Ruminations Blog
Our blog is a collaborative effort. Some of the voices are AMTS principals, some are experts who have contracted with us to help clients utilize our products; some are nutritionists from around the world, helping us acquire a global perspective; and some are educators and pioneers in the field.
The Nutritionist 2023 May Tylutki
Dr Tom Tylutki starts off the 2023 The Nutritionist Series with the first in six webinars that focus on heat stress. Find a link to the presentation and recorded webinar after the jump.
FeedBank Manager update: FBM v4
AMTS.FBM has an update, AMTS.FBM v4. It now included NASEM minerals and has the ability to optimize, create custom nutrients and tags. Learn more about it after the jump.
Formulating: The details matter
When formulating diets, sometimes the smallest details make the difference between useful information and head scratching numbers.
The Nutritionist 2022 October Tylutki
listen to the recording of the final AMTS The Nutritionist webinar in our 2022 series focusing on emissions. AMTS CEO Dr Tom Tylutki has thoughts after the jump.
AMTS.Farm version 4.18.1 release including NASEM updates
We have added the NASEM mineral and vitamin changes to the model and updated a few other issues int he program with the release of AMTS.Farm v 4.18.0.1. Read more after the jump.
AMTS Extra–Tylutki on Feed Costs
We have a discussion of skyrocketing input costs and an indepth look at formulation strategies in this timely webinar. The situation is in flux, this is how it looks today!
AMTS Calendar: Webinars, live casts, Feedbanks, oh My!
There are a lot of events coming up at AMTS. We have a live pricing webinar with Tom next week!
AMTS.FeedBankManager now works with Hybrimin
AMTS.FBM now pulls data in from Hybrimin Mill formulation software
AMTS.Farm minor update and Feedbank Release
Program Update and Feedbank Release This week we released an update to our primary software, AMTS.Farm. The update includes some minor changes to our ruminant formulation program as well as our semi-annual feedbank release. We plan these releases for early Spring and...
AMTS Farm Program update
The newest version of AMTS.Farm is v 4.16.0. This release focuses on bug fixes and improved functionality. Read the blog for more details.
Starch Values in Cooked Ingredients
Research has suggested the WSC method of starch analysis is best suited for capturing all the sugars pertinent to ruminants. Digging deeper on results specifically in cooked ingredients (like bakery by-products, puffed grains) shows this not to be the case. Tom provides insight on why you SHOULD be using ESC values for these products.
Tutorial Videos and Webinar Recordings
This winter and spring we have offered trainings, webinars, and many trainings. Catch up on what you have missed!
Nutritionist Extra–Tom’s 20 Questions video
In this Blog we have a short video excerpted from Dr Tylutki’s February 2021 The Nutritionist talk that covers the 20 Questions he asks when doing a herd evaluation.
March Advanced Optimizer Free Trial and Feedbank Release
We have a lot going on in March! We have a pretty full month of possibilities in March for AMTS users and Nutritionist Webinar listeners. We begin the month with a patch release, feedbank update, and the opportunity to trial the new and improved Advanced Optimizer....
The Nutritionist 2021 Feb Tylutki
Dr Tom Tylutki takes us on another farm tour in the inaugural The Nutritionist 2021 webinar. After a very snowy walking of the barns and discussion of the groups, Tom answers questions on his approach to nutritional troubleshooting.
The Nutritionist 2021 Season Roster
We have an exciting season of farm tours traveling, virtually, from North America to Brazil, to Russia, UK, South Africa, France and places in between. Robots and Sheep and many cows! Read more to see the roster.
New Advanced Optimizer Video Tutorial
Tom Tylutki provides insight on using the new Advanced Optimizer included in ao and ao+ AMTS.Farm v 4.16 December 2020 release.
Specialty Feed Suppliers Input page
Suppliers of specialty feed ingredients must now submit feeds for inclusion in the AMTS Commercial Feedbank through an on-line form. Learn more about this service in the following blog.
Installation no longer needs Admin Rights
Installing updates and full program installs is no longer a pain for users without admin rights on computers. No more calls to the IT department!
AMTS.Farm v 4.16 release New Features
There are updates to existing features and new modules added to the Recipe Screen in AMTS.Farm (formerly AMTS.Cattle.Pro). This post explains the updates and links to explanatory video for the Robot/Component Feeding Screen.
White Paper Discussion on aNDFom timepoints
AMTS license holders can read a whitepaper from Dr Tom Tylutki about updates to the CNCPS model (and AMTS) as a result of current understanding of forage NDF degradation rates.
AMTS Announces Opportunity to Trial Small Ruminants
Tremendous Response to special Goat Nutritionist webinars We had a very good response to our two Goat Nutritionist webinars that we held in November and December. Our speaker was Dr Andreas Foskolos, an Assistant Professor in Animal Science at the University of...
CNCPS based AMTS Feedbanks updated
This post shows the feeds included in the updated library and shows how to ensure they are included in your formulation.
AMTS.Farm and GrowingCattle integration video
In a previous post, we promised a video demonstrating the improved integration between AMTS.Farm.Cattle and AMTS.GrowingCattle. Well, we are please to finally have that completed! We hope this helps you understand how to import a diet created in AMTS.Farm.Cattle into...
AMTS.Farm.Cattle easily integrates with AMTS.GrowingCattle
AMTS.GrowingCattle for feedlot/growing animal mangers can pull optimized diets in from AMTS.Farm for additional economic analyses.
Get some Facts on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Cattle
The recent Burger King ad featuring methane spewing cows and singing kids in gas masks was a bridge too far for a lot of people in agriculture. Fortunately, we have science and outstanding advocates making sure the facts are available to counter this sort of misinformation.
New Feature: Group Data Import
The new Import Group Data Toll imports herd management information from PCDart, DSP-Herdeplus, DairyComp, etc into the AMTS.Farm cattle screen. Learn how to use it with accompanying video.
GOT MILK?
We have been getting emails and calls from nutritionists whose clients have to dump their milk and are seeking to use it, instead, as a feed ingredient. Dr Tom Tylutki gives some advice on how to do this.
Program User Tip- Importing Feeds Analyses
One of the convenience features of AMTS.Farm is the ability to import a feed analysis as a Standard XML file using the Import Feed Analysis function.
AMTS Academic Use: University of Turin
Stefania Pasinato and Serena Bracco used AMTS.Farm to help in their studies at the University of Turin while studying in the Netherlands. Read a little about their experience.
AMTS.Farm Video Manual–Moving the program to a new computer
This video shows the process for deactivating a license on an old computer, backing up files, and moving to a new computer.
Feedbanks and Adding a New Feed
AMTS.Farm is BIG program. We try to make it easy to use by adding niceties like templates, search bars, quick navigation aids, and the like. One of those features is the ability to create Feedbanks. Lynn wrote the following piece to teach you a little something about Feedbanks.
On-The-Mark-Support
COVID-19 Corona Virus has forced many to change how they live and do business. AMTS is here with enhanced remote support and resources to help you keep feeding cattle and small ruminants in this challenging time.
Feed Pricing Analysis Tool
Some posts are worth repeating! The Feed Pricing Analysis tool will be a great help as you deal with fluxes in feed prices and respond to market changes in milk price. There is a lot of uncertainty out there--use everything you can to give your clients an edge in this...
AMTS.Cattle.Pro v 4.14.0 Release Small Ruminants
AMTS releases version 4.14.0 featuring a small ruminant model for feeding sheep and goats.
Feed Analysis components important for CNCPS based models
Certain feed analysis values are critical to CNCPS based models. Learn more about which nutrients are most important in the model.
Happy Thanksgiving from the AMTS Team
Caroline Rasmussen, shared this message of Thanksgiving with us. It was too good to keep to ourselves.
AMTS Academic Use: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain–Teaching Ruminant Nutrition
Dr Sergio Calsamiglia for the Animal Nutrition and Welfare Service (SNiBA) Department of the School of Veterinary Science at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona guest posts.
AMTS Academic Use: University of the Free State, Republic of South Africa–Teaching Ruminant Nutrition
Dr. Ockert Einkamerer and Lubbe Jacobs teach future nutritionists using AMTS.Cattle.Pro at the University of the Free State in South Africa.
New Website Feature: Video Page
We have been making training videos for years and recently have been extracting clips from our webinars to provide short tutorials on specific topics. We have also created a web-page just for those videos.
AMTS Distributor in Germany: Torsten Huhne
We are very pleased to welcome Torsten Huhne from dsp-Agrosoft GmbH as our newest distributor located in Germany.
Welcome Alex
The AMTS group is growing! We are very excited to welcome Alex Converse to our company.
New Release Featuring Feed Pricing Analysis
AMTS.Cattle.Pro is out as a new release! The official version is 4.11.0.0 and it includes a wonderfully helpful feature called the Feed Pricing Analysis Tool (FPA). This entirely new screen is accessible through either the Feeds screen or by selecting form the Tools...
AMTS Academic Use: Embrapa Brazil
Our Academic Initiative helps instructors teach ruminant nutrition. One of our partners in this work is Bolivar Nóbrega de Faria from Rehagro in Brazil.
The Nutritionist webinars–calf unit
We put a considerable amount of thought into topics and speakers for our global The Nutritionist series.
PDF Blues
If you have gotten a new computer in the past 6 months and downloaded the newest Adobe Acrobat Reader you may be experiencing issues with pdf preview of your reports.
AMTS Academic Use: Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo
Dr. David Vagnoni used AMTS as an integral part of a new course offering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, “Advanced Dairy Nutrition.” This course allows students to really engage in the practical, on-farm aspects of nutrition.
AMTS User Tips: Moving the Program to a New Computer
One of the more frequent support questions we receive as calls or in the support inbox regards moving an existing license to a new computer.
AMTS.Cattle.Pro vs AMTS Feedbank Manager for Feedbanks
Though many AMTS users create and reconcile feedbanks in AMTS.Cattle.Pro (.Pro), AMTS also has a dedicated program to manage feedbanks: AMTS.Feedbank Manager (FBM).
The Nutritionist Webinar Series
Since 2015 AMTS has been co-hosting an educational webinar series called The Nutritionist. The idea can from Marcelo Hentz Ramos, our Brazilian Distributor and the Director of 3rLab in Brazil.
New Feedbank Release: Italian Feedbank
“The new feed library has been translated in the Italian language in order to help AMTS Italian customers in their daily work as nutritionists. The forages chosen to populate the Italian Feedbank come from the AMTS EU feeds, closer to the Italian forages for the analysis on components and fiber digestibility. In addiction, the concentrate were selected based upon composition and 7h starch digestibility.
AMTS at EuroTier
Last week AMTS took on the world at EuroTier 2018 in Hannover Germany. Sam, Tom, Caroline, and I traveled to Germany
AMTS User Tips: Adding a New Feedbank
As mentioned in the previous blog, AMTS has a new EU Feedbank. As Sam explained upon the release of the new EU Feedbank, this regionally specific feedbank is populated with feed analyses values more typical of the feeds farmers in Europe use.
AMTS introduces a new feedbank: AMTS EU Feeds
The AMTS EU Feedbank has been developed to provide our European customers with a feed library that more accurately represents feeds available to European farmers. Over the last 2-3 years, we have been collecting information and we are now rolling it out to you!
AMTS Distributor in Russia: Vadim Bakhchevnikov
We are very pleased to welcome Vadim Bakhchevnikov as our newest distributor located in Russia.
Adjusting Inputs for Heat Stress
July and August can bring lots of heat and humidity in North America. Don’t forget the importance of changing some of the barn/lot settings in your AMTS.Cattle.Professional program at this time of year. Heat to a cow is not friendly.
August Webinars: Twice the fun, and then some!
In late June part of the AMTS team went to Knoxville for the ADSA Annual meeting. While Tom and Sam spent time meeting about and delving into deep nutritional questions, Mariann collected speakers for The Nutritionist 2019 and touched base with the balance of the...
Save the Date! January 23-24th 2019 AMTS User Meeting
The dates are picked- we’re packing our bags and headed to Savannah Georgia, January 23 and 24th 2019. We will be going over the latest biology behind all of the AMTS products, go through our NEW products, and send you home with a few tips and tricks.
Pro Video Manual–AMTS.Cattle.Pro File Structure
This video covers the basic file structure, program location, and file sharing abilities of AMTS.Cattle.Pro. You can watch it on-line or go to the AMTS Vimeo page to download.
Meet Vivian
AMTS is excited to welcome Ziwei (Vivian) Wu to our company. She joined the team in May, hired for her excellent abilities in programming, web-based languages, and all-around "we think she will fit" vibe. As Vivian explained to us, in her English language classes in...
Tags integration with Feed Mill Tag in FBM and Pro
Do You Need an Inexpensive Way to Print Federal and State Approved Feed Tags? AMTS.Feedbank Manager is now compatible with Feed Mill Tag software (http://www.feedmilltag.com). Feed Mill Tag software is an on-line tool, created by Medicated Feeds of Belle Plaine,...
New Italian Distributor: Dairy Innovations Italia
We are excited and pleased to announce the addition of a distributor for AMTS in Italy. Dr Elena Bonfante has completed the needed training to support AMTS.Cattle.Pro users. She has been working with us to provide an Italian translation for the program. That feature...
A Present for You! The New Mixes Screen!
The latest release of AMTS.Cattle.Pro features a completely re-vised way of dealing with mixes. The first change was to stop calling compilations of separate ingredients composites and just call them mixes. The reason they have been called composites for years in AMTS...
Software update for Mac users
AMTS.Cattle.Pro is a windows based program that must be run on a virtual PC for our Mac users. Tom and Lynn both run the program on Macs. Tom recently updated to VMWare Fusion released v10 and experienced an issue with his license. Parallels released a new version...
The Nutritionist Webinars–Update–CEU Credits
We are just shy of the halfway point in our year with The Nutritionist 2017. The webinars, thus far, have been very well attended and wonderfully thought provoking. Some of the speakers have presented alternative ways of looking at ruminant nutrition--this is part of...
Features of latest Updates
Shortly, you will receive notice on program opening that there is a new version of .Pro available and asked if you would like to update. It is always a good idea to say “yes” to that question. Two reasons: 1). Sometimes the update fixes a bug. You can save yourself...
Advanced Optimizer Free Trial
Depending on where you are, Your clients are either busy planting or busy harvesting. Maybe this is the perfect time for you to give the Advanced Optimizer a spin... During the month of May, AMTS.Cattle.Pro users can try out a free month of the Advanced Optimizer! We...
DCAD Calculation in AMTS.Cattle.Pro
By Sam Fessenden, AMTS Occasionally we receive questions regarding how the dietary anion-cation difference (DCAD) is calculated within the program. Users will see DCAD outputs displayed on the Min/Vit tab and the Ration Output tab. The calculations are fairly simple,...
The New Veterinary Feed Directive Melanie Hemenway, DVM, NYSCHAP Coordinator Tuesday, March 21, 2017 1:00 pm EDT
The New Veterinary Feed Directive Melanie Hemenway, DVM, NYSCHAP Coordinator Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 1:00 pm EDT Dr. Melanie Hemenway is a State Field Veterinarian for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and coordinates the New York State Cattle...
AMTS Hosted VFD Webinar
AMTS is facilitating a WebEx webinar with Dr. Melanie Hemenway, DVM, the coordinator of New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program (NYSCHAP), about the Veterinary Feed Directive that went into full effect throughout the United States as of January 1, 2017. Dr...
Rock River in Europe
A key component of any model based on the CNCPS is the ability to use feed analyses that correlate to the critical feed measurements used in model equations. We have been working with Christiane Brandes and Nils Landwehr of Rock River Laboratory--Europe to facilitate...
Advanced Optimization
Advanced Optimization in AMTS.Cattle.Professional Author: Samuel Fessenden, PhD Overview The advanced optimizer in AMTS.Cattle.Pro uses a genetic algorithm to create, evaluate, and evolve rations that are more cost effective at meeting the nutrient requirements....
AMTS.Cattle.Pro version 4.7 Release
We are especially excited to release the latest version of AMTS.Cattle. This release, officially version 4.7 has a number of functionality improvements. As always, we have created a pdf that opens at program start--make sure you attend to it. You will find that it...
Upcoming Release
Next Tuesday AMTS will release an update to AMTS.Cattle.Pro that we are all quite excited about. This is the first major update since we switched to the on-line registration system last Fall. We are all very excited; some of the changes are VERY big and some are a...
2017 The Nutritionist Kick-off! Barry Bradford
Tomorrow night we will kick off the Third Season of The Nutritionist. Our speaker is Dr Barry Bradford for Kansas State University; his talk is Fiber, Fill, and Fermentability--What Determines Feed Intake in Dairy Cows. Dr Bradford was raised on a cow/calf operation...
Help! or Using AMTS Remote Support
AMTS.Cattle.Pro is a very detailed program, there is a lot of information to enter, some aspects may not be intuitive to all users, and sometimes things go wrong. We provide considerable support through conferences, group and individual live training sessions, and...
Academic use in Brazil, focus on Veterinary School of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Last week we published a blog featuring information from an educationally focused group in Brazil, Rehagro. Our main contacts are Dr Sergio Rubens Soares and Bolivar Nóbrega de Faria. Dr Bolivar has been very kind to supply us with information we can share on our...
AMTS Academic use in Brazil, focus on Uberlândia
Two of our busiest academic users are Dr. Sergio Rubens Soares and Dr. Bolivar Nóbrega de Faria in Brazil. . In their positions as Professors in Rehagro – Recursos Humanos no Agronegócio, they teach many of the nutrition classes in different states of the county. Over...
What is so wonderful about the AMTS Commercial Feedbank
Using the Reconcile function on the Feeds screen is a quick way to update common feeds in all farms. Individual users can create their own Feedbank farm from which they pull their commonly used feeds for all farms to make price changes and nutrient specs quickly...
AMTS Distributors
AMTS is pleased to be a global leader in providing nutrition balancing software. We could not do this without the help of our distributors in various parts of the world. Distributors are responsible as the first line of support within their country. On becoming a...
AMTS Academic: Mary Raeth University of Minnesota
Dr Mary Raeth at the University of Minnesota use the Academic Initiative to assist in teaching ration balancing to her undergraduate class. 2016 is her second year using the program in her classes. In 2015 Mariann and Dr Raeth collaborated in classroom teaching...
AMTS Academic: AMTS Partnership with Fox Valley Technical College
Kevin Rauchholz, instructor at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, WS, was one of the earliest adopters of the AMTS Academic Initiative. Fox Valley is a hands on technical college what provides take-home management practices for those wishing to immediately join...
Guest Post: Dr Buzz Burhans
When we conceived the Ruminations blog it was intended to be a place where we could further information about ruminant nutrition is addition to articles specifically about our platform AMTS.Cattle.Pro. To that effort we have featured guest posts from The Miner...
Tips and Tricks–How to handle Recipes
It seems like some questions about screen functionality keep recurring. When doing a training, we take pains to explain the Manage Recipes button on the Recipes screen. Invariably, this still provides some consternation. Lynn wrote the following blog to address this...
AMTS Goes to the Big Data Discover Conference
Sam and Caroline were delighted to travel to Chicago to attend the November Discover Conference. They were also in Chicago the night the Cubs won the World Series. Since they were staying in a hotel, Sam said the crowd at the bar was not as exuberant as you might have...
Post From Tom: How I use the New Tree Option in AMTS
By this time, I hope, many of you have tried the new Tree option in the latest version of AMTS.Cattle.Pro. When Vijay first gave me a beta version with it, I was immediately climbing through it to see how I could use it. I have found that it is my new, preferred, way...
ADG as a Tool in Formulating for Lactating and Dry Dairy Cows
Problem We commonly are asked how much ADG to input for lactating and dry dairy cows. Solution The inputted ADG for lactating dairy cows can be viewed two ways. First is thinking in terms of an acceptable safety factors for formulation. The calculations for ADG are...
AMTS New Release, New Website–or Everything Old is New Again
It has been a very busy time for AMTS. There are always ongoing projects, exploration of new ventures, continuing program development, things like that. Rarely have we had so many projects come to fruition in one month as now. At the beginning of the month...
Introducing our Newest Employee: Dr Sam Fessenden
We are very pleased to introduce our newest employee at AMTS—Sam Fessenden. Sam will be joining us in October providing Technical Support, Training, Program Sales, and Marketing as well as project development. A recent PhD graduate of Cornell, Sam brings a very...
AMTS at Penn State Academic Initiative
Mariann took a trip to State College, Pennsylvania to assist two groups using AMTS.Cattle.Pro academically. It was beautiful weather for the drive and she spent an enjoyable time on campus teaching the program. Mariann first met with Dr. Alex Hristov’s...
Introducing Astrid Steed-Hughes
Many of you may have already had some contact with Astrid Steed-Hughes, who serves as Administrative Assistant and is responsible for the day to day office operations at our headquarters. Astrid began at AMTS in late March. If you felt the world was just a little...
AMTS Academic Initiative: Bolivar Nóbrega de Faria
Rehagro is a professional training company which teaches courses in various agricultural fields in Brazil. They teach use the CNCPS model through AMTS to teach graduate level ruminant nutrition courses. AMTS provides the AMTS.Cattle.Pro program for teachers,...
Guest Post—Will Gratwick: Dairy Farming in the Developing World
Agricultural Modeling and Training Systems has always striven to provide more than just software. We have a strong commitment to ensuring that our users have the tools that they need to help them succeed in feeding cattle in the best possible manner. To this effort we...
Lynn and Caroline take Minnesota by Storm!
by Caroline Rasmussen Lynn and I attended the AFIA (American Feed Industry Association) Feed Industry Institute in Minneapolis MN last week. My brain is just recovering from being stuffed past capacity with a wide variety of information about the feed...
AMTS Academic User: Dr. Ugur Serbester
Dr. Ugar Serbester is one of our Academic users in Turkey. In his position as Assistant Professor on the Faculty of Agriculture in the Department of Animal Science at Cukurova University located on the east bank of the Seyham Dam on Lake Balcali near Adana, he teaches...
NDF Time Points–Joint AMTS and Dairy One Meeting May 4
AMTS and Dairy One Forage Laboratory hosted a joint meeting/webinar at the DFA Syracuse Headquarters on May 4. The purpose was to get some discussion going about what field people are seeing and understanding about the aNDFom time points for measuring fiber...
CHO-C g–Do you know What you are Looking at?
Carbohydrates are a big source of energy for people, animals, and the bugs that help a cow be a cow. Lately, looking at the Carbohydrate fractions, understanding the terminology, knowing what abbreviations constitute what fraction, in what the range of numbers the...
New Feature: Milk Steps
In March AMTS issued an updated version of AMTS.Cattle™.Pro that made some functionality changes, incorporated the CNCPS v 6.5.5 biology, and introduced a new report feature. We routinely do two big update a year. These updates are implementations of user requests,...
Version 4.5 has been released 3/21/16
We've been working very hard the last few months to improve your modeling experience and we're happy to release version 4.5.02. In this version you will find the CNCPS 6.5.5 biology updates, updated reports, the updated CNCPS feedbank, and an announcement page. This...
AMTS Academic Initiative: Guiling Ma–Washington State University
Agricultural Modeling and Training Systems offers AMTS.Cattle™.Pro at a discounted rate for use in Academic Research. As part of our mission to forward research and education opportunities at the university level we are keen to provide quality programming to help...