Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

Basic and applied research by several scientists has led to the development of a new feed ingredient for cows in transition.

Ener GIª (Energy One) Transition Formula contains two specific fatty acids shown to help cows during the critical time period of three weeks before calving to three weeks after calving. The two nutrients are monoenoic trans and linoleic fatty acids.

On Feb. 1, the new product was released by Virtus Nutrition, a global leader in rumen protected dairy feed ingredients and information.

Virtus Nutrition, headquartered in Fairlawn, Ohio, has a great deal of research backing Ener GI, which is designed to reduce the metabolic diseases of cows in transition.

According to Scott Sorrell, Virtus Nutrition director of marketing, many scientists contributed to the development of this product.

Beverly Teter, a scientist with the University of Maryland Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, completed work on the relationship of fatty acids and metabolic diseases in rats. She obtained a patent on the role of one of the two fatty acids used in Ener GI.

The fatty acid she studied - monoenoic transfat - lowers the milk fat cows produce in transition, thus lowering the amount of energy cows need to produce milk after freshening.

Virtus licensed that information from the University of Maryland, said Sorrell. The dairy product technology leader also used research on the role of linoleic fatty acid from the University of Florida. The work there was completed by Charles Staples, nutritionist, and William Thatcher, a reproductive physiologist.

Linoleic fatty acid is used as a pre-curser to prostaglandin production, and that helps the cow get rebred and stay bred, said Sorrell.

"This product has a lot of research behind it, it's been very thoroughly studied," said Sorrell. "We didn't start out to create a product, but the research to understand these two fatty acids started 10 to 15 years ago, and has finally culminated in the commercialized product."

Ener GI is manufactured and shipped out of a factory in Corcoran, Calif.

Using vegetable sources, Virtus obtains linoleic fatty acid through a distillation process. They also take the product, further process it, and hydrogenate a specific trans-isomer to obtain the monoenoic transfat.

The product is fairly expensive, said Greg Zuver, a nutritionist with Caledonia Farmers Elevator, Caledonia, Mich., but his dairy customers have been willing to try Ener GI. The product has been available to Zuver since last September.

The elevator blends Ener GI into a protein supplement that is sold to dairy farmers.

"We've been using it in the pre-fresh ration and then the fresh cow ration to help with ketosis," said Zuver. "It seems to be working pretty good. It's hard to compare because we haven't conducted any scientific farm trials. We've just made observations, and we seem to be reducing our ketosis."

Zuver is hoping that Ener GI will keep his customers' cows from getting fatty livers and other related metabolic diseases.

"Just like anything on the dairy, it's hard to determine what is making the difference in ketosis levels, but the science behind Ener GI makes sense," said Zuver.

Studies from Virtus suggest that the disappearance of uterine fluid was reduced in cows fed Ener GI versus those fed an isocaloric/lipid control diet. Cows fed Ener GI during the transition period had a greater proportion of embryos classified as high quality, compared to cows fed a control diet.

The pregnancy rate after first postpartum AI was also higher for cows fed the Ener GI than the isocaloric/lipid control diet at 41 days after AI.

Ener GI Transition Formula is fed to transition cows beginning 21 days prepartum to 21 days postpartum beginning at a rate of one-fourth pound per head per day. It is boosted to almost half a pound per head per day following freshening.

Although Virtus has already developed several rumen protected fat products for dairy cattle, Sorrell thinks Ener GI has unlimited potential.

"Frankly, I think we're just on the forefront of understanding what other specific fatty acids can do," said Sorrell. "These are very powerful metabolic regulators in our systems."