Juliano Sabella, Marketing Director in the Ruminants Area in DSM/Tortuga.
Mineral supplementation provides the correction of deficiencies and imbalances in the diet of cattle. With these deficiencies remedied, there is better development of the animal and higher productivity, generating a better cost-benefit ratio to the breeder.
AgriBrasilis interviewed Juliano Sabella, Marketing Director in the Ruminants Area in DSM-Tortuga, a zootechnician with a degree from Viçosa Federal University and a Master’s degree in marketing from ESPM.
Juliano Sabella, Marketing Director in the Ruminants Area in DSM-Tortuga
AgriBrasilis – What is the importance of mineral nutrition in bovine cattle’s feeding?
Juliano Sabella – Mineral Nutrition is one of the key points for the success of the livestock production, in both beef cattle and milk, the same way it occurs with other attention points such as animal genetics, management and health. Relating to minerals, as the Tortuga one’s, it’s a product that contributes to better productivity as the animals start to receive all the needed nutrients, with benefits comprising better reproductive rates, greater development, weight gain and health. With the improvement of zootechnical indexes, breeders also achieve better profitability rates, a factor that motivates them to invest in animal nutrition technologies, which bring an excellent cost-benefit ratio.
In addition to minerals, there is also a series of other technologies that help improve the ruminant’s performance, for example, the new ingredients that help these animals to absorb better the nutrients from feed and pasture.
AgriBrasilis –What is the demand per animal? And what percentage of herds are treated properly currently?
Juliano Sabella – The mineral demand per animal is small, a calf for example consumes 80 to 100 grams of supplementation per day. It is a very small amount when compared to the increased productivity and profitability that it brings.
There is room for Brazil to grown in the offer of cattle herd nutrition solutions. Despite notable advances, there is a lot to improve in farm indicators, and breeders that understand the need of coordinating nutrition, management and use of technology capture a lot of value and have better results.
In Brazil, we estimate that 50% of beef cattle aren’t feed with mineral supplementation, that is an extremely high volume when we consider that with little investment it is possible to greatly improve our productivity, reaching twice the production occupying the same space that the activity does today, without the need for livestock to move to another areas.
AgriBrasilis – Do beef cattle and milk cattle need the same mineral supplementation?
Juliano Sabella – All of them need minerals, but due to the difference in objectives and races used, the needs are not the same in the level of each element. All animals need mineral supplementation daily regardless of the system being extensive or intensive, and productivity benefits are seen in all these variations.
AgriBrasilis – How big is this Market and what are the trends in the next years?
Juliano Sabella – The market is very large, as we have the largest commercial bovine herd and as I said before, we estimate that only 50% of the more than 200 million of animal in Brazil aren’t feed with minerals, or receive a smaller dose than the needed one.
In the years to come, we see a fast pace in the evolution of livestock production, for both beef cattle and milk cattle. The farmers are paying more attention to the benefits of providing proper nutrition to achieve better results and therefore are investing in nutrition technology. DSM as a leader in the sector within Brazilian market, contributes to this evolution developing new technologies and spreading knowledge through it’s communication channels, on TV, our magazine, in events like symposiums and field days, that have been part of our daily routine for the last 65 years, working side by side with farmers.
AgriBrasilis – What are DSM-Tortuga plans in this Market?
Juliano Sabella – Tortuga is a DSM’s brand of nutritional supplements for cattle . Concerning livestock, our plans are to keep investing in innovation to help improve zootechnical indexes and farmers’ profitability. That all aligned with sustainability demands, which guide our acts and development of all marketed products, once they allow farmers to produce more in the same area, preserving natural resources.