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Health & Nutrition
Minerals. Are they needed?
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<blockquote data-quote="cjmc" data-source="post: 1410310" data-attributes="member: 27842"><p>And now we have gone full circle! Again, I feed mineral because the research shows it helps (at least it has in my area). But the differences between some minerals are so marginal you would probably need 10,000 HD of cattle to tell the difference between them. So I think the only way to say this one is better than that one is just to form an educated opinion. I'll go through my thought process on VitaFerm vs. Purinia Avila 4 (same Phos levels). </p><p></p><p>VitaFerm- Roughly $35/bag. Organic trace minerals, high levels of vitamins and it has aspergillus oryzae in it (AO-to improve feed efficiency) 4oz intake/h/d. Cost /h/d $0.175. </p><p></p><p>Purina Avila 4- Roughly $32/bag. Organic trace minerals, less vitamins than VitaFerm but still more than requirement. No AO. 2oz intake/h/d. Cost/h/d $0.08. </p><p></p><p>Why I would choose Purina over VitaFerm-why in the heck would I pay almost $.10/h/d for a product that the only difference is it has an AO, which research shows doesn't always work. Even if it did work, Rumensin is way cheaper & it does the same thing. Heck corn is only $3/bu or $0.05/lb If i wanted to spend $.10/h more on my cows to get more energy I would just feed 2 more pounds of corn. It would do them a heck of a lot more than that AO. Yes, my cows won't get as much Phos in them because the Purina's intake is only 1/2 of VitaFerm but summer phos levels in the grass are high enough it would be fine. In the winter I would feed a 0% Phos because I feed WDG. </p><p></p><p>Now that example was easy for me because the differences were extreme. The more similar the products get the harder it is to make a decision & the smaller the difference in your bottom line would be.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cjmc, post: 1410310, member: 27842"] And now we have gone full circle! Again, I feed mineral because the research shows it helps (at least it has in my area). But the differences between some minerals are so marginal you would probably need 10,000 HD of cattle to tell the difference between them. So I think the only way to say this one is better than that one is just to form an educated opinion. I'll go through my thought process on VitaFerm vs. Purinia Avila 4 (same Phos levels). VitaFerm- Roughly $35/bag. Organic trace minerals, high levels of vitamins and it has aspergillus oryzae in it (AO-to improve feed efficiency) 4oz intake/h/d. Cost /h/d $0.175. Purina Avila 4- Roughly $32/bag. Organic trace minerals, less vitamins than VitaFerm but still more than requirement. No AO. 2oz intake/h/d. Cost/h/d $0.08. Why I would choose Purina over VitaFerm-why in the heck would I pay almost $.10/h/d for a product that the only difference is it has an AO, which research shows doesn't always work. Even if it did work, Rumensin is way cheaper & it does the same thing. Heck corn is only $3/bu or $0.05/lb If i wanted to spend $.10/h more on my cows to get more energy I would just feed 2 more pounds of corn. It would do them a heck of a lot more than that AO. Yes, my cows won't get as much Phos in them because the Purina's intake is only 1/2 of VitaFerm but summer phos levels in the grass are high enough it would be fine. In the winter I would feed a 0% Phos because I feed WDG. Now that example was easy for me because the differences were extreme. The more similar the products get the harder it is to make a decision & the smaller the difference in your bottom line would be. [/QUOTE]
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