Alta and SCCL Help Canadian Farmers Improve Disease Management Practices

Two long-time suppliers to the Canadian cattle industry are teaming up to help farmers improve their on-farm disease management practices.

Alta Genetics Inc. (“Alta”) of Calgary, Alberta has signed a three-year Distribution Agreement with the Saskatoon Colostrum Company Ltd. (“SCCL”) of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to distribute SCCL’s premium colostrum product sold under the tradename “HEADSTART®”.

HEADSTART® is a heat-treated and spray-dried bovine colostrum powder used to supplement or totally replace maternal colostrum in newborn calves. Alta has acquired the exclusive rights (with a few exceptions) to market HEADSTART® in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. In addition, Alta has obtained the non-exclusive rights to market HEADSTART® in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Alta sales representatives will be trained and certified to educate Canadian farms on the importance of colostrum quality as it pertains to disease management and calf health.

HEADSTART® is a CFIA-approved product that helps dairy and beef farmers: a) break the transmission cycle of dangerous diseases from mother to calf, including Johne’s, Bovine Leukosis, Salmonella, and Leptospira; b) reduce economic losses from common calf diseases such as scours and pneumonia; and c) improve long term performance and profitability of replacements or calves sold off farm (e.g. veal calves). SCCL has been the colostrum supplier of choice for Alta’s high profile Nucleus Herd, managed by the Coopon Flora farm in Elmira, Ontario for the past three years.

Improving colostrum quality is an important issue in Canadian herds. Approximately 30% of calves suffer from Failure of Passive Transfer, a condition resulting from the lack of sufficient antibodies and nutrients being passed in colostrum from mother to calf after birth. Secondly, the increasing prevalence of Johne’s and other diseases transmitted via unscreened colostrum may cause farms to rethink their current practice of freezing maternal colostrum for feeding to calves.

SCCL has generated persuasive research to demonstrate that HEADSTART® is North America’s most efficacious colostrum supplement/replacer with the highest level of immunoglobulin (“IgG”) concentration. In addition, SCCL has a superior quality assurance program and a proprietary processing method that kills bacteria, yet preserves immune factors, nutrients and growth factors. SCCL’s colostrum is gathered soon after calving from healthy dairy cows on a select group of dairy farms in Western Canada.

For more information, please contact:

Stace Wills
Director of Business Development
Alta Genetics Inc.
Ph: 403-226-0666
Email: swills@altagenetics.com

Stephen D. Acres
President & CEO
The Saskatoon Colostrum Company Ltd.
Ph: 1-866-242-3185
Email: acres@colostrum.sk.ca

Posted Feb 23th

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