By Steve Weisman

America’s consumers are becoming more and more in tune with what they eat, where their food comes from and how it is grown. At the same time, America’s farmers and ranchers are raising the bar in the agriculture production systems by providing greater quality and safer products. 
At the forefront of this agricultural change is Phileo Lesaffre Animal Care (www.phileo-lesaffre.com), the animal health and nutrition business unit of Lesaffre, a family-owned business founded in northern France in 1853. Lesaffre is a global expert in the field of yeast and yeast extracts. The company is present in more than 180 countries with 56 production sites across the five continents.
Lesaffre’s mission is “Working together to better feed and protect the planet”. Backed by an experienced and  global staff of more than 130 people, Phileo is viewed as a leader in livestock  nutrition and health.
Phileo is built on a philosophy that “Nothing is more precious than life.”
What does this mean for America’s farmers and ranchers? Phileo is working at the crossroads of nutrition and health and committed to delivering evidence-based solutions that enhance animal health and performance.
According to Phileo General Manager, Dr. Frederique Clusel, in each and every country, the team’s progress is led by the most advanced scientific outcomes as well as the field input of experienced farmers. “Finding new solutions to meet the needs of future generations is a challenge that Phileo Lesaffre Animal Care embraces – we strive to enhance the lives of animals in order to better enhance the lives of people.”
With its U. S. headquarters in Milwaukee, WI and plants in Cedar Rapids, IA and Dothan, AL. Phileo is committed to help provide America’s producers with evidence-based solutions that enhance animal health and performance.  Research has demonstrated:
• Improvements in digestibility and bioavailability, for better feed efficacy and performance
• Cost-effective nutritional alternatives, providing substitutes for unsustainable or limited feed sources
• Control of the risk associated with bacterial toxins and mycotoxins through binding and detoxification
• Enhancement of immune response and digestive health in preventive management
• Reduction of pathogen pressure to help limit the risk of antibiotic resistance
• Optimization of physiological mechanisms against stress, to support animal welfare

What research shows
Phileo provides nutritional innovative solutions based on live yeasts, yeast fractions (components, extracts, etc.) and selenium-enriched yeasts. These products improve output while bolstering different species’ resistance to specific illnesses, helping to reduce the use of antibiotics, and more. These solutions are widely supported by large quantities of significant scientific research, commercial, quality testing and accreditation (such as for FAMI-QS, GMP+ B3 and other certifications).
At the same time, the industrial group continues to support innovation in animal nutrition, so as to further develop the efficiency of live yeasts. For example, cutting-edge research is conducted at model experimental farms, like the work being undertaken at a Wisconsin, US, dairy farm with 650 heads of high-yielding Holstein cows and with beef cattle at the USDA Agricultural Research Center in Lubbock, TX.
Years of study by the research and development team of engineers, nutritionists and veterinarians have proven that feeding animals a yeast supplement enhances many facets of animal’s performance.  In ruminants, feeding live yeasts research has shown the following:
• Stimulates the rumen’s metabolism;
• Improves the digestibility and absorption of feed;
• Reduces the risk of acidosis;
• Increases animal productivity (more milk, more persistent lactation, better growth, etc.)

Results of two recent projects
Dr. Jeff Carroll, Research Leader, USDA Agricultural Research Service, in Lubbock, TX has conducted several studies with beef cattle using  Actisaf®, live yeast concentrate. Two such studies were conducted in the spring of 2015 and 2016.
Carroll noted, “In both studies we took beef heifers being fed the product in commercial feedlots. In the first study, we had 111 cattle being fed in a feedlot of which 32 were chosen for a heat stress study. In the second study, we had 1120 cattle being fed in a feedlot of which 32 were chosen for a respiratory disease study. During both studies, we took the 32 head of selected cattle and moved them to our research facility in Lubbock.”
Project #1: In this project, Carroll set up a controlled four-day heat stress for two groups of cattle (16 in each group). The first group was given a live yeast (Actisaf®) and yeast fraction (Safmannan®) supplement, while the second group received no supplement for 50 days while in the feedlot. During that four-day period, the group of heifers receiving the yeast additive showed a decrease in body temperature, their water intake was greater than the second group and their respiratory rate was lower.
From this study, Carroll explains, “Providing the Phileo yeast products prior to the heat stress gave those heifers the ability to handle the stress much better than the group that received no supplement.”
Project #2: In the second project, Carroll induced a controlled respiratory disease for two groups of cattle (16 in each group).  Again, the first group was given a live yeast (Actisaf®) and yeast fraction (Safmannan®) supplement, while the second group received no supplement for 30 days while in the feedlot. During the course of the disease challenge, the first group reacted much better under the conditions with numerically lower body temperature, increased water intake and a tendency for a reduction in nasal lesions.
From this study, Carroll again found the group receiving the supplement handled the respiratory disease better.
From these two studies, Carroll notes, “Based on the data, it suggests that adding live yeast with yeast fractions can limit the severity of reactions that can be caused during heat stress events and bovine respiratory disease.”

Yeast Propagation 
Dr. Joe Ward, who is North American Product Manager, has been in the animal research and health business for 30 years. He says the research and development team has spent years working to develop literally thousands of strains of yeast. “Our researchers and production teams grow live yeast tailored with a specific product use in mind. We grow live yeast, safely … without using any drugs or harmful additives. The end result is that animals are healthy, perform well and everything we produce is ecologically safe for the environment and is safe for humans.”
Everyday, more than one billion people around the world consume food made with Lesaffre products. Ward adds, “Phileo Lesaffre Animal Care is investigating and developing innovative nutritional solutions coming from biotechnology to meet the emerging needs of our customers. They contribute to improving the economic performance of livestock while promoting animal health and well-being.”
For cattle producers, four yeast products provide innovative solutions for a perfect integration into animal feed:
• Actisaf®, is a live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae concentrate compatible with liquid and soli feeding produced in microspherical form and in appropriate dose can be fed to calves, heifers and beef cattle (growing and finishing). It lowers ruminal acidosis, while increasing average daily gain, feed efficiency and fiber digestibility.
• Procreatin 7® is a highly concentrated vermicelli form of proprietary Saccharomyces cerevisiae live yeast adapted for use in non-pelleted feed. Designed for rearing calves, beef cattle and dairy cattle.
• Safmannan®, is a premium yeast fraction rich in mannan-oligosaccharides and B-glucans (1,3 and 1,6). Safmannan® is obtained by autolysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae proprietary yeast strains. Batch-to-batch consistency and high concentration in active ingredients allow Safmannan®, to achieve repeatable excellent performance.
• Selsaf® 3000, is a natural source of highly bioavailable organic selenium and is obtained from a proprietary yeast strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, specially cultivated on medium enriched with sodium selenite which is bio-transformed into organic form by yeast cells.

The bottom line

Phileo Lesaffre Animal Care’s employees are working at the crossroads of nutrition and health. According to Dr. Ward, cattle producers wanting to learn more about the products can go to their local feed supplier and ask for Phileo Lesaffre Animal 

Care products by name.