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In sports they say the best offense is a good defense. That applies to the health of our livestock, too. Simply put, providing on offensive strategy to keep cattle healthy results in a good defense system, protecting cattle against respiratory disease and digestive disorders. The complexity of the body's physiology in man and animals is not something you can see or measure. It's a little like the software that runs your computer. Its functions are very dependent on the balance of energy, protein, mineral and trace minerals. Animals have the ability to take foodstuffs and break them down into protein and energy to meet nutritional needs. But, if minerals (especially trace minerals) are not provided in the diet, a deficiency occurs.
Trace minerals are elements that are essential for life, but only in small amounts. Copper and zinc are the two trace minerals that probably have the most affect on epithelium. Other trace minerals are chromium, cobalt, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, and selenium. Simply just ingesting them is not enough. Their availability to the animal (the animal's ability to absorb them) depends on the source of the minerals. Chelated and sulfate trace minerals are the most readily absorbed. Availability of the Mineral Other available minerals can complicate the absorption of trace minerals. This is known as antagonisms. Antagonisms occur when the soil and/or feedstuffs' levels of calcium, iron, molybdenum, or sulfur are so high that they tie-up (make unavailable to the animal) the trace minerals. Many parts of the country have high levels of iron in the soil. Other areas of the country fertilize their pastures and hay ground with fertilizer containing molybdenum. These high levels of antagonistic compounds create a deficiency in the animal even when the trace mineral levels in the feedstuffs are adequate. Trace mineral deficiencies many times are sub-clinical. This means that there are no outward signs of deficiency, but the results include reduced immune function, growth or reproductive performance. Deficiencies created, due to low levels in feedstuffs or antagonistically high levels of other elements, pose real problems for producers and are not always easily handled. First, producers need to test their forages so they know the trace mineral levels and the levels of antagonistic elements. Second, a balanced and complete mineral supplement should be provided. Case Study: Here is how a large stocker operation looks at it. Matt Irwin of Logan, NM has been in business since 1976 when he started Red Rock Cattle Company. His son, David, and son-in-law, Harold Smith are now part of the operation. They buy lightweight cattle, and precondition them. Harold is in charge of getting the calves started. "We run about 12,000 head of calves a year on 196 sections in northeast New Mexico," he says. His theory is that the sooner you get them eating, the better it is for the calves and the sooner you'll start making money. "We use Vita Ferm mineral in bulk feed to ensure that they get the needed vitamins, minerals, and maybe most importantly, the trace minerals. We also place mineral free-choice in the pastures. It's important that a mineral supplement not only supplies the proper balance, but also be in a form that's available to the animal. "We place it by the watering holes and up on the hills along the creeks according to how popular the watering holes are. "We offer a concentrated formula and use salt to control consumption. We've learned over the years that using half a bag of salt with a 50-lb. bag of Vita Ferm during the summer is the right mixture for our cattle. Different cattle eat different amounts depending on the time of year and the feed available. We try to get the cattle to consume about four ounces per head a day. If their consumption goes up, we add salt. If it goes down, we decrease the salt. "We know the cattle always do better with the supplement, than without it. So, we're never without it. You just look at them and you can tell the difference. You can tell by their hair; it looks better with the supplement," Harold says. "We think they utilize the grass better with the supplement. That's because of the Amaferm in Vita Ferm; an all-natural digestive aid. Matt agrees, "You can tell it on your cattle. Some people tell me my cattle look better than theirs. We've noticed that over the years." "Some years we just ran salt, but the cattle just didn't look as good. We run cattle near Clayton, NM and they have a Locoweed problem up there. But our cattle won't eat the Locoweed. We've found that if we keep the consumption up on mineral and cake, they're used to eating higher trace minerals, and the cattle are less likely to eat the Locoweed. We don't have many problems keeping the nutritional balance right for our cattle, according to David. "We generally retain ownership and our cattle have consistently done better than the average, compared to other pens in the feedyards where we feed cattle. Medical treatment has a lot to do with it as does keeping the nutritional balance right. Some cattlemen don't put out minerals," David notes, "but you need to keep the nutrients in balance as well as you can." Using a mineral supplement is an additional cost, but according to Matt, "You can't afford to not use it." |
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