For more information, contact: Dave Ott, (804) 897-8612  CRF Celebrates 50 Years of Innovations in Animal Nutrition Membership expands as research giant enters its sixth decade Richmond, Va.—Cooperative Research Farms (CRF), the world’s largest privately owned livestock and poultry research network, is celebrating its golden anniversary by doing what it does best: It recently released its latest proprietary findings in animal feed innovations to its members.   “We have just completed trials on the Effect of Preconditioning Rations on Subsequent Feedlot Health, Growth Performance and Carcass Traits in Beef Cattle where our objective was to discover the most cost-effective feeding and management program to provide the most desirable feeder cattle; as well as The Effects of Vitamin Fortification Levels on the Growth Performance and Carcass Traits of Growing-Finishing Pigs which showed us how increasing dietary concentrations of vitamins may affect technical and carcass performances of modern growing finishing pigs, just to name a few trials. Our feed-manufacturing members will take this new data and incorporate it into the latest feed formulations,” says David B. Ott, General Manager.   These trials are two of the thousands of large-scale research trials conducted in all production stages for broilers, beef, dairy, equine, game birds, layers, rabbits, turkeys, sheep, and swine in CRF’s member-owned facilities as well as numerous universities and private research facilities throughout the United States, Canada and France.    Over the years CRF’s innovations have lead to unique formulation methods and patented technologies such as Rumen Available CarbohydrateÒ, Rumen Available ProteinÒ, and TotalacÒ, each of which has resulted in greater production and profitability for the CRF members customers.   Small wonder that, even in an economy where agricultural has struggled, membership in CRF is again actively growing. Within the past year alone, CRF has added Kalmbach Feeds based in Upper Sandusky, Ohio and Western Milling, of Goshen, California.   “It confirms what long-time members already know—the value is CRF's real-world research, meaning there is confidence that the performance advantages can be repeated in their production operations,” notes Jim Sherman, Vice President for Feed and Animal Health for Tennessee Farmers Cooperative and CRF president. “The newest members will gain immediate access to world-class animal nutrition research that can be immediately utilized in their feeding programs to benefit their customers.”   Since its inception in 1954, CRF has been dedicated to providing the latest valid nutritional technology that can be transferred to livestock and poultry producers and horse owners. Cooperative Research Farms is a multi-national organization of eight regional feed manufactures in the United States, Canada, and France.  For fifty years, CRF members have worked together conducting livestock and poultry nutrition & management related research for the benefit of their farmer customers.  CRF’s members are:  Co-op Atlantic, Moncton, New Brunswick; Cooperative Federee de Quebec, Montreal, Quebec; Federated Co-operatives Limited, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Kalmbach Feeds, Inc., Upper Sandusky, Ohio; Southern States Cooperative Inc., Richmond, Virginia; Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, LaVergne, Tennessee; Western Milling, Goshen, California; and Union Invivo INZO°, Chateau Thierry, France. Visit the website: www.crfarms.org