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FIELD NOTE:
The benefits of good mineral supplementation are easy to determine, especially when they effectively eliminate or control clinical deficiencies in a dairy herd.
Some of the most common conditions where a dairy cow will display clinical symptoms are hypocalcaemia or milk fever, hypomagnesaemia or grass staggers, and facial eczema, with most New Zealand dairy farmers experiencing at least one of these in a season.
The majority of farms will have a plan in place to increase mineral supplementation during the busier times of year, in order to prevent or control these clinical conditions. However, good mineral usage throughout the entire season could also effectively combat sub-clinical issues, which will often be reducing production and lowering fertility without any physical symptoms at all.
While blood tests may identify deficiencies, by this point milk production may have already been compromised during the peak production window and a cow’s health may be affected for the rest of the season. This emphasises the importance of not underestimating the value of minerals as a preventative rather than a cure.
This season the Southern Dairy Hub (SDH) have been using Vitalise pelletised mineral supplements on their research farm, exploring the benefits that come from supplementing nutrients through in-shed feed. While they have always supplemented Calcium and Magnesium in the past, through water sources and dusting through calving and mating, this is the first time they have explored pelletised mineral supplements, pre blended into their silo feed. So far they have seen many improvements, such as an increase in production which they attribute to having more time on farm to focus on feed efficiency.
The fact that they no longer have to dust to ensure every cow receives enough nutrients means they save are saving time, staff are much happier, and their blood test results are showing that the cows are maintaining good levels of Calcium and Magnesium. They have also said that it is easy for them to adjust their mineral dose rate through Clarkes Seed & Feed, based on the time of the season, so that the cows are receiving enough and then not too much at the right time.
While Calcium and Magnesium are the obvious nutrients required by dairy cows, there are also many others which contribute to the collective health and maintenance of a herd. Trace elements are extremely important in maintaining the overall health of the cow, and while we offer a standard blend to include the essentials as recommended by vets, we can also adjust these accordingly for your individual needs.
For example, increasing iodine amounts during your mating period to aid fertility, or adjusting zinc levels at the times of year when the risk of facial eczema increases.
When fodder beet makes up a large proportion of the diet it is important to ensure you're supplying your herd with sufficient all-round nutrition.
Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP) is an essential mineral supplement necessary to prevent low calcium and phosphate levels that occur with fodder beet. We can add this to any of our standard blends to ensure that any clinical or subclinical conditions that can be caused as a result of feeding fodder beet can be avoided.
Another product that we love using is Rumenox. There are many benefits to Rumenox; it helps a cow’s rumen function better, adjusting fermentation to a level that's more beneficial to the overall health of the cow.
Vitalise will effectively eliminate or control clinical deficiencies in a dairy herd.
Cows are more likely to stay in optimal condition which not only supports incalf rates and milk protein production but also protects against ketosis and bloat.
We have Rumenox available as a standard blend with our Calcium or Magnesium, and it can also be added to our trace element blends or a custom blend as requested by the farmer.
Vitalise is a versatile mineral supplement that is 100% utilisable, ensuring accurate dosing through in-shed feed, with the use of a mineral dispenser or by pre blending through your local feed company.
Our ethos is little and often, and the dose rate is easily adjustable to suit your dairy herds needs at different times during the season.
Our pelletised form and elemental structure means there's no wasted minerals or money; it could not be easier to ensure that your dairy cows are getting exactly the right amount of nutrients, all year round. Better yet, over the 10 plus years that we have been producing Vitalise, we have created a high number of custom blends based on farmer's requests or recommendations.
