Research conducted by a team from the College of Agriculture at North Dakota State University investigated the effect of Direct Fed Microbial (DFM) products on the control of E. coli in feedlot cattle. Results of the trial showed a significant reduction (32%) in fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 among the steers treated with the Lactobacillus Acidophilus BT1386. Steers placed on the DFM supplement were almost three times less likely to shed E. coli in their feces as opposed to their control counterparts. In addition, feeding the DFM significantly reduced the probability of new infections with Salmonella among DFM-treated cattle, compared to controls. This work was published in the March 2008 issue (with an erratum in the May 2008 issue) of the Journal of Food Protection.

The DFM strain used for the study is the same commercial product available as Micro-Cell LA and Micro-Cell GOLD from Lallemand Animal Nutrition, North America. Lallemand offers a range of DFMs for the beef feedlot industry: Micro-Cell GOLD for cattle on a diet of dried distiller grains solubles (DDGS), Micro-Cell LA for pathogen control and Micro-Cell PB for “hot” rations.

For a full copy of the paper, contact Dr. Ryan Mass at 316-737-2223 or rmass@lallemand.com.