Ready to “Double-Down”?

By: Dr. John Doerr, Ph.D, PAS, Dpl. ACAP, Vice President, Science and Technology

Here’s a simple math problem.  One dose of some unnamed binder (for which you pay 6.5 ¢/head/day) will tie up 300 ppb of DON.  Your test shows you have 900 ppb DON in your TMR.  How many doses will you need to prevent all DON problems?  Right!  You need three doses at 19.5¢/head/day.  That problem is easy to solve since the dynamics of chemical interactions are relatively predictable and linear.  As you increase the toxin level you must increase the binder level in a commensurate fashion.  But what about using Select DTX™?

First of all, that single dose will easily handle your 900 ppb DON challenge, but that’s really not the point of this article.  Instead, I’d like to point out that DTX and other L-form bacterial products are biological, not chemical, in their actions.  If you plot an activity curve, it is more likely to be sigmoid (S-shaped).  That means that you can hit an upper limit!  You might have a mixed toxin challenge that is greater than that single dose of DTX can handle.  Then you have two options.  Often, the issue is both the concentration and the mix of toxins, and just as often doubling the DTX dose for a short while until the cow is stabilized again is the solution.  But sometimes, the limit is reached because the challenge is a good deal more than just mycotoxins.  

Specific attacks by opportunistic pathogens (e.g. Salmonella or E. coli) may be at work.  Other stressors (heat?!!) may be taking a toll on the general health of the cow and impacting her immune system (beyond what those mycotoxins are doing).  So, the second option may be to switch to a more universal product...Select BioCycle Plus™!  This contains not only the mycotoxin L-Form but also two others that work to combat Gram negative bacteria and improve immune functioning.  That covers a whole host of challenges facing any herd!

If you’re thinking you’re not quite addressing all the issues, now is a great time to consider using BioCycle Plus.  Your Select Sires representative will be offering you a nice promotional price beginning September 1st.  Get in touch.  Let’s keep your cows at top performance.