Clay-based feed additives have historically been a go-to for ‘insurance’ in dairy cattle rations with the goal of covering for unknown mycotoxin concentrations in the diets. Unfortunately, clay-based products are best used for aflatoxin but have limited efficacy on the other major mycotoxins. To make up for this deficiency, some products include yeast cell wall to provide beta-glucans, which have some ability to bind zearalenone but are less effective against most other mycotoxins. The yeast cell wall’s ability to bind zearalenone is minimal, and in a best-case scenario, it binds about 50% of the zearalenone.

Unfortunately, no product effectively binds DON, the most common mycotoxin, and the same is true for fumonisin and T2/HT2, which is becoming increasingly common throughout the mid-Atlantic.

Of the corn silage samples analyzed for mycotoxins by Agrarian Solutions last year, 95% had more than one mycotoxin. The majority contained DON plus one or more others, typically a mixture of Zearalenone, T2/HT2, and Fumonisin. Both ruminant and nonruminant research has repeatedly shown the cumulative negative effects of multiple mycotoxins. The mode of action of each mycotoxin builds on each other, especially when DON is present to break down the intestinal cell wall and allow other mycotoxins an easy way in. A strategy needs to be in place to defend against all the common mycotoxins in the ration.
​
DTX™ is specifically designed to combat all the major mycotoxins beginning with Agrarian Solution’s proprietary bacteria technology. Instead of trying to bind the mycotoxins, which is only marginally affective in the best case, DTX works at the intestinal level to protect the epithelial cells, the “castle wall”, against mycotoxins, pathogens and digesta trying to enter the body. The phytogenic technology in DTX strengthens intestinal tight junctions while providing powerful antioxidant support for liver health. These three modes of action help the cow defend against mycotoxins in the gut and protect the liver from damage.

DTX is research-proven to protect against DON, the most prevalent mycotoxin, as well as the other mycotoxins increasingly seen in North America. Decades of on-farm experience in dairy diets show dairy nutritionists and producers that whether there is one mycotoxin in the diet, or several, DTX is the product you can rely on to defend and protect the cow against the challenge. Defend and protect is not just a motto – it is how DTX Concentrate works.

Authors: Caroline Knoblock, MSc, – Director of Nutrition, Agrarian Solutions and Larry Roth, Ph.D., PAS – Vice President of Nutrition 

The post DTX™ – Not Just for DON appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

When the immune system is compromised, it may be less able to adequately defend the uterus against pathogenic bacteria. As a result, metritis is often more prevalent in first-lactation heifers than in other lactation groups. Metritis and other transition challenges in the first lactation can increase the risk of retained placenta, stillbirth, and reduced pregnancy per service in subsequent lactations¹. Helping first-lactation heifers successfully resolve inflammation can deliver economic benefits to the dairy today and well into the future.

The Nutritional Challenge After Calving

Uterine involution can be viewed as a process of wound repair and tissue regeneration occurring in the face of bacterial exposure². The combination of uterine involution and metritis places a significant nutritional demand on the animal, potentially reallocating glucose and other nutrients away from milk production, reproduction, and growth.

This challenge occurs at a time when nutrient demands are already high. Research indicates that dry matter intake declines as calving approaches and increases only gradually after calving. For first-lactation heifers, overcrowding, competition with older and larger cows, and adjustment to a new diet can further limit intake. The result can be a significant nutrient deficit even when the ration is correctly formulated. How can this nutrient deficit be addressed when feed intake is limited?

Cow Start™ Complete: Targeted Support at Calving

Agrarian Solutions’ unique Cow Start Complete is formulated to help overcome these transition challenges. At calving, a single bolus provides first-lactation heifers with more than 70 key micronutrients, including the antioxidants selenium yeast and vitamin E. The bolus slowly dissolves in the rumen over approximately 48 hours, providing targeted nutritional support during the critical period immediately following calving and helping supply nutrients needed for efficient immune function.

Research in First-Lactation Heifers

Two farms with persistent first-lactation metritis challenges provided a total of 248 heifers for a research study evaluating the benefits of administering a single Cow Start Complete bolus at calving. Veterinarians evaluated heifers for metritis on day 7 after calving at Farm A and day 9 at Farm B. At Farm A, metritis decreased from 10.3% in control heifers to 0% in heifers receiving a single Cow Start Complete bolus. At Farm B, metritis decreased significantly (P<0.05) from 17% in control heifers to 6% in heifers receiving Cow Start Complete.

Further results point to a reduction in inflammation after calving and a beneficial reallocation of nutrients. First service conception rate was improved by Cow Start Complete supplementation on both farms; Farm A improved (P<0.05) from 41% to 53%, and Farm B improved from 45% to 50%. These findings point to the potential for reduced post-calving inflammation and improved nutrient allocation during a critical period in the first-lactation heifer’s productive life.

First-lactation heifers represent the future of the dairy herd. Supporting their ability to manage metritis and post-calving inflammation is essential for helping them transition successfully into lactation, reproduce efficiently, and remain productive throughout their lifetime. Cow Start Complete provides targeted nutritional support when first-lactation heifers need it most.

References: ¹ Borchardt et al. (2024). Journal of Dairy Science, 107:9706–9718. ² Caldeira et al. (2025). Biology of Reproduction, 113:1132–1154.

Authors: Caroline Knoblock, MSc, – Director of Nutrition, Agrarian Solutions and Larry Roth, Ph.D., PAS – Vice President of Nutrition 

The post Setting Up First-Lactation Heifers for Long-Term Success appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

Originally released on The Dairy Podcast Show, this episode features Dr. Larry Roth of Agrarian Solutions and Dr. Liz Eckelkamp discussing the unique challenges first-lactation cows face at calving, including reduced feed intake, inflammation, and uterine health.

They explore how these early challenges can create a cascade that affects reproductive performance, retention and a cow’s ability to reach her genetic potential.

Listen in as they discuss fresh cow management and what can be done to help first-lactation cows get off to a stronger start, and set them up for a more productive future.

🎧 Listen now to set your herd up for lifelong success!

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: Welcome to the Dairy podcast show, brought to you by Wisenetix. I’m Doctor Liz Eckelkamp, associate professor and dairy extension specialist at the University of Tennessee. Today we’re joined by Doctor Larry Roth, who is the vice president of nutrition for Agrarian Solutions. His career in dairy and beef nutrition give him a unique perspective on solutions for first lactation dairy cattle. Welcome, Larry. Thank you for joining us today.

Dr. Larry Roth: All right. Thank you. It was a pleasure to be here.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: And I’m looking forward to our conversation, especially because we’re going to focus today on first lactation heifers, response to calving related inflammation and how this can impact their lifelong production in the herd. And we were talking a little bit in the green room. And it sounds like y’all have some research that y’all have just done around this topic.

Dr. Larry Roth: That’s correct. Yes.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: So what unique factors were you focusing on specific to first lactation heifers?

Dr. Larry Roth: So I think when we look at first lactation heifers, they’re the group on the dairy that have the highest genetic value. They’re, they’re the latest genetics, improved genetics, compared to their older peers there at the dairy. And so I think we need to remember that they have a reduced dry matter intake during the close up period as they come into their most challenging day of the year.

And their intake is going to be depressed afterwards. Sometimes these heifers are put in with the older boss cows, both pre fresh and post fresh, which can further reduce their intake. And there’s also a social stress that is put on these animals. They’ve never been in these kinds of competitive situations. There’s a lot that they’re trying to figure out.

Let’s also remember that these first lactation heifers have a higher incidence of calving difficulties compared to their older peers, shall we say. This is also the first time that they have made colostrum or milk. So we have changes going on in the mammary gland as well. And this is the first time that they’re going to be going on to a higher energy type diet with their post-fresh diet.

So there’s changes going on in the digestive tract. But I think that one of the things that we want to focus on today that’s relatively unique to these first lactation heifers is they have a higher incidence of metritis as first lactation heifers as compared to the older cows at that dairy. Generally, transition issues increase as lactation number increases. But from metritis, the incidence is highest for the first lactation heifers and declines as we go to the multiple lactation cows.

And this was born out in a study by Lean et all 2023, where they looked at 28,000 cows across Australia, Canada, United States. And we hear the similar findings as we talked to production vets, nutritionists and dairy producers in this country and elsewhere.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: We see that with ketosis too in first lactation animals don’t we? Because of those metabolic shifts, because she’s still growing and then everything else as well?

Dr. Larry Roth: Yes, quite often the ketosis may be a little bit higher in some of the multiple lactation cows. But I think it really comes to how these animals are able to handle inflammation as a first lactation. You know, again, I think we go back to the reduced feed intake. How are these animals housed? Are they going to be housed with multiple lactation cows who are wanting to share space at the feed bunk?

Both, both pre and post fresh? They’ve got to take off on feed intake. Just as you said, they’re still growing. They are all of these energy demands. And one of the unique things from an inflammation standpoint, is the uterus is going to get exposed to bacteria that has never been exposed to before. Matt Lucy, University of Missouri has done a tremendous amount of research on all of these things related to uterine health in relation and had a neat study, Sylvia and Lucy in 2025, where they looked at pathogenic profile, most with a healthy first lactation and multiple lactation animals, as well as those who had metritis first lactation and multiple lactation.

So the immune system has never really been exposed to some of these bacteria. So it’s got to go to school. It’s got to learn how to produce the factors that can limit these pathogens before they take off. But remember, all of this is happening while nutrients are needed to go to all of these other things. Making milk, helping the animal to grow. And oh yeah, the nutrient supply has been reduced due to the reduced feed intake where we started off our conversation.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: So when you’re specifically thinking about inflammation factors focused on first lactation, are you really relating that primarily to the metritis or are there any other fresh cow disorders that you think about in that same area?

Dr. Larry Roth: Well, there could certainly be other transition issues going on. And I think it really comes back to how does that cow feel? Is just like us. We could go to a nice buffet, but if one of us is feeling kind of poorly, we’re probably not going to go up to that buffet multiple times. And so I think that we have to concentrate on what is going on that is requiring the immune system’s attention, if we can think of it that way.

And so I really think inflammation there in the uterus is one of the biggest draws for nutrients at this time. But yeah, remember, again, we started off saying these are the animals, the greatest genetic value, which means they have the greatest drive to produce milk, and they’re going to do all kinds of things to try to fulfill that genetic drive, breakdown their body if they have to. That can lead to the ketosis, which you reference a little bit earlier. But I really think a lot of this starts with inflammation.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: So with that inflammation, are you, when you’re thinking about that playing into uterine infections, are you thinking specifically metritis? Or are you thinking kind of like that whole cascade. Right. So, do, does this start with inflammation and a difficult calving? Right. With increased retained placenta is going into metritis because you know, all of those things are so interrelated. So how do you see that playing a detour in infections? And what are some of those long term implications?

Dr. Larry Roth: Well, I think it’s all very interrelated. And let me give a quote. And I wrote this down, so I get it right from Caldera at all 2025, in which it said future studies and therapeutic treatments related to uterine health should consider uterine involution as a process of wound repair. So think of it right there. We’ve gotta repair this wound.

The uterus is going to be shrinking in size dramatically. That requires the function of the immune system. So we’re having nutrients that we want to go elsewhere to perhaps more profitable functions, such as helping the follicles to develop and, oh, yeah, produce milk. Instead, it’s going to work on wound repair. And then back to our quote, tissue regeneration in the face of bacterial infection.

So not just tissue regeneration, not just shrinking the uterus and size, but the bacteria infection. And so that’s where I come with inflammation is being right there at the root of that. So with that infection we’ve got some short term consequences like elevated acute phase proteins. And oh yeah go back to reduce feed intake. So if you’re starting to think I have a hang up about reduced feed intake, you’re, you’re probably right.

Because how many times do we say if I could just get the cow to eat. Life is good. She takes off. She doesn’t look back. So everything that we’re doing is thinking about what can we do to get her to eat and get the nutrients into her. And then glucose gets reallocated by the immune system from helping with, follicular development and milk production.

And as you stated earlier, growth is going to just try to keep the animal alive. We got to defeat these pathogens in the uterus. And oh, yeah, at the same time, we got pathogens trying to enter the body through the mammary gland. So the cow is really fighting a multiple front war at the same time. And she’s got to determine where do these nutrients go so that I can get the biggest return?

I got to stay alive. And that’s the first thing I got to do. That’s what she’s saying before I start to produce milk. And oh, yeah, I got to produce milk before I’m going to develop my follicles so that I can get pregnant and have a calf next year. So I like how you use the term, I think you said cascade, and I think that’s really what it is.

One thing leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. And so we got to go back to where it all starts. And I think it’s defeating these pathogens, the wound repair in the uterus and regenerating all of these tissues. So that she’s ready to get pregnant on that first service so we can reduce those days open and have that very valuable calf next year and get her primed so that she’s ready to have milk for that second lactation.

And I think that’s really what brings us to some of these long term challenges. Been a lot of work. Ribeiro, Carvalho at home from 2017, looking at long term performance losses, delayed resumption of ovarian cycling, reduced pregnancies per service. And it goes on an increased calling from there. If these animals have a case of metritis. But they were really looking at multiple lactation cows.

I think it was Marshall et all 2024. That really opened our eyes to these long term consequences with first lactation have first having metritis because the dogma used to be first lactation heifers, they don’t have as much of a challenge, compared to the multiple lactation cows. So they’re going to breeze on through. But Marshall et all showed in a survey of 4800 cows at one dairy, 4200 cows and another that there was tremendous increases in the odds of retained placenta, delayed re-breeding and increased calling at the second lactation. If there was some metritis at the first lactation.

So, again, we’ve got to get this animal of greatest genetic value to have a strong immune system defeat the pathogens in the uterus here at first calving at the start of her first lactation so that she stays in the herd, has an opportunity to live up to her genetic potential, not just in the first lactation, but second and on. So it really, again, you use the term cascade. I think we can say that incidence and metritis at the first lactation leads to a cascade of events through subsequent lactation or cabins that reduces her ability to stay in the herd and live up to her genetic potential.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: I would absolutely agree with you on that one. And when we’re thinking about something like metritis or, even things like ketosis and milk fever, they’re also interrelated. So if we start to solve one, we usually have a good handle on trying to address some of the others.

But if you’re enjoying this episode of the Dairy Podcast show presented by Wixenetics, please remember to like, subscribe and share it with your friends and family. You can also turn on notifications from our channel so you never miss an episode. Please feel free to leave us your comments at any time because we definitely want to hear from you.

So when we’re thinking with first lactation heifers and the greater risk associated with first lactation heifers, how can we help mitigate some of those issues so we don’t see that future cascade in second or third lactation, that we can make it to a third and fourth lactation with these high value animals.

Dr. Larry Roth: Well, I think that the place to start is with my hang up feed intake. Let’s do everything we can from a housing standpoint, quality of feed, bunk space to encourage feed consumption, pre and post fresh breast. Look at the right nutrients to support the immune system. Antioxidant support to help resolve stress that’s caused from metabolites produced during normal metabolism as well as with immune system.

And then we’ve got a unique product Cow Start Complete. And so we’re advocating based upon some recently completed research. Give it one. Just one of the Cow Start Complete boluses and freshening. It’s uniquely formulated with what I like to refer to as sea minerals from seaweed. There’s 74 macro and micro minerals, selenium, yeast, and a high level of vitamin E to provide some of the antioxidant support.

And what we saw in a recently completed study at two different farms, one farm had 48 cows that were randomly assigned to a control where there was no bolus giving at calving to the other treatment with one of the Cow Start complete. And then a second farm, where it was 200 cows. So 100 cows in each treatment.

And these were pretty productive herds. One was 27.5f for rolling herd average and the other was 28.5 five. First herd was 1500 cows. The second one was just over 5000. And so the dairies were doing a good job from a production standpoint, but their challenge was a high level of incident of metritis with these first lactation heifers, so what they saw in the course of this study was that, metritis was 10% for the control cows at farm A, but also got just one Cow Start Complete bolus there wasn’t any metrics. So from 10% to zero.

At the second farm went from 17% metritis for the control to only 6% for those who got one Cow Start Complete. So if we go back to our initial promise, highest genetic value animals at the dairy, less incidence of metritis, less cows starting down that negative cascade for problems in the first lactation and problem second, and so forth after that.

But as much as the dairy producer thinks they’re in the business of producing milk, I think they’re really in the business of getting cows pregnant and staying pregnant. And those cows who got the one Cow Start Complete bolus at calving, these first lactation animals, 53% of them were pregnant on the first service, as contrasted to 41% or 25% fewer for the controls.

And at the second farm, it was only 45% that were pregnant off the first service for control, as compared to those who got one Cow Start Complete bolus who were at 50%. And if my math is right, that’s about a ten percentage unit improvement. So again, these animals are subject to inflammation. They’ve never been exposed to these pathogenic bacteria in the uterus.

They got all of these other metabolic challenges going on. They’re under attack. And the mammary gland, all of the social stressors, it really comes down to what can we do to help resolve that inflammation. And I think here we’ve got a unique combination of the same minerals, 74 different macro and micro minerals, a high level of selenium, yeast and vitamin E to help that immune system resolve the inflammation so the cow can reallocate nutrients for profitable purposes: getting pregnant, staying pregnant, making milk and in the case of these first lactation heifers, continuing to grow.

But it all begins right there with that inflammation story right there in the uterus. So let’s help that wound repair itself, regenerate the tissue so the cow stays in the herd for a long time, lives up to her genetic potential, and makes the owner some money.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: I know you mentioned that with Cow Start Complete it was a single bolus. I was doing some googling earlier. It looks like it’s a two bolus dosage. So was it a single dosage or a single bolus? Just so I’m clear, cause I’m nosy.

Dr. Larry Roth: Right question. So if you go back to the website, the information you were looking at those two boluses work for multiple lactation cows. And I think if you look at it, that’s a very key point. Mult second and grader two, first lactation one. And so I may have been a little bit dramatic like that kindergartner in the school place and one Cow Start Complete bolus. But I think we want to drive that point home. Yeah we’re talking second and greater two. If it’s just that first lactation heifer one.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: I’m glad I asked for clarification because I would have left confused.

Dr. Larry Roth: I appreciate you saying that. Appreciate you saying that because we do want to bear it out, that it’s just one that is needed.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: Well, Larry, thank you so much for sharing your experience. Related to first lactation fresh cow management. I think we hit on some important points around feed access. Some of the supportive roles that things like Cow Start Complete could absolutely play, and trying to manage those animals and get them off to a better start. I do have a few questions for you. Unrelated, before we in the episode, are you ready?

Dr. Larry Roth: I’m ready. Fire away.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: Okay. What is your favorite dairy related book or resource?

Dr. Larry Roth: All right. You know, with this thing called the internet. I don’t know if we open up books so much anymore as we go online. And I think you look at some of the proceedings from, like the Cornell Nutrition conference. Being in Minnesota, I go to the four states. There’s also a tri-state that these proceedings are a tremendous resource.

So going back and looking up data, and again, how can you beat the Journal of Dairy Science? So let us go, Journal of Dairy Science, top of the list and then go to conference proceedings in second place.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: So the JDS and then S pack. So all those things you can get with our subscriptions. I love that.

Dr. Larry Roth: There you go.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: Outside of dairy. What’s your favorite book?

Dr. Larry Roth: Okay. Well, you know, when we start thinking about a manual for life, it’s hard to beat the Bible. Another book that I like to go to is, the book itself is called Gods and Generals. It was made into the movie Gettysburg. And, one time I gave a speech on 12 lessons from Gettysburg for the livestock industry.

And so there’s a lot of neat things. I think probably the primary lesson that comes from Gods and Generals is always take the high ground. And if we go through life that way, we’re always taking the high ground. We’re not taking the low road. We present ourselves from a high ethical standpoint. Life is going to be a whole lot easier.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: All right, final question. In your opinion, what sets successful dairy professionals apart from those that are less successful?

Dr. Larry Roth: What, what helps somebody to be successful? Not only the dairy industry, but in life in general, being willing to take advice from somebody else. If we start to think that we’ve got all of the answers, we probably don’t. So being willing to have that trusted cabinet of advisors, if you will, people around us who are smarter than us, let me tell you, it’s easy to be successful in life. Surround yourself with people who are wiser and smarter than you are, and it’s a breeze from there.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: It’s really, really good advice. Well, that’s going to conclude another episode of the Dairy Podcast Show presented by Wise Genetics. Doctor Roth, thank you again for sharing your time and experiences on the podcast. Really enjoyed talking to you and hearing your perspective.

Dr. Larry Roth: Thank you.

Dr. Liz Eckelkamp: And thank you to everyone, listening and tuning in today. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast to stay updated on future episodes.

And if you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave us a review. Your feedback is invaluable to us. Until next time, this is Dr. Liz Eckelkamp from the Dairy Podcast Show signing Off. Have a dairy great day.

The post 80: Dairy Podcast Show | First-Lactation Cows: Inflammation, Transition, and Future Performance appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

The small and large intestine linings are singular cell layers separating the digesta contents and the bloodstream. The epithelial cell layer is responsible for absorbing nutrients and keeping pathogens in the digestive tract and out of the body. The intestinal mucous layer is a chemical barrier protecting against pathogens. The physical barrier at the intestinal lining consists primarily of two parts: the digestive tract lining cells themselves and the tight junction proteins tightly holding the cells together.

Unfortunately, destruction of the individual digestive tract lining cells creates holes in the castle wall. Tight junctions may fail to renew themselves, thereby creating a gap between digestive tract lining cells. Either failure of the physical barrier leaves a way for mycotoxins, pathogens, and digesta to enter the bloodstream for distribution throughout the body.

During heat stress, high-producing dairy cows naturally reduce feed intake which reduces the heat load of digestion. Increasing the blood flow to the skin dissipates heat, which decreases blood flow to the digestive tract and reproductive system. Reducing water intake and decreasing blood flow to the digestive tract results in the shrinking of the cells lining the gut, thereby stretching the tight junctions attempting to connect the gut lining cells. Consequently, the physical barrier created by the linked tight junctions fails. The shrunken cells are also weaker and more susceptible to damage and cell death.

Mycotoxins, especially DON and T2/HT2, are specialists at disrupting the castle wall of the digestive tract. They are potent digestive tract cell killers and tight junction disruptors. Their main action is to turn off protein synthesis, stopping the renewal of tight junction proteins and leading to broken junctions between cells. Within the cell, shutting down protein synthesis quickly leads to cell death and a loss of the digestive tract cell, thus creating a hole in the castle wall.

The simultaneous occurrence of heat stress and mycotoxins creates a cascade of havoc for animals by decreasing feed intake, leaving fewer nutrients available for normal functions, and resolving the inflammation associated with digestive tract damage, which eventually results in fewer nutrients available for milk production and reproduction. During hot weather, this challenge may intensify because poorly and improperly stored feeds are at risk of mold growth, increasing the risk of mycotoxin production in storage.

DTX™ Concentrate is specifically designed to protect the digestive tract during stressful situations such as summer heat stress and mycotoxin contamination. Agrarian’s proprietary bacteria technology upregulates the natural defenses of the digestive tract cells, enabling the protection from damage. The plant phytogenics curcumin and naringin work together to support tight junction protein renewal for protecting the tight junctions from damage. The combination of microbial and phytogenic technologies protects cows from digestive tract disruption, thus reducing inflammation and the associated nutrient costs. Consequently, nutrients can be allocated to productive purposes making milk, getting, and staying pregnant.

Authors: Caroline Knoblock, MSc, – Director of Nutrition, Agrarian Solutions and Larry Roth, Ph.D., PAS – Vice President of Nutrition

The post Defending and Protecting Against Leaky Gut and Mycotoxins appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

Although inflammation is a normal part of the calving and healing process, it can be exacerbated by many different environmental factors. The mammary gland starts producing milk, opening the teat ends to potential pathogen exposure several times a day. The diet changes from a high-forage diet to a low-forage ration altering gut bacteria and pH. Heat stress or feed hygiene issues like mycotoxins can add additional stress to the gut. And importantly, but often overlooked, the uterus must heal itself from calving and defend against pathogen infiltration to prevent infection.

The immune system oversees all these events. The good news is the immune system is effective at protecting itself and resolving inflammation quickly, but it also has a high nutrient requirement. Research indicates that a cow’s dry matter intake can decrease 30% in the week before calving, consequently, the immune system may not have the needed nutrient resources to resolve inflammation quickly and prevent infection.

There are a few things we can do to support cows during this time: 1) support feed intake and 2) provide key micronutrients that she may not be eating. A combination of management and key product usage will help dairy cows calve successfully, resolve inflammation quickly, and become productive cows that increase intake quickly, make milk, and get and stay pregnant.

There is no such thing as a silver bullet product to provide the different types of support needed by transition cows, making a program approach necessary. This allows farms to adapt products to their situations and support their cows’ specific needs. Agrarian Solutions has two key transition cow products that support the cow during this period. BioFresh® Microbial Bolus and Cow Start™ Complete can work in tandem to support dairy cows to defend themselves from inflammation and help protect the farm’s profitability.

BIOFRESH Microbial Bolus can be utilized any time the dairy cow is experiencing low feed intake, which can be detected by cow activity and health monitoring systems. Producers have also had excellent results when using the Microbial Bolus at calving when cows need support to increase feed intake quickly. The bolus utilizes Agrarian’s proprietary bacteria technology to support the rumen and gut microbiome, as well as other important bacteria. This microbial combination encourages feed intake and improves rumen function.

Cow Start Complete is a transition cow supplement used at calving to support the newly calved cow’s essential micronutrients and antioxidants needs, including selenium, calcium, magnesium and vitamin E to support the immune system during this critical period when the cow is not eating enough of these nutrients. An important feature of Cow Start Complete is the slow release of nutrients during the first 48 hours after receiving the bolus at calving, enabling farms to only give the boluses once, hence the slogan: Done once, done right.

Utilizing a program approach can help farms improve cow health with a direct impact to improve milk production and fertility. Cows that calve in well and do not experience a health event are much more likely to become and stay pregnant on the first service.

Authors: Caroline Knoblock, MSc, – Director of Nutrition, Agrarian Solutions and Larry Roth, Ph.D., PAS – Vice President of Nutrition

The post Transition Cow Management: A Program Approach to Health, Milk Production, and Fertility appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

In this presentation, Dr. Larry Roth, Vice President of Nutrition at Agrarian Solutions, explores the biological and economic consequences of mycotoxin exposure in dairy cattle. Originally presented at the Wisenetix Dairy Feed Additive Summit, this discussion examines how mycotoxins influence nutrient allocation, reproductive performance, and herd efficiency, and what producers can do to mitigate their impact.

Key topics covered include:

• What mycotoxins are and how they develop in feedstuffs
• The most common mycotoxins affecting North American dairies, including DON, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, fumonisin, and aflatoxin
• Why multiple mycotoxins are increasingly common in modern dairy production
• How mycotoxins damage gut integrity and increase nutrient demands on the immune system
• The relationship between nutrient allocation, reproductive success, and herd profitability
• Research evaluating traditional mycotoxin binders and their limitations
• Independent field trial results demonstrating improved pregnancy rates with DTX™ technology
• Practical recommendations for mycotoxin testing and mitigation strategies

Dr. Roth also reviews results from a commercial dairy trial involving more than 900 cows, highlighting improvements in pregnancies per service for both artificial insemination and embryo transfer programs.

Watch on YouTube

Listen on your favorite podcast platform

The post Dairy Feed Additive Summit: How Much Are Mycotoxins Costing Your Dairy Operation? appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

What you’ll learn:
– Mycotoxin risk factors
– Gut integrity impact
– Testing strategies importance
– Multiple toxins interaction
– Nutrient reallocation effects

🎧 Listen now to set your herd up for lifelong success!

💬 Have thoughts or a story to share? Email podcast@agrsol.com.
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The post [Bonus Interview] The Dairy Podcast Show – Dr. Larry Roth: Mycotoxins and Dairy Gut Health appeared first on Agrarian Solutions.

In the episode, Dr. Roth explains how mycotoxins can impact dairy cow health, nutrient utilization, gut integrity, liver function, and overall herd performance. He also shares practical information on identifying risk factors, testing strategies, and emerging technologies such as IgY and probiotics that may help improve herd resilience when dealing with contaminated feeds.

The podcast offers valuable information for producers, nutritionists, and industry professionals looking to better understand the hidden performance costs associated with mycotoxin exposure.

Available on all major podcast platforms.

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In 2023, the researchers contacted dairy producers, calf raisers and haulers through digital advertisement, email, and extension agents to complete an online survey. Dairy producers (n = 69) were surveyed for colostrum management, health evaluations, and marketing channels, while those receiving calves (n = 29) responded to questions about calf condition at arrival, preweaning disease incidence, and preconditioning requirements. Calf haulers (n = 25) replied regarding travel distances, number of stops, and destinations.

Survey results indicated dairy replacement heifers were transported at older ages than beef-on-dairy calves, with dairy bull calves falling intermediate between the other two groups. More replacement heifers were vaccinated at the dairy than were calves entering the beef chain.

Respondents receiving calves reported substantial variability in preweaning morbidity and mortality rates. Calf raisers indicated they do not require source dairies to follow a preconditioning protocol when sending calves, and no source dairy had consistent fit-for-transport criteria. All respondents indicated the need for greater communication throughout the production chain and the need for best practice recommendations.

While both source dairies and calf raisers indicated a willingness to standardize practices to improve morbidity and mortality rates, the challenge lies in which party provides an incentive, financial or other otherwise. In addition, there is very little agreement on which practices should be implemented and followed by either party. Further research is needed to determine best practices for preconditioning protocols to improve calf health after transport and further into life.

These findings reinforce the importance of early-life management and their long-term impact on performance. At Agrarian Solutions, our calf philosophy is simple, “Whatever happens day one, week one, month one affects the calf the rest of its life.”

Building on that philosophy and in agreement with our Defend and Protect™ philosophy, Agrarian Solutions has developed the CONVERT™ family of calf products to bolster calf health and performance from birth past weaning and then utilizing other Agrarian products to continue from freshening to entering lactation. The CONVERT calf program focuses on strengthening gut integrity through the cell wall-deficient bacteria and probiotic expertise and IgY technology targeting specific digestive pathogens.

Reference: ¹Machuca et al. 2026. Preweaning calf transportation practices in the United States: A cross-sectional survey of dairies, haulers, and calf raisers. J. Dairy Sci. 109:4307-4322.

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Wild yeasts are commonly found in feeds over 30% moisture, especially those which have not experienced a complete and stable fermentation achieving a low pH. Each year as spring arrives, there seems to be a “bloom” of wild yeasts growing on unstable feeds or even on well-fermented feedstuffs exposed to oxygen for extended time periods. The wild yeasts consume the sugar in feeds to create heat and CO2. In doing so, they steal energy from the diet, and in some situations create heat for the browning reaction of combining glucose to amino acids to reduce protein availability.

A wild yeast-contaminated TMR lowers feed intake and impairs ruminal fermentation and bacterial amino acid production. It also increases starch flow to the hindgut, leading to energy loss, pathogen growth, and erratic manure. When this happens, cow activity systems often indicate reduced eating and rumination minutes.

Because some of these symptoms overlap with mycotoxin signs, it’s important to differentiate the cause. A quick evaluation of a handful of the TMR or individual feed ingredients can implicate wild yeasts. If wild yeasts are present, corn silage, high-moisture corn or TMR contaminated will heat-up above the ambient temperature and have an alcohol or yeasty smell after 3-4 hours of oxygen exposure.

Certainly, feeds suspected of being yeast-laden can be submitted to a laboratory; however, if the sample bag is not vacuum sealed, even a few yeasts will rapidly increase in number during transit to the lab. Our recommendation for a quick onsite, inexpensive confirmation of wild yeasts is the previously mentioned feel and smell evaluation.

There are a few options to mitigate the effects of wild yeasts. Excellent corn silage face management is the first line of defense. Keeping a flat, clean face on silage piles will reduce oxygen exposure and slow wild yeast growth in the pile. Feeding out about 6-12 inches from the silage face per day will slow oxygen exposure into the silage bunker or pile. Do not remove silage from piles more than a few hours before feeding to reduce heating. In addition, the organic acids benzoic, sorbic and acetic can be added to TMRs to reduce yeast growth and heating.

Beyond feed management, the cow will benefit from a live yeast supplement. Live yeast products support the rumen microbiome and may out-compete the wild yeasts in the rumen. Choose a product you are familiar with and trust.

DTX Concentrate has you covered from mycotoxin risk, but at this time of year, that’s only part of the story. If cows aren’t performing like they should, don’t stop at toxin control – evaluate feed stability. Defending and protecting cows from mycotoxin risk is the first important step to supporting cow health and protecting profitability.

Authors: Caroline Knoblock, MSc, – Director of Nutrition, Agrarian Solutions and Larry Roth, Ph.D., PAS – Vice President of Nutrition

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