A new feed supplement product from sustainable biofuel production that provides environmental benefit, enhances animal welfare, and boosts animal productivity.

Knewe®-Mg has a prebiotic effect in the rumen of cows, sheep, deer and other grazing animals, helping the rumen flora process forage more effectively so that a good deal more protein can be recovered for use by those flora.

Therefore, crude protein intake can be reduced while still maintaining microbial protein production. This leads to a significant reduction in urea excretion, and also leads to a substantial decrease in the amount of nitrogen passed to the hindgut and excreted in faeces (and reduction in faecal odour).

Knewe®-Mg also has significant welfare benefits through providing efficient magnesium and calcium nutrition and supporting immune function.

The economic benefits of Knewe®-Mg for dairying

~20% better feed utilisation leads to significant productivity gains (a gain of 1.3 MJ/kg of Metabolisable Energy). This may manifest in various ways, including:

• Increase in milk solids.
• Improved liveweight gain.
• Improved feed protein utilisation.
• Reduced replacement costs from fewer carryover cows, and fewer animals lost to milk fever, mastitis, calving issues.
• Reduced health maintenance costs.

The economic benefits of Knewe®-Mg are considerable, but will vary from farm to farm. Knewe® has a proprietary calculator tool to help estimate benefits using farm-specific inputs.

The welfare benefits of Knewe®-Mg for dairying

• Efficient mineral nutrition:
  • Improved animal disposition: less aggression and fewer injuries
• Fewer milk fever cases, and easier calving
  • Better condition recovery after calving
• More rapid commencement of lactation
  • Earlier resumption of oestrus and conditioning of the endometrium for implantation.

The environmental benefits of Knewe-Mg® for dairying

• Lessened impact on the environment, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions
  • Nitrogen loss to the environment down 30%
• Reduced methane output
  • Reduced animal waste per kg of milk solids produced
• Assists with Farm Environment Plan compliance.

Knewe®-Mg is easily intergrated into an existing feeding programme.

Knewe®-Mg is fed in pelleted form. Knewe®-Mg can be integrated with, and will enhance, any other nutrition formulation. Knewe®-Mg will comprise ~2% of of a dairy cow’s diet.

Knewe®-Mg’s ability to enhance protein utilisation means the amount of protein in the formulation can and should be reduced. In a conventional dairy diet, Knewe®-Mg enables the recovery of at least 50g more nitrogen per day, meaning it is possible to reduce daily crude protein intake by at least 300g. A proportion of the forage in the diet can be replaced by low-nitrogen supplements such as cereal straw and molasses.

Monitoring metabolism of excess protein for energy through milk urea concentration (either on an animal-by-animal basis, or at bulk milk level) can confirm the potential crude protein reduction.

Some of the benefits of Knewe®-Mg may not become apparent until the product has been used for ~8 weeks or more.

Economic benefits

• Better feed utilization: productivity gains. Outcomes may include:
• Up to 30% faster weight gain
• Reduced finishing time by up to 25%
• Increased meat yield by up to 5%
• Improved meat quality (1 to 2 Wagyu score points).

Welfare benefits

• Better maintenance of body condition throughout growth and development
• Less aggression, fewer injuries
• Improved immune performance (from yeast components).

Environmental benefits

• Improved dietary protein utilisation reduces nitrogen excretion;
• Improved dietary fibre utilisation reduces methane emissions;
• Reduced faecal volume and odour.

Economic benefits

• Better feed utilization

Welfare benefits

• Enhanced body condition after weaning, prior to mating – enhances twinning.
• Reduced risk of milk fever and reduced risk of metritis.

Environmental benefits

• Improved dietary protein utilisation reduces nitrogen excretion;
• Improved dietary fibre utilisation reduces methane emissions;
• Reduced faecal volume and odour.

Economic benefits

• Better feed utilisation
• Maximal calcium acquisition leads to better antler-production potential
• Best possible velvet growth.

Welfare benefits

• Reduced risk of milk fever
• Earlier oestrus in dams
• Fawns fed by dams receiving Knewe®-Mg grow significantly faster
• Health status optimised by best immune support from yeast components, optimal metabolic energy status;
• Reduced aggression improves handling, risk of injury.

Environmental benefits

• Reduced nitrogen loss to the environment
• Reduced methane output

Knewe®-Mg is manufactured under licence by Lantmännen Agroetanol AB, the Swedish Farmers’ Cooperative, for Knewe Biosystems NZ Ltd.

Knewe®-Mg is made from fermentation products by a patented process, in which the acidic components are reacted with nutritionally-important minerals. This process makes the fermentation products shelf- stable, and the minerals much more bioavailable.

Eliot C; Cooper Del Este - Hawkes Bay, 200 cows in milk

"We have been using Knewe in our farming system now for 3 years. Since introducing Knewe, we have observed a significant reduction in magnesium supplementation, near to 100% dietary utilisation from feed grains, and overall cow wellbeing and health has improved. I daren't stop feeding Knewe®-Mg."

Dr Ian S, Oraka Farms, Tirau - New Zealand's leading cervine veterinarian, and a practising, Knewe®-Mg using daily farmer

"Knewe®-Mg has given both my deer and my dairy cows significant benefits in reproduction and weight gain. I recommend it to all my clients"

Julie and Richard W - Family dairy farmers, Western Waikato

"We started using Knewe®-Mg in September 2021 and have seen a huge improvement in animal health and production, and mating performance in the first 12 months.

In the spring calving 2022 we calved 150 cows and had no cows that retained their membranes. Spring mating 2022 we had 95% submission in 24 days which is well above industry standard.

Heifers that calved down in the 2021/2022 season on average produced 115% of their liveweight and that is equal to 624kg milk solids in 305 days.

Our milk fever cases have reduced from one case a week to two cases in 12 months in the milking herd. With Knewe®-Mg we have stopped all mineral supplements which are lime flour and mag oxide, and we have stopped using bypass fats as well.

We used Knewe®-Mg for the 6-month-old spring-born calves and were able to gain 1.5kgs a day for two months through summer. This has allowed those heifers to go to the bull a month early and still be above mating weight target which was 363kgs."