Baby Calf Heatlh
Cattle Feeding
Hot Topics
Healthy Heifer
DNA Profiling
FDA Expands Approval For Feeding Optaflexx® To Beef Cattle
- Factors make Farm Bill debate more contentious than past years
- Cow calf corner: The pros and cons of growth-promoting implants
- CHS Foundation awarded $75,000 in scholarships
- Look out for more ticks than usual this year
- Guest commentary: Slimed by pink slime
- Thank Domino’s; order a pizza
- Clanton Hereford junior activities intern
- Kansas Wheat Day planned for May 30
- APHIS celebrates 40 years of public service
- Healthy foods not necessarily more expensive
- Commentary: Bittman thinks global warming is “What’s For Dinner”
- Guest commentary: Slimed by pink slime
- Group claims breakthrough with discovery of new steak cut
- U.S. Plains farmland values still soaring
- Will the next farmland auction be higher or lower in price?
- NFU: Climate change adaptation key for ag success
- Cattle prices remain strong on bullish COF expectations
- Commentary: The futility of ‘Flour Power’
- CME to pare back plan for expanded grain trading
- CME: Are high meat prices leading to "demand destruction"?
- Commentary: Searching for beef’s next toe-stubber
- Commentary: Why The New York Times' essay contest is phony
- Commentary: Vegan sweet dreams
- BSE found in central California, USDA confirms
- Slime time at AMI: expo panel on rehabbing LFTB
- Commentary: Bittman thinks global warming is “What’s For Dinner”
- Vigilante cattlemen arrested for beating alleged rustler
- Veterinarian responds to New York Times essay
- Commentary: Advise and dissent
- Jolley: Prime time slime time anytime at AMI Conference
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for feeding Optaflexx® (ractopamine hydrochloride) to beef cattle as a topdress to increase live weight gain and improve feed efficiency during the final 28 days to 42 days of the finishing period, while maintaining beef’s natural taste, tenderness and juiciness. As a result, cattle feeders of any size may now feed Optaflexx as a topdress or in a complete feed to increase live weight gain and improve feed efficiency by helping cattle better utilize nutrients.
“Cattle feeders are always looking for ways to improve performance during the final days on feed since cattle naturally slow down their growth rate and become less efficient,” says Travis Choat, PhD, director of beef technical consulting for Elanco. “With this new approval, feedyard managers have more flexibility in determining which of their pens of cattle would benefit from Optaflexx topdress.”
Flexx™ feeding with Optaflexx
That flexibility is the cornerstone of Elanco’s introduction of Flexx Feeding - a focus on the many ways feeding Optaflexx can fit into real-world management practices.
For example, feedyards can feed the topdress just once a day to provide an approved dose of Optaflexx ranging from 70 mg/head/day to 400 mg/head/day in a minimum of 1 lb/head/day Type C medicated feed (90 percent dry matter, maximum 800 g/ton ractopamine).* This allows managers to target pens of cattle with unique needs - such as pens with Holstein steers or low-consuming cattle. At the same time, feedyard managers can see savings when feeding Optaflexx just once a day, like mixing fewer partial batches of feed, reduced extra labor costs and lower feed-manufacturing costs.
For example, feedyards can feed the topdress just once a day to provide an approved dose of Optaflexx ranging from 70 mg/head/day to 400 mg/head/day in a minimum of 1 lb/head/day Type C medicated feed (90 percent dry matter, maximum 800 g/ton ractopamine).* This allows managers to target pens of cattle with unique needs - such as pens with Holstein steers or low-consuming cattle. At the same time, feedyard managers can see savings when feeding Optaflexx just once a day, like mixing fewer partial batches of feed, reduced extra labor costs and lower feed-manufacturing costs.
Since Optaflexx has a zero-day withdrawal when fed according to the label, feedyard managers can react quickly to changing market conditions.
A win for the beef industry and consumers
Beyond the increased rate of weight gain and improved feed efficiency seen at the feedyard, producers and consumers alike appreciate Optaflexx’s minimal effects on meat and eating quality.
“Optaflexx is a beta-1 agonist, which increases protein synthesis while having little effect on fat metabolism, or marbling,1” explains Choat. “This is different from beta-2 agonists, which have been shown to negatively affect tenderness in beef due to protein degradation - an important part of the tenderization process - and impacts on marbling2. That’s why Optaflexx consistently meets industry expectations for maintaining beef’s natural taste, tenderness and juiciness.1”
To view the new Optaflexx label in its entirety, visit www.elanco.us. Optaflexx can be purchased through traditional feed suppliers and manufacturers.
About Optaflexx
Optaflexx is an innovative Finishing Improvement Technology® (F.I.T.) that increases live-weight gain and improves feed efficiency when fed to cattle continuously during the final stage of the finishing period. It also maintains beef’s natural taste, tenderness and juiciness, and meets the stringent animal, environmental and human-food safety standards of the US FDA.
For Rumensin: Consumption by unapproved species or feeding undiluted may be toxic or fatal. Do not feed to veal calves.
For all products: The label contains complete use information, including cautions and warnings. Always read, understand and follow the label and use directions.
About Elanco
About Elanco
Elanco is a global innovation-driven company that develops and markets products to improve animal health and food animal production in more than 75 countries. Elanco employs 2,300 people worldwide, with offices in more than 40 countries, and is a division of Eli Lilly and Company, a leading global pharmaceutical corporation. Additional information about Elanco is available at www.elanco.com.
Comments (0)
Leave a comment