint® can be used.

Biosprint is a high concentrate probiotic live yeast authorized according to European Regulation as Gut flora stabilizer Feed Additive. Biosprint®  promotes the fermentation processes, adapting the rumen environment to the needs of the bacterial flora responsible for fiber digestion. Biosprint® helps to reduce methane production by improving feed efficiency.

It has been shown that there is a negative relation between methane emission measured in g/kg of milk and daily milk production (Knapp et al., 2014).

Biosprint® can help improve daily milk production and quality without significantly increasing dry matter intake, which was demonstrated in a recent trial performed at Wageningen University.

In all the trials that we have performed we have seen an increase in milk yield, which improves the feed conversion ratio. Milk production growth is variable depending on the conditions, but it can reach up to 7%. In a trial performed at Wageningen University, Biosprint was able to improve feed efficiency (+4,2%) by increasing milk yield while decreasing body weight losses.

The extra energy extracted from the feed was partially used to increase milk production and also to reduce the negative energy balance. A better energetic status improves body condition, which can result in better fertility.

But methane is also produced by animals that do not make milk. Thus, it is important to increase the number of lactations in the herd which will help to amortise the economic and environmental cost of heifers. Biosprint® is a good support to mitigate acidosis and its sanitary consequences, like laminitis. Reduction of sanitary and metabolic problems connected to acidosis leads to a decreased culling rate, which means a lower number of heifers. Heifers do not produce milk but produce methane from their metabolism. A decreased number of heifers to maintain the herd size will help to decrease total methane production of the farm.

Biosprint® can help to reduce methane production by increasing feed efficiency in lactation and fattening, as well as by improving animal sanitary status.

Read the full Prosol interview with Feedinfo > https://bit.ly/3ipT7qq 

1. Ilma Tapio, Timothy J. Snelling, Francesco Strozzi & R. John Wallace,   The ruminal microbiome associated with methane emissions from ruminant livestock, Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology- on   https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-017-0141-0
2. Feedinfo,  Live Yeast’s Impact on Rumen Microbiome Key to Industry’s Sustainability & Economic Objectives, says Prosol- INDUSTRY PERSECTIVES, 10 Jan 2022

Published on: Jul 12, 2021

Heat stress is one of the major problems can negatively impact the welfare and the health of ruminants in every part of world. Dairy cow thermal comfort range is between 5 and 25°c: with rising outdoor temperatures, a cow’s body temperature also rises. Heat stress comes when temperature and humidity are over the levels that the cows can tolerate, which can adversely mining both their welfare and production.

A less DM intake, reduced rumen efficiency and decreased ruminal pH are some of the major problems associated with heat stress in dairy cows wich, ultimately, result to a decrease of milk production and quality, and increase sanitary cost.

The most common methods exploited by dairy farmers to preventing and managing heat stress are shade and well ventilated spaces, cooling with water and hydration.

But also nutritional management strategies can be applied to address the challenges associated with heat stress. In particular, yeast supplements can help to face the effects of heat stress alleviating damages on ruminants. BIOSPRINT®  live yeast supplementation during the summer period helps lactating cows maintain their production parameters at optimum efficiency, preventing the negative effects of heat stress on their performance.

The use of Biosprint® MUCL™ 39885 as a nutritional supplement has proved to be a good tool for helping cows to overcome the difficulties of the summer period, improving rumen efficiency and the herd’s productivity.

To know more about the last trial results about BIOSPRINT® for managing prolonged heat stress condition in dairy cows fill in the form to download the last study.

Through an evident and incisive contribution to the digestive efficiency, Biosprint® is able to improve the production performance of the animals, preserving their general state of health.

In ruminants it promotes the fermentation processes, adapting the rumen environment to the needs of the bacterial flora responsible for fiber digestion. The animals improve the capacity to use the energy of the feed and to assimilate the nutrients necessary for high productivity. Useful in challenging and stressful condition such as  transition and lactating phase, feed change, digestive problems, low Intake, heat stress.

Would you like to know more about BIOSPRINT^® in ruminants?

Available the new Biosprint marketing sheet, fill in the form to download!

BIOSPRINT® live yeast supplementation during the summer period helps lactating cows maintain their production parameters at optimum efficiency, preventing the negative effects of heat stress on their performance.

During the summer months, milk production can drop from 10% to 30%, which is an economic problem for milk producers (St. Pierre et al., 2003). The reduction in milk production is not due just to a reduction in dry matter intake induced by an increase in body temperature, but also to an alteration in the endocrine profile and energy metabolism (Baumgard and Rhoads, 2007), and to other factors that are still unknown (Collier et al., 2008).

It has been shown that, in lactating cows, the greater the milk production at the beginning of the heat wave, the greater the reduction in dry matter intake. The acceleration in the decline of dry matter intake in high-production animals is due to the need to rapidly decrease heat production in order to counteract the thermal overload. This means that the most productive dairy cows in the herd, the fresh cows, will be more likely to have a drop in feed intake, increasing the potential risk for the next lactation even in winter months (Collier et al., 2019). In addition, heat stress induces an increase in metabolic maintenance requirements of between 7% to 25% (NRC 2001).

To counteract heat stress, cattle implement physiological strategies that enable them to produce less heat and increase its dissipation (De Rensis and Scaramuzzi, 2003; West, 2003; Schutz et al., 2008).

Commonly seen strategies comprise:

Fig. 1: Rumination by cows decreases by 60 minutes per day for every 10 points increase in THI above the stress threshold (Mathew Haan, Penn State Extension, 2016).

From a behavioural point of view, the strategies implemented by the cattle are:

• a reduction in laying period and consequently less rumination (Fig. 1)
• an increase in water intake
• a reduction in feed intake frequency, with feeding concentrated in the coolest hours
• an increase in the amount of dry matter intake at every feeding visit

These physiological and behaviour responses increase the risks of rumen acidosis:

Indeed, it has been shown that the ruminal pH of heat-stressed cows when compared to thermo-neutral cows is lower both before (9.5% lower; P<0.01) and after (6% lower; P<0.05) the principal feeding (Gao et al. 2016).
In addition, it has been shown (Wheelock 2009) that 50% of the reduction in milk production is due to the drop in feed ingestion. In fact, during heat stress there is an alteration in energy metabolism with an increase in the use of glucose by cells. As a result, the availability of glucose for the synthesis of lactose, necessary for milk production, is lower. Therefore it is important to optimise rumen fermentation to ensure an adequate flow of amino acids and propionic acid in the blood. These substances are used by the liver to synthesise glucose, which is consequently insufficient in phases of stress.

Graph 1. Constant use of live yeast for a successful dairy farm

The reduced fiber intake in addition to increased risk of rumen acidosis, inevitably causes the depression of milk fat content. It has been shown that Biosprint® live yeast (MUCL™ 39885) is able to reduce the risk of acidosis and support milk production and quality.

In a test performed in a Turkish dairy farm with 880 Friesian cows under conditions of intense heat stress, Biosprint® live yeast (MUCL™ 39885) administered during the summer period improved fat content, while maintaining identical levels of production (Graph 1).

The benefits obtained by using live yeast remain constant and are consolidated if the yeast is used regularly and continuously, along all during the summer.

Only in this way “long-lasting” negative effects of heat stress can be prevented.
If the average performance of livestock farms is analysed, every year between July and August there is a drop of quantity and quality of milk produced (Graph 2). The return to optimum performance is achieved only in successive months, with a gradual improvement whose rate will depend on various factors specific to each individual herd.

In a herd consisting predominantly of animals with a long lactation period, it will be difficult to retrieve the milk lost during summer. The cows that calve in periods of greatest heat stress will tend to suffer an increase in the metabolic disorders typical of the post-partum period and will reach lower values of peak production. Moreover, by ingesting less dry matter, they will be more subject to a greater loss in weight, with negative impact on fertility. Negative effects will also be seen on cows in the dry period which, having spent the final part of pregnancy under the effects of heat stress, will show negative repercussions on mammary cell growth, with a consequent reduction in milk production during the imminent lactation and a delay in foetal growth with obvious limitations on genetic and productive potential (S. Thao and G. E. Dahl 2013).

Graph 3: The use of Biosprint® live yeast enables the group of primiparous cows to maintain optimum feed intake levels, with improved milk quality parameters.

It is therefore necessary to use both livestock management and nutritional preventive techniques in order to limit the negative effects of heat stress and to keep the herd’s performance at high levels of efficiency.

To show that nutritional strategies can help support the performance of cows during the summer months, last summer we tested feed intake and milk quality in a herd located in the province of Novara with 250 lactating cows. During the months of July and August, when temperature and humidity brought the THI to an average value of 76 and a peak value of 81, it was found that the constant use of Biosprint^® (5 g/cow/day) improved the cattle’s performance.

The group of primiparous cows who received Biosprint® MUCL™ 39885 for the entire summer period maintained an optimal feed intake and showed an improved fibre digestibility, as a result of the yeast’s beneficial effect on the cellulolytic flora, which in turn improved the milk’s fat content (Graph 3).

The group of pluriparous cows, which did not receive yeast for the entire month of July, suffered a notable drop in feed intake as temperatures increased. Only by adding rations of Biosprint^® to the feed was it possible to improve feed intake (Graph 4), production (+3.4 kg/cow/day) and milk fat content (Graph 5) for the pluriparous group as well.

The use of Biosprint® MUCL™ 39885 as a nutritional supplement has proved to be a good tool for helping cows to overcome the difficulties of the summer period, improving rumen efficiency and the herd’s productivity.