30 Nov 2016
Better knowledge of supplements can help vets strengthen relationships with farmers. Peter Bone explains how these skills can also be used to create monitoring plans to boost herd production and productivity.
Peter Bone
Job Title
Ruminant mineral nutrition may not be high on vets’ agenda when making farm visits. However, while making a visit in the middle of a cold, wet winter’s night with a suspected case of milk fever, the subject may suddenly make its way to the forefront.
Mineral elements are split into two categories – macroelements and microelements (Table 1).
Macroelements are fed in grams per day, while microelements are fed in milligrams per day per head.
Many reading this article will have opinions about mineral nutrition, and the author would be the first to argue the basics – disease-free status, housing, feed space, good dry matter intakes, available clean water and good management – need to be right, but vets must be wary of leaving mineral nutrition to a “that will do” attitude.
As veterinary practitioners, we have the tools to drive mineral nutrition from diagnosis to monitoring and making recommendations. Let’s increase our knowledge, thereby improving farmers’ understanding, and use supplements appropriately.
We have understood for some years the precursor to milk fever is an oversupply of potassium in the forages or diets being consumed by the pre-calving cow or ewe.
However, it is possible to gain information about the grazing or forages the stock will consume before calving (Table 2), so advice can be given to prevent cases of milk fever. Simple protocols can be developed:
Information is vital here, so make sure you use a product simple to apply and easy to implement at farm level.
After all, getting it wrong at farm level will impact on the bottom line – each case of fatal milk fever will cost in the region of £2,112 (Esslemont and Kossaibati, 2002).
The importance of good transition management of dry cows, including dairy cows and suckler cows, cannot be stressed enough. Get this transition period right and positive gains can be made. Plus, it offers practices in mixed livestock areas a good opportunity to work with suckler herds and sheep flocks.
Microelement nutrition is often undertaken for historical reasons or because livestock farmers feel they have seen some benefit from using mineral supplements. So let’s define the terminology.
Deficiency is the inability to supply the animal with its daily known level of minerals. Other terms, such as lock up and secondary deficiency, the author believes, should be removed from the mineral nutrition world, as these lead people to feel it is safe to increase levels of microelements without any reference to the status of the animal.
Another comment the author hears too often is “my soil sample states deficiency so my livestock must also be deficient”. Therefore, some plans have used soil samples as the base for their livestock mineral supplementation plans. This practice is neither correct or safe.
Perhaps the most important part of this article is setting out a monitoring plan to assess interim progress in line with animal status, therefore making improvements in production and productivity. Frequent check-ins should be done, as the cost benefits of only supplementing as required can produce significant cost savings on supplement inputs.
Another important thing to note is, when assessing mineral problems with livestock, many farmers and advisors take soil samples in the first instance. Unfortunately, while soil samples will be important when used alongside forages for medium-term to long-term planning in attempts to rectify imbalances or deficiency, soil does not reflect the mineral status of grazing or ensiled crops.
All the tests referred to in this article are available via a variety of UK-based laboratories. Most businesses offering them can be split into categories:
The cost will differ between suppliers; however, the key is the ability to bring the information together and present clients with clear data enabling a clear diagnosis with recommendations.
The author recommends, as practitioners, mineral nutrition offers a different dimension to normal practice routines – it could also open channels for commercial gain.
A team approach will benefit all parties and supplying clinical information to farm animal clients, to aid decision making, has to be positive for practitioners, livestock farmers and, above all, the stock.
The outcome of this approach should strengthen the practitioner/farmer relationship, allowing clinical assessment and monitoring protocols to be put in place via herd health planning.
