Stu Herbst joins Papillon as Midwest Regional Sales Manager

In response to increased regional demand for its premium nutritional products, Papillon Agricultural Company has hired Stu Herbst as Midwest Regional Sales Manager, according to President David Briggs.

“With his dairy nutrition expertise, regional field experience and on-farm background, Stu is ideally qualified to serve the unique needs of Papillon customers in the Midwest” said Briggs. “He’s a great addition to our team.”

According to Briggs, Herbst joins a Papillon regional sales force already in place to help Midwest dairy operations improve feed efficiency and nutrient utilization. He will focus on serving Papillon customers in Southern and Central Wisconsin and Illinois.

Prior to joining Papillon, Herbst was a dairy nutritionist for Sherwood Elevator and Ag Consulting. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Founded in 1983, Papillon Agricultural Company is a division of Inter-Rock that develops and produces premium nutritional products for dairy consultants, feed suppliers and dairy producers with the goal of maximizing feed efficiency at the farm level. Signature products include Dairyman’s Edge^® PRO, BaciFlex^® Clostridial Defense, Gemini Bypass Protein, Papillon Performance Proteins and MIN-AD^® Mineral Supplement.

Examining the hidden costs of cheaper minerals.

When dairy margins are tight, cheaper mineral alternatives can look like an easy win — but a 2025 case study tells a different story. Three dairies that switched from MIN-AD to an unproven substitute saw milk fat drop by nearly 0.2 points, somatic cell counts rise by up to 60 units, and culling rates climb 5–10 points. The combined impact averaged almost $1 per cow per day in lost profitability — more than $180,000 annually for a 500-cow operation. The data makes a clear case that research-backed mineral nutrition isn’t just a feed cost, it’s a bottom-line investment.

A peek behind the process: How Papillon selects probiotic strains that perform

Probiotics have come a long way since fermented milk was first consumed in ancient Rome. At Papillon, selecting the right probiotic strains for BaciFlex is a rigorous, multi-step process — screening Bacillus subtilis strains not just for pathogen inhibition, but for gut integrity support, immune function, and compatibility across feed types. What sets Papillon apart is a commitment to re-evaluating those strains every 3–5 years using regional feed and fecal sampling data representing hundreds of thousands of cows. As pathogens evolve, so does BaciFlex — delivering a minimum of 95% inhibition o