It can be said that a new ‘must-go event’ has been born in South America. The first edition of the Olmix’s American Seminar on Animal Health and Nutrition exceeded all the expectations and raised itself as an unmissable chance to get up-to-date with the latest developments in animal production.
Held in Minas Gerais, Brazil, from the 28th to the 30th August, the Olmix Team warmly welcomed hundreds of livestock professionals from all over South-America at the Vale Suiço Resort, where scientific conferences, technical workshops and other social activities took place through these days.
Olmix’s symposium Thanks to Algae!
On the very first day, the plenary session gathered renowned experts from different countries on stage, who delivered dynamic scientific presentations that enriched the audience with knowledge on diverse topics concerning animal production.
As it could not be otherwise, first, Mr. Hervé Balusson, Olmix Group’s CEO & Founder opened the event and shed some light on the Olmix Group situation and perspective for Brazil and South America:
“It is important for the world to produce things in a different way, always doing more with less. In this context, Brazil is one of the main players of the sector. Therefore, Olmix Group has planned long-term investments for the country”, Mr. Balusson said.
The opening ceremony was also led by Mr. Murilo Piva, Olmix’s Area Manager in South America, who emphasized the importance of Brazil and South America for agricultural production. Mr. Piva cited the OECD study which indicates that the world must increase its food supply by 20% for the next ten years and that for this to become a reality, Brazil must increase its food supply by 40%. In this context, Olmix products help in the increase of agricultural productivity.
Mr. Hervé Balusson opened the event.
Mr. Murilo Piva emphasized the importance of Brazil and South America for agricultural production.
Right after, guests had the chance to get to know more about the Olmix Group’s core business: Algae! Ms. Pi Nyvall, Olmix Group’s R&D Manager, went on stage to deliver a presentation entitled ‘Algae universe and its unique molecules’, where she showed how and why seaweed are a rich source of molecules with health promoting effects and how Olmix Group’s innovative technologies allow their extraction:
“Marine algae are always put all in the same category, but do you know that on the evolution tree there is as much difference between red and green algae than between molds and pigs? So, it is easy to understand the potential of marine Algae to produce so different molecules. Tides and marine specific environments influencing even more specific metabolism. The challenge is then to develop technologies to extract these powerful molecules!”, she explained.
It was then time to highlight burning subjects influencing modern animal productivity: immunity and gut health!
Dr. Luis Felipe Carón, from the Federal University of Paraná (Brazil), focused his conference talk on the balance point to ensure immunity management with the best cost-benefit. According to him, the challenge in the future is clear: “We should develop and train animal’s immune system in order to keep a good health status. It can be said that we are what we eat and that goes for animals as well. What is the biggest immune organ? It is the intestine by far!”.
Ms. Pi Nyvall: 'Algae universe and its unique molecules'.
But Dr. Carón was not the only one to emphasize to the audience the importance to keep the animal’s health on the farm. Mr. Vinicius Cantarelli, from the University of Lavras (Brazil), agreed with his professional fellow by highlighting that the performance of animals clearly depends on factors such as a good gut health, among others:
“The pathway between gut health and animal development could seem simple, but it is not! Companies, institutes, consultants... they all must work together to make technology able to improve gut health according to each environment condition for the best ROI”, he mentioned.
Dr. Luis Felipe Carón: 'Cost of immunity and its consequences on performance'.
Mr. Vinicius Cantarelli: 'The importance of intestinal health on animal’s development'.
The plenary session went on and it was the turn for Mr. Hervé Demais, Nutritionist and Scientific Advisor from Biovet Conseil (France) to deliver his scientific presentation. Mr. Demais took the opportunity to raise again the topic of algae as a vital factor in animal husbandry. Indeed, he presented research data proving that specific seaweed extracts positively interact with immunity and gut health in animal production:
“Algal sulfated polysaccharides exert numerous biological activities due to their phylogenetic similarities with polysaccharides from human kingdom. They can for example play a pivotal role in immunity and gut health. Recent studies made in collaboration with public institutes have demonstrated the ability of sulfated polysaccharides (MSP®IMMUNITY & MSP®MUCIN from Olmix) to stimulate different mediators of the intestinal immune response via TLR4 pathway and to increase the signaling for the production of mucin that protects the gut. These natural solutions represent innovative potential alternative to classical chemical therapies!”, he explained.
Mr. Hervé Demais: 'How can specific seaweed extracts interact with immunity and gut health in animal production'
Mycotoxin risk and efficient milk production
After that, it was only natural that the worldwide common issue of mycotoxins in animal production was raised up. Mr. Eduardo Micotti da Glória, from the University of São Paulo, challenged participants with a rhetorical question: “Are we evaluating correctly mycotoxin exposure levels?”.
Mr. Micotti explained that “combination of mycotoxines is proven to be different in every region. Due to the climate change, the profiles by region could change drastically in the next years”, before basing his speech on recent studies on the matter:
“Recent publications have proven that, when contamination by mycotoxins is coupled with different pathogens challenge (like e coli, clostridium perfringens...), the damaging effect can be really important even when contamination by mycotoxins is not so high. Sometimes you may not believe that mycotoxins are responsible for such a huge impact but you must understand that you cannot consider them alone! They are one more challenge that can occur within the environment or pathogens challenge; all this together can be very dangerous”, he explained.
Last, but not least, Mr. Roberto Vega (Mexico), who is a reference in ruminant nutrition, addressed in a practical way the effects of technology on dairy cattle reproduction in order to make milk production more profitable.
Mr. Eduardo Micotti da Glória: 'Mycotoxins: field prevalence and effects on animal production'
Mr. Juan Roberto Vega: 'Reliable strategies in feed and nutrition for dairy cows'
Afternoon workshops and Special dinner
To continue with the first technical day, participants were able to choose between several workshops, each of them focused on a specific area: ‘Poultry and pig’, ‘Dairy’ and ‘Aqua’.
For ‘Poultry and pig’, Mr. Edgar Chi Moreno, Nutritionist and Area Manager for Olmix Mexico, talked about ‘Feed granulometry for layers: a key factor to ensure efficient result in mycotoxin risk management’, whilst Ms. María Ángeles Rodríguez, Olmix’s Technical Service Manager, focused her speech on ‘Exfoliated algo-clay: innovative technology to improve feed digestibility’.
Mr. Edgar Chi Moreno: 'Feed granulometry for layers: a key factor to ensure efficient result in mycotoxin risk management'
Ms. María Ángeles Rodríguez: 'Exfoliated algo-clay: innovative technology to improve feed digestibility'
The ‘Dairy’ workshop included two presentations. The first one, ‘Transition period: changes in the feed consumption and metabolism’, was delivered by Mr. Dimas Estrasulas de Oliveria, a professor from the Santa Catarina State University (Brazil). The second one was entitled ‘Olmix algae extract MSP®LIPIDS to answer dairy metabolic troubles’ and was delivered by Mr. Matthieu Le Goff, Olmix 'FOR VET' Range Manager (France).
Mr. Dimas Estrasulas de Oliveira: 'Transition period: changes in the feed consumption and metabolism'
Mr. Matthieu Le Goff: 'Olmix algae extract MSPLipids: Anti-hyperlipidemic activities to answer metabolic troubles'
On the other hand, the ‘Aqua’ workshop consisted of the following presentations: Algae based natural solutions for current aquaculture challenges (Mr. Maarten Jay Van Schoonhoven, Olmix Aqua Care Manager [Netherlands]) and ‘Olmix algae extract MSP®IMMUNITY: immunomodulation activities to improve health parameters and survival rates’ (Ms. Danièle Marzin, Olmix Group Marketing Director).
Mr. Maarten Jay Van Schoonhoven: 'Algae based natural solutions for current aquaculture challenges'
Ms. Danièle Marzin: 'Olmix algae extract MSPImmunity: immunomodulation activities to improve survival rates'
Later on, after a very intense day, the Olmix Team organized a Special Dinner, where everyone made the most of a friendly and great atmosphere. The dinner took place at 7:00 pm and was a really good opportunity to exchange knowledge about the conferences from the day and to relax while enjoying the Brazilian music and some Carnaval shows on stage.
Olmix receives the Curuca Sustainability Award at SIAVS 2017
After getting to know the surroundings of the magnificent area of São Paulo and Minas Gerais and having a good rest on Tuesday, 29th August, the Olmix Team, along with the participants of the symposium, attended the SIAVS 2017 International Poultry and Pork Show on Wednesday the 30th. The Olmix Team welcomed hundreds of professionals at the Booth 84 (Street 4, Avenue B), where they presented the Olmix’s algae-based natural solutions for animal production.
But not only that. As an icing on the cake, at 4:00 pm Olmix received the ‘Curuca Sustainability Award’, promoted by feed&food magazine, at the Palácio de Convenções Celso Furtado.
“'We are a young company with an innovative and sustainable technology! We are going in the right direction”, Mr. Hervé Balusson said as he took the price on stage from the hands of Professor Tejon.
Mr. Hervé Balusson receiving the Curuca Sustainability Award at SIAVS 2017
We are looking forward to welcoming you at the next Olmix American Seminar!
>>> MORE PICTURES<<<
