A few months ago, we launched a highly innovative product on the Italian market called “WiMa-Mirakel® Cerealis Ferkel-Müsli”, better known simply as “Musli”. It is an innovative complementary feed that is generating considerable interest among industry professionals.

Animal health and productive performance are influenced by many factors, including the environment in which animals live; for this reason, ensuring appropriate thermal comfort is essential.

As the summer season approaches, rising temperatures associated with climate change increase the occurrence of heat stress, also known as thermal stress.

The use of BICAR®Z is part of the nutritional strategies adopted to support ruminal stability and acid–base balance in ruminants, helping maintain productive performance under different feeding and farming conditions. The need for properly balanced supplementation is not limited to heat stress situations but applies to all conditions in which the diet may increase the risk of ruminal instability.

Among the various collaborations, the partnership between Solvay and the Faculty of Agriculture at the Catholic University of Piacenza contributed to the development of a software tool designed to calculate the appropriate BICAR®Z dosage to include in the ration of dairy cows.

The onset of lactation, especially during the first 3 weeks, is a highly stressful phase for milk-producing animals, particularly for high-producing ruminants such as dairy cows. The critical period begins in the 3 weeks before calving and is accompanied by physiological changes that must be supported through an appropriate diet.

Blood calcium concentration in adult cattle should remain within the range of 2.1–2.5 mmol/L; however, with the onset of colostrum and milk production, it tends to decrease, reaching its lowest point 12–48 hours after calving. One of the major challenges during the transition period is the occurrence of hypocalcemia.

A distinction should be made between:

• Clinical hypocalcemia — milk fever (parturient paresis) with evident clinical signs
• Subclinical hypocalcemia — more difficult to diagnose, with no obvious clinical signs

The clinical form occurs in 2–5% of cases, while the subclinical form affects 25–50% of animals. Reducing the Dietary Cation–Anion Difference (DCAD) through the use of dietary anions has been shown to reduce the incidence of the condition by 15–25%.

Last February, on the occasion of the Verona trade fair, we wanted to welcome visitors in a truly larger-than-life way.

At the entrance to the event, visitors were greeted by a giant reproduction of our 25 kg bag of Bicar®Z, sodium bicarbonate for animal feed.

From 4 to 7 February, we will be exhibiting in Hall 9 – Stand C13. An opportunity to meet, exchange views on technical topics, and discover our latest developments.

What European regulations say

In the feed industry, choosing a complementary feed is never a minor detail. Let us clarify the legislation, labelling requirements, and the key aspects needed to ensure safety and traceability.

From a brilliant nineteenth-century insight to a central role in animal nutrition. We retrace the history of the Solvay Process, the Rosignano production site, and how sodium bicarbonate became a strategic ally.

A sustainable model for higher-performance plants:

The buffering effect of sodium bicarbonate finds new applications in biogas. Discover how BICAR®Z contributes to digester stability and production efficiency within a circular economy model