Still feeding minerals like its 1991?
We've come a long way in dairy farming over the past couple of decades. Genetics are better, sheds are more modern and we have more data at our fingertips than ever before.
Spring brings heavy demands for our dairy cows, with calving, peak milk, and successful mating all crucial milestones for a profitable season, and all in a climate that is becoming increasingly volatile each year.
In an ideal world, our dairy herds would have access to ample amounts of high-quality pasture containing sufficient nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to drive optimum performance. However, reality is far from ideal and we need to be aware of potential mineral deficiencies presented by our pasture-based system.
Low levels of trace elements in pasture
Trace elements are commonly found to be deficient in grazing dairy cows.
Also called micro minerals, these are copper, cobalt, selenium, iodine and zinc, and all work together to play a crucial role in cow health and performance.
Low copper absorption in cows, combined with low copper content in pasture easily results in deficiency. Copper is key for proper immune development and deficiency can mean cows are more susceptible to infection.
Cobalt is required for the synthesis of vitamin B12, which is essential for energy metabolism, fibre digestion, and immunity. With our soils generally high in manganese, cobalt uptake by the plant is restricted, resulting in inadequate cobalt levels.
Selenium is vital for immunity, milk production, reproduction, and calf viability. In general, pasture tends to be low in selenium and fertilisers do not sufficiently correct this.
Iodine is essential for energy metabolism, milk production, and reproduction. Not only is pasture uptake of iodine usually low, it is also easily leached in wet spring weather.
Zinc levels are commonly low in pasture, but this trace element is required for production, reproduction, animal growth, long-term hoof health, and immunity.
Efficient mineral dosing
While dusting and water dosing is common, we know that mineral supplementation through feed systems is the most effective way of getting minerals into your cows, whether through an inline feed dispenser or mixer wagon.
It’s important to note that not one single feed provides the perfect balance of macro and micro minerals, of which adequate levels are vital for optimum production, successful mating, and pregnancy maintenance. Investing in pasture and feed analysis is the most accurate way to ascertain mineral and trace element levels in your herd’s diet, resulting in an effective mineral supplementation plan this season.
Chris Balemi is managing director of Agvance Nutrition
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its…
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content…