Essentiom vs. Prequel/Strata: Make a Smooth Transition

If you’ve been feeding Essentiom in your dairy diets, you’re likely wondering what’s the best alternative given Church & Dwight’s recent announcement that they are discontinuing their Megalac and Essentiom product lines. The very simple answer is this: Prequel, made by Virtus Nutrition. Both Prequel and Essentiom are Omega-6 enriched calcium salts that are designed to improve immune function in the transition period, therefore reducing transition disorders and increasing pregnancy rate. The more detailed answer is that Prequel can be combined with Strata with EPA/DHA to meet both the Omega-6 and Omega-3 needs of the transition cow. Here are the main differences you need to know to decide your best option for feeding Omega-6s and Omega-3s to transition cows:

1. Omega-6 Levels: Prequel is twice the concentration of Omega-6 vs. Essentiom.  Prequel is 50% Omega-6, while Essentiom is 26% Omega-6, which means that if you were feeding Essentiom at .25-pound feeding rate, the feeding rate for Prequel that would give you equivalent grams of Omega-6 is .125 lb.
2. Omega-3 Levels: Here is where the difference in Essentiom vs. Prequel gets a bit more obvious. Essentiom includes a small amount (4%) of plant-based ALA Omega-3 in its formula, while Prequel is solely an Omega-6 source.  If you are looking to keep or add Omega-3s into your dairy diets, you should include Strata, which has a high concentration (16%) of the marine-oil based EPA/DHA Omega-3.
3. ALA vs. EPA/DHA Omega-3s: EPA/DHA is the bioactive form of Omega-3 in the dairy cow. On the other hand, ALA is the plant-based Omega-3 that needs converted to EPA/DHA to have any substantial impact on helping cows get pregnant and stay pregnant. While some ALA is converted to EPA/DHA, the conversion rate is very low (estimated at <.5%).
4. Pre-fresh Diet Recommendations: The simple swap is to go from Essentiom at .25 pound to Prequel at .125 pound, providing an equal amount of Omega-6 which is the main ingredient in these two products. More than likely, this will also be a less expensive option due to the lower feeding rate and higher concentration of Omega-6 that is found in Prequel. The caveat is that there will be a little less ‘bypass fat energy ’ with that lower feeding rate (roughly ½ megacal).
5. Uplevel with EPA/DHA Pre-fresh: Our primary recommendation, however, in the pre-fresh diets is to feed .125 lb. of Prequel with .125 lb. of Strata. This combination will have the same amount of energy as the bypass fat total feeding rate is the same.  Plus, it provides both adequate levels of Omega-6 AND Omega-3, allowing EPA/DHA levels to ramp up in the tissues prior to calving so that her own immune system is equipped to quickly resolve inflammation after calving. EPA/DHA is an incredibly powerful nutrient that is essential to helping cows get pregnant and stay pregnant. It is also the main nutrient for enabling a quick resolution of inflammation after calving.
6. Early Lactation Recommendations: Unlike Essentiom, we do not recommend Prequel in the lactating herd…only in the pre-fresh diets. Given the high amount of Omega-6 (18:2/Linoleic) that is present in lactating diets (400–600 grams is extremely common), the ‘nutrient gap ’ is really on the Omega-3 side, with EPA/DHA being well below base nutrient demands for healthy pregnancy and healthy resolution of inflammation. Strata can be fed across the lactating herd at an essential level: .066–.1 pounds per head, or at higher levels (.1-.3) in fresh and early lactation pens for greater early lactation performance.

Thank you for the opportunity to meet your cows’ needs for omega fatty acids in your dairy diets. If you have questions or would like pricing, please reach out to us and we ’ll do our best to get your questions answered.