AO-BIOTICS® AMAFERM®:
SUPPORTING LIVESTOCK DIGESTION
AND PERFORMANCE
In modern livestock production, nutrition programs are expected to do more than simply meet daily nutrient requirements. Producers and nutritionists across species are looking for solutions that help animals utilize nutrients more efficiently, maintain digestive integrity, support immune function, and perform consistently under a wide range of environmental and production challenges.
Whether managing beef or dairy cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, or equine athletes, one principle remains consistent: animal performance begins in the digestive tract.
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DRIVES PERFORMANCE
The gastrointestinal tract serves as far more than a simple conduit for feed digestion. It is a highly active biological system responsible for nutrient absorption, microbial fermentation, immune interaction, metabolic signaling, and overall animal resilience.
Research continues to reinforce the importance of the microbiome, the complex population of microorganisms residing within the digestive tract. These microbial populations help break down feedstuffs, release nutrients, produce energy substrates, and contribute to immune defense mechanisms.
When digestive function is compromised by stress, dietary transitions, pathogen exposure, heat, transportation, or environmental pressures, the animal’s ability to efficiently utilize nutrients and maintain performance may decline rapidly.
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As production challenges continue to intensify, nutrition strategies increasingly focus on supporting the microbial ecosystem itself, rather than simply increasing nutrient inclusion rates.
WHAT IS AMAFERM?
Amaferm is a research-proven precision prebiotic derived through the proprietary fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae.
Unlike direct-fed microbials that introduce live organisms into the digestive tract, Amaferm delivers prebiotic metabolites designed to stimulate and support the activity of beneficial native microbial populations already present within the animal.
The result is a nutritional technology that helps create a more favorable digestive environment while supporting:
Digestive efficiency
Nutrient utilization
Gut integrity
Microbial balance
Performance consistency
For decades, BioZyme Inc., has researched how fermentation-derived metabolites interact with the digestive system across species. Today, Amaferm is included in nutritional programs around the world because of its ability to support measurable improvements in animal performance and efficiency.
SUPPORTING THE MICROBIAL ECOSYSTEM
The digestive tract functions much like a highly coordinated biological engine. Beneficial microbes are responsible for much of the heavy lifting when it comes to breaking down complex feed ingredients, fermenting fiber, releasing nutrients, and generating usable energy sources for the animal.
Amaferm helps stimulate microbial activity and supports the growth of beneficial microbial populations.
In ruminant species, this includes bacteria involved in fiber degradation and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production. In monogastric species, maintaining microbial balance contributes to digestive stability and nutrient absorption.
Chris Cassady, Ph.D., BioZyme Director of Technical Sales & Research, explains that Amaferm allows for greater degradation of forage and increased surface area for energy-harvesting bacteria to attach. The result is enhanced VFA production, which provides an important energy source for the animal.
This becomes especially important during periods of nutritional stress or fluctuating forage quality. When animals can extract more energy from available feed resources, producers gain both biological and economic advantages.
“Amaferm is a prebiotic resulting from the proprietary fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae. Research has proven that Amaferm not only stimulates fungal branching and enzymatic activity in the rumen, but the growth rates of fibrolytic and amylolytic bacteria are significantly improved,” Dr. Cassady said.
“These microbes work synergistically to hasten the rate of degradation of feeds in the rumen, allowing for greater digestibility. If you think about a 10% improvement in dry matter digestibility by using Amaferm, you can save nearly 15% in hay costs throughout the year by just giving your animal the ability to unlock more nutrition from within.”
That focus on digestive efficiency and microbial balance is why precision prebiotics like research-proven AO-Biotics® Amaferm® continue to gain attention across the livestock industry. Backed by decades of research and field application, Amaferm is designed to support nutrient digestibility, microbial activity, and gastrointestinal function, helping animals get more value from every pound of feed consumed.
IMPROVING NUTRIENT UTILIZATION
Feed costs remain one of the largest operational expenses in livestock production, regardless of species. Improving feed efficiency and nutrient utilization therefore remains a central goal for producers and nutritionists alike.
Amaferm supports digestive efficiency by helping animals better utilize nutrients already present in the ration. Rather than simply increasing feed inputs, this approach focuses on maximizing the value extracted from every mouthful consumed.
Research has demonstrated that Amaferm can improve forage digestibility while supporting more efficient nutrient capture.
Enhanced digestibility contributes to:
- Improved feed conversion
- Greater energy availability
- More consistent growth and production
- Reduced nutrient waste
- Better overall performance efficiency
In beef cattle, research has shown additional average daily gain of at least .25 pounds per head per day when Amaferm is included in the diet. However, the broader principle applies across species: healthier digestive systems allow animals to more efficiently convert nutrients into productive outcomes.
This efficiency becomes particularly valuable during periods of environmental stress, elevated input costs, or variable feed quality.
GUT HEALTH AND IMMUNE FUNCTION
A stable digestive environment also plays a major role in supporting immune function.
The microbiome serves as a natural barrier against pathogenic organisms by helping maintain balance within the gastrointestinal tract. When beneficial microbial populations are supported, the animal is often better equipped to maintain digestive stability and reduce immune system strain.
This relationship between gut health and immunity has become an increasingly important area of focus in livestock nutrition.
Rather than constantly asking the immune system to respond to digestive disruption, nutritional strategies that support microbial balance may help animals devote more energy toward growth, reproduction, lactation, and performance.
In practical terms, healthier digestive systems often translate into:
More consistent intake behavior
Better resilience during stress
Improved recovery following transitions
Greater production consistency
Reduced performance disruptions
For producers, this means fewer nutritional setbacks and more predictable outcomes across production stages.
PERFORMANCE ACROSS SPECIES
One of the strengths of Amaferm is its versatility across livestock species and production systems.
While each species presents unique nutritional challenges, the foundational goal remains similar: support the digestive system so animals can perform to their genetic potential.
Beef and Dairy Cattle
In ruminants, Amaferm supports fiber digestion, forage utilization, and VFA production. This contributes to improved nutrient availability and digestive efficiency during breeding, lactation, growth, and finishing phases.
Sheep and Goats
Small ruminants often face digestive challenges during environmental stress, parasite pressure, and production transitions. Supporting rumen function and nutrient utilization becomes particularly important during lactation, growth, and periods of forage variability.
Swine
In swine nutrition, digestive stability and nutrient absorption directly influence feed efficiency and performance consistency. Supporting beneficial microbial activity can help animals better navigate dietary transitions and production stressors.
Poultry
Efficient nutrient utilization remains critical in poultry production, where small improvements in feed conversion can create substantial economic returns. Maintaining gastrointestinal integrity and microbial balance supports both health and production efficiency.
Equine
Horses rely heavily on hindgut microbial fermentation for fiber digestion and nutrient extraction. Supporting digestive stability may help maintain condition, performance, and overall gastrointestinal health, particularly during travel, competition, or dietary change.
CONSISTENCY MATTERS
One of the most valuable traits in animal agriculture is consistency.
Nutritionists and producers alike understand that performance fluctuations are costly. Digestive disturbances, inconsistent intake, stress-related disruptions, and inefficient nutrient utilization can all reduce profitability and animal well-being.
By supporting microbial balance and digestive integrity, Amaferm helps animals maintain more consistent performance across varying conditions.
That consistency is particularly important as livestock operations continue to face increasing pressure from weather variability, labor constraints, feed costs, and production efficiency demands.
Amaferm is designed to help stabilize the digestive environment during common production stressors such as:
Weaning
Transportation
Heat stress
Feed transitions
Environmental changes
Production stage shifts
BACKED BY RESEARCH AND FERMENTATION EXPERTISE
BioZyme has spent more than half a century researching fermentation technology and digestive health solutions for livestock species around the globe. Amaferm itself is supported by more than 150 peer-reviewed and published research studies and trials.
Produced in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA, under a proprietary fermentation process, Amaferm is designed to deliver highly consistent fermentation metabolites that support digestive performance and nutrient utilization.
The focus is not simply fermentation for fermentation’s sake. The goal is to produce targeted metabolites that positively influence the digestive ecosystem and ultimately support animal productivity.
PERFORMANCE BEGINS IN THE GUT
Regardless of species, production system, or management style, digestive health remains foundational to animal performance.
When microbial populations are balanced, nutrients are efficiently utilized, and gut integrity is maintained, animals are better positioned to grow, reproduce, produce, and thrive.
Amaferm supports that foundation by helping optimize digestive efficiency and microbial activity from within the gastrointestinal tract itself.
As the livestock industry continues to evolve, nutrition programs are increasingly expected to support both biological efficiency and economic sustainability.
Technologies that help animals better utilize nutrients while supporting digestive resilience will likely continue to play a growing role in future nutrition strategies.
AO-Biotics® Amaferm® is positioned around a simple principle: support the digestive ecosystem so animals can extract more value from feed, maintain greater consistency under challenge, and convert nutrients more efficiently into productive performance.
