Lead or follow? Resist change or embrace it? At sermo.farm we're fortunate to work with great companies who are choosing to take charge.
Case in point is Country Junction Feeds, which has been among the leaders in transitioning as changes to the livestock industry landscape usher a new generation of ionophore-free and antibiotics-free feed mills in Canada and the U.S.
"The industry keeps evolving and moving forward to address shifting consumer demands and take advantage of new options that better align with what the marketplace wants," says Dr. Nancy Fischer, a nutritionist with Country Junction Feeds.
"Feed mills are part of that evolution," says Fischer. "It’s not just about addressing what consumers and the marketplace are demanding. It’s also about helping farmers, ranchers and livestock operations manage efficiently and profitably in this new environment."
Livestock operations increasingly need to know exactly how, and in what environment, their feed is produced, she says. This includes knowing definitively what’s in the feed or not in the feed, so they can give simple and clear answers to their customers and others who are asking for assurance.
"In the case of our feed mills, we want it to be as simple as possible for our customers to have peace of mind in what they are getting, so they can avoid any issues meeting expectations and providing clear answers to questions," says Fischer.
"When they deal with Country Junction Feeds, either for production, performance, or working animals, our customers know the feed is from a mill that is ionophore-free and antibiotics-free. They also know that the feed and dietary strategies we provide are science-based and state of the art."
For Country Junction Feeds, part of providing transparent answers also means communicating clear information on the role of antimicrobials in the industry and not adding to the misinformation and piling on of negative messages.
"Antimicrobials have a role in the industry when they are needed to address specific health issues," says Fischer. "No one wants to compromise animal health or animal welfare. But as a feed mill and from a feed perspective, we don’t need to add antimicrobials to feed for production or productivity purposes."
Learn more at www.countryjunctionfeeds.com.