Expert’s view: Jeff Durkin about live yeast sub-models

Jeff Durkin, Owner of Cornerstone Nutrition, Inc. East Aurora, New York, United States

“The LEVUCELL SC sub-model confirms the production responses that nutritionists have come to know and see.”

Please explain your background and current role.

“I have a dairy nutrition background and worked at a commercial feed company for 16 years, prior to starting my own business, Cornerstone Nutrition, Inc. At Cornerstone, we bring northeastern US dairy consultants top feed additive technologies to include in dairy rations that help drive herd performance and improve production efficiencies.”

How long have you worked with Lallemand Animal Nutrition?

“Cornerstone Nutrition was started in 2004 and since the first day I have had a relationship with Lallemand.  It started with meeting Laurent Dussert who connected me to the local team at the time, I was drawn to the world-class science company and level of product documentation that was available. I have primarily focused on distributing and building the LEVUCELL SC business for 15 years in the Northeastern United States. I continue to be impressed by the level of knowledge about how LEVUCELL SC works and research that backs up the benefits in improving herd performance.”

Tell us a bit about your role in the US dairy nutrition industry and the route to market for Lallemand products.

“As the US dairy industry has evolved, I have chosen partners like Lallemand to bring unique, science-driven proven products to my customer base. “Rumen Modifiers” such as LEVUCELL SC that focus on common farm level challenges such as improving forage fiber utilization and maintaining a healthy rumen are key aspects of cow health and profitability.”

What do you like most about your partnership with Lallemand Animal Nutrition?

“With my background in dairy nutrition and ration modeling, I was drawn to the depth of research and understanding Lallemand has regarding the mode of action of LEVUCELL SC. Especially within the yeast category, the level of investment and quality of research and documentation that Lallemand brings to the table is impressive and meaningful.”

What value do you find with promoting the Lallemand – LEVUCELL SC sub-model?

“I got very excited about this investment and frankly, it speaks to the validity of the data and repeatability of results when using LEVUCELL SC. For Nutritional Dynamic Systems (NDS), a third-party company, to incorporate the positive responses when using LEVUCELL SC into the dairy ration balancing software says a lot about the integrity of the LEVUCELL SC research bibliography. Typically feed additives are fed “over and above” the ration, without the software accounting for the production benefit. The NDS ration software now can account for the 2 to 3 pound increase in metabolizable energy and metabolizable protein allowable milk yield we get from feeding LEVUCELL SC, and modeling that effect has significant benefits.”

How long have you been promoting the Lallemand sub-model with clients?

“I have been promoting the LEVUCELL SC sub-model with dairy nutritionists and consultants that use the NDS ration balancing software since the release. The LEVUCELL SC sub-model confirms the production responses that nutritionist have come to know and see.”

What other Lallemand tools and or support do you find most valuable to your business and clients?

“Lallemand continues to bring value to dairy producers and nutritionists through great technical service team members and on-farm support programs. Lallemand support tools and services showcase the expertise and importance that high-quality forage can bring to the dairy operation. This platform is another tool for dairy operations to find cost-savings and/or general improvements to cow or feed management that can ultimately push for higher efficiency. Farm teams also really appreciate the teaching moments that Lallemand can share and the ability to enhance the people or knowledge of a system-wide approach.  Lallemand has a great team that can help foster better employee teamwork to again, drive operational efficiency and profitability.”