Using Mineral As Cost-Effective Health Management: It’s time to think about mineral differently. Mineral can be more than just a way of efficiently delivering nutrition to your herd – it can also be a cost-effective health management tool. Your mineral package can deliver critical trace minerals, vitamins and even additives that work to proactively address costly health issues.

Managing health through mineral is important to any herd’s overall return on investment. Mineral ensures performance is maintained. In extreme cases where nutrition is imbalanced, death can be a side effect, meaning lost potential income. For instance, when phosphorus levels are not adequate, weaning rates suffer. Studies have shown a 25% reduction in calves weaned when no phosphorus is present.1

Several cents per head per week invested in mineral can help combat challenges that can cost thousands. It’s a smart investment.

Use mineral as a value-added tool for:

1. Foot Rot:

Foot rot is an infectious disease leading to swelling between the hoof claws. It is common during wet, muddy periods and can lead to lameness in cattle. When foot rot is prevented it can result in 20% more weight gained during a grazing season.2

The dairy industry has seen how dialing in nutrition can help improve hoof health and limit issues like foot rot. Feeding trace minerals like zinc, iodine, copper and manganese can positively impact hoof health.

Organic iodine, scientifically called ethylenediamine dihydroiodide (EDDI), is a more bioavailable – or readily digestible – form of the mineral. Feeding iodine at or above the National Research Council (NRC) recommended level helps limit foot rot.

Zinc is also beneficial because it aids with skin integrity, which can make it harder for pathogens to breach the skin.

2. Grass tetany:

Cool-season grasses risk being low in available magnesium during spring and fall, causing grass tetany. Symptoms of grass tetany include loss of muscle control, irritability and ultimately coma and death in cattle.

When cool-season grasses are in their key growth periods, potassium can also be higher than normal, causing magnesium to not absorb easily. Compounding the problem of grass tetany is the need for cows to have double the magnesium requirements when lactating, which tends to coincide with calving for both spring and fall calving herds.

A mineral higher in magnesium is a simple way to help prevent grass tetany and meet the needs of lactating females grazing cool-season forages. Provide high magnesium mineral two to three weeks before cattle are first exposed to lush grass to achieve consistent intake before the time of highest risk. Continue feeding for 60 days after the first sign of grass growth.

3. White muscle disease:

When selenium or vitamin E is low in a cows’ diet during gestation, young calves can acquire nutritional myodegeneration (NMD), commonly referred to as white muscle disease. Calves born with low selenium or vitamin E levels suffering from white muscle disease can have two types: a congenital version and a delayed response version.

The congenital version of NMD impacts the heart and is fatal in most cases, with calves dying in a few days. The delayed response version results in weak calves that can’t stand, but can be remedied with injectable selenium and vitamin E when calves exhibit symptoms.

Fortunately, white muscle disease is avoidable with balanced nutrition. If soil selenium levels are low, feeding higher selenium levels is recommended, especially during gestation. Testing forages for selenium levels and other nutrients, particularly if you are in regions like the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes, is a good idea to get a baseline of your mineral needs.

4. Urinary calculi:

Male cattle can develop kidney stones or urinary calculi when there is an inverted calcium:phosphorus ratio in the diet. Urinary calculi can happen when feeding higher levels of distillers’ grains or grazing forages that are high in phosphates.

A balanced mineral program helps reduce the risk of urinary calculi by providing the correct calcium:phosphorus ratio.

Get extra benefits from additives:

Minerals can also be a convenient way to deliver additives that support the health of your herd.

Fly control:

Controlling flies means that those flies are less able to bite and stress your cattle. Reducing flies benefits the immune system because cattle don’t devote nutrients to fighting and avoiding flies.

An insect growth regulator (IGR) in mineral can help to limit horn flies. Purina® Wind and Rain® Fly Control mineral contains Altosid® IGR, which inhibits the horn fly life cycle in the manure by stopping pupae from developing into biting adult flies.

Bloat:

The risk of bloat is common when grazing lush grasses during the early part of the grazing season. Ionophores added to mineral can help relieve bloat. Mineral intake is also key to increasing ionophore intake and limiting bloat when forage is lush. If the mineral isn’t palatable, cattle won’t consume the needed ionophore.

In conclusion, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach for addressing all the issues that arise with herd management. Visit Kissimmee Valley Feed to determine the appropriate formulation for Using Mineral As Cost-Effective Health Management.

Resources:

Kent Tjardes, Ph.D., cattle nutritionist for Purina Mills

Considerations for this growing season: Applying fertilizer to pastures and fields is important to maximize yield and forage quality. But with fertilizer prices higher than normal around the country, you can take steps to manage costs and still make a big impact. To help justify applying fertilizer this year, have your soil analyzed. You can save yourself a lot of money if you already have the correct nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium and potassium levels in your soil. If the soil lacks just one of those nutrients, focus on the single nutrient instead of all nutrients when fertilizing. Also, don’t overlook manure as a fertilizer. Look to your drylots as a source of extra soil nutrients to spread across pastures, or purchase poultry litter if it is available locally.

1) Move mineral sites to enhance grazing.

When first putting mineral out, especially during hot temperatures, place mineral tubs or feeders near loafing areas, water sources and shade. Once cattle start consuming mineral consistently, you can spread mineral locations out further into the pasture. If you have undergrazed pasture areas, you can move the mineral sites to those areas to help guide cattle to graze there.

You’ll also get better pasture utilization by putting distance between mineral feeders and other self-fed products or hay sources, since cattle will graze along the path between them. However, you should keep at least 100 yards (about the size of a football field) between products to avoid creating a “buffet line” situation where cattle just hop from one product to the next and possibly increasing consumption.

Also consider environmental conditions for mineral placement. If you are in an area with frequent rain, consider moving mineral sites to avoid mud build-up and to ensure consistent access.

2) Know how many feeders and how much mineral you need.

Having enough mineral feeding sites is critical to meeting all your herd’s needs. One 250 lb. Purina® Wind and Rain®mineral tub generally serves 25-30 head. Loose mineral tends to average 30-50 head per mineral feeder, but always double-check the manufacturer’s recommendations.

I also recommend checking mineral feeders 2-3 times a week, depending on how many cattle you have in each grazing paddock, to ensure feeders aren’t tipped over and make sure cattle don’t run out of mineral.

On average, a mineral tub will last about ten days per 50 cows. A rule of thumb for loose mineral is two bags per cow per year, or 4 ounces per head per day. And don’t forget about calves when calculating mineral needs. Young calves near weaning will, and should, consume mineral. Calves will add about 2 ounces per head per day to what the cow eats, bringing the total for the cow/calf pair to 6 ounces per pair per day.

3) Choose a mineral feeder that works for your environment.

As long as you have enough mineral sites, any mineral feeder will work – wooden, metal, plastic tubs, non-traditional feeders, etc. It all comes down to what will work best for you based on environmental conditions.

Wooden feeders will break down quicker under rain or inclement weather, and metal feeders are prone to rust. A cover or placing feeders under shelter can help extend the life of your feeders.

Reused Purina® plastic tubs or plastic barrels cut in half hold up better but do have some considerations for water drainage. I recommend putting holes in the bottom of tubs with a 9/64″ drill bit to allow water drainage. Placing rocks under the feeder will also help prevent it from sticking tightly to the ground, allowing water to drain better. If you’re worried about cattle knocking over the tubs, placing them in a truck tire works nicely.

Another consideration for choosing a mineral feeder is height. Cattle should be able to reach the bottom and the middle of the feeder. If it’s too tall, intake will be limited, especially for yearling animals or calves on pasture.

Kissimmee Valley Feed can help you with other considerations for this growing season. Visit us! We are open Mon-Fri: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sat: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm at our Main Store at 1501 Eastern Ave. You can also contact us by phone at 407-957-4100. We are open Mon-Fri: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sat: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at Store #2 at 215 13th Street. You can contact us by phone at 407-892-4040.

Source: Elizabeth Belew, Ph.D. cattle nutritionist