Rebekah Mathews
Calf and Heifer Specialist
rebekahm@agpartners.net

Prebiotic and Probiotics: What Are They?

Last year, Land O’Lakes released an additive within their milk replacer.  If you feed their products ( Amplifier Max, Cow’s Match, Healthy Edge, and Pasteurized Milk Balancer), you may be aware about this change.  I received a few questions on how researched probiotics and prebiotics work, and Land O’Lakes has shared this short, two minute video:

While a great explanation, I will also add that they slightly understate the importance of a researched, calf-specific probiotic. There are a lot of these types of products being marketed to you, so let’s be sure A) you have a need for this, B) it is cost effective, and C) we are timing the usage appropriately.

For instance, if you are a dairy or raiser with good overall health, what is contained in your milk replacer is sufficient. If the maternity area has consistency challenges, or you struggle with scours or consistent performance, or feed whole milk, an additional probiotic strategy may be necessary. Let’s talk to figure out what fits your operation.