Minerals...

[pdfangus]

I believe that using a good quality loose mineral is beneficial....
I do not use the most expensive stuff I can buy or the latest miracle cure.
I like a mineral that has as close as I can get to a 2-1-1 ratio of Calcium - phosphorous - magnesium as a base
if you provide that regularly then the need for hi mag formulations is eliminated as the cows with not be deficient.
the other minor elements are going to vary a bit with geography but the good national brands will probably be pretty much the same across the country. bioavailablity and form is as important as absolute quantity....

 

[Lucky_P]

Tim,
I'm not a nutritionist, but do know enough to say that...mineral supplementation/needs are LOCAL.
What's needed or works for me here in southern west-central KY is not necessarily the same as what you'd need there, or what someone in Montana or Idaho might need for their livestock.
Local soil mineral content and predominant forage base have significant effect on presence and availability of certain minerals/micronutrients.

Website below recently brought to my attention - has trace mineral soil levels by state & county...
http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/aver ... tydata.htm

 

[dun]

It may be like elephant repellent, haven't had one around since I started using it. I think it actually helps. The guys that don;t use minerals around here have frequent breedback issues, retained afterbirth (when they do get one pregnant) and abortions. Could be other issues in their managment, but it's pretty reasonable cost for insurance.

 

[Bigfoot]

A local feed mill here sells a mineral that is "supposed" to be customized for my area. I have never researched it, and hope they are right, because that's what I use. It changes seasonally as well. More mag when needed. I have tried to track what I spend on mineral. I know I missed a few reciepts etc. along the way. It is a shocking amount of money, I know that. I know it's important, especially for reproduction, so I don't mind rolling it out. I would add, my cows seem to be crazy about it. Try not to let them run out, but things happen. They will run you down for mineral, and consumption will be up for a few days after running out. They must know they need it. Only place its available is in my catching pen to.

 

[TexasBred]

It's hard if not impossible to find a mineral made specifically for one area although some companies will at least try. What my needs are here may be totally different than the man less than 30 miles across the country. Just a personal opinion but I think those minerals that push the 12% phosphorus are really doing us all a disservice as cattle simply do not need that much and phosphorus is one of the most expensive items in a mineral. I too use one that is basically a 2:1 cahos ratio but don't need the high magnesium level so 1-2% mag is adequate. All the minerals are important and should be in there in adequate amounts. Many people completely overlook the level of vitamin supplementation which can also be critical. When looking at ingredients I look first for the organic minerals which will be designated as amino acid complexes, chelates, and proteinates. If they are not there as a portion of the minerals I won't buy it. Then I look for sulfates. The last thing I want to see is oxides although you seldom can get around it but 90% of them will pass through the cow and at least fortify the soil I guess. Yeast in a mineral is a total waste of money to me but it looks good on the list of ingredients. Little more than tag dressing as mosts yeast products begin to deteriorate the minute the bag is opened and most are not included at a rate to be of any benefit. Lastly is price. I can see no reason any mineral should cost over $30 a bag other than everybody involved is making a killing off it before you can get it retail. A typical mineral selling for $27.00 a bag ($1080.00 a ton) cost about $500 to manufacture so you can see the huge markup. I mentioned phos is expensive $675 a ton, calcium on the other hand is $32 a ton and there is a lot of it in the mix.

 

[NolanCountyAG]

The company that I buy my feed and mineral from, sends a nutritionalist out several times a year and does an analysis on the forage and water of the pastures that I'm grazing at the time. He runs all of results through spreadsheets he's built to determine what amount of mineral needs to be consumed on a daily basis. Mineral is out free choice year round. There are times when minerals in the forage may get low that we will either add to my mineral mix or add the deficient into the cubes I feed. The data that I get from the nutritionalist has really been beneficial. You might check with feed companies in your area and see if they can do this. This company doesn't charge for this but even if they did I think it would be worth it.

 

[TexasBred]

The company that I buy my feed and mineral from, sends a nutritionalist out several times a year and does an analysis on the forage and water of the pastures that I'm grazing at the time. He runs all of results through spreadsheets he's built to determine what amount of mineral needs to be consumed on a daily basis. Mineral is out free choice year round. There are times when minerals in the forage may get low that we will either add to my mineral mix or add the deficient into the cubes I feed. The data that I get from the nutritionalist has really been beneficial. You might check with feed companies in your area and see if they can do this. This company doesn't charge for this but even if they did I think it would be worth it.

His cost is built into the mineral.

 

[NolanCountyAG]

That might be true but I pay the same as everyone else. It's just up the customer to use the resources that they offer. They don't advertise that they offer the nutritionalist.

 

[DallyCash]

We feed roughage buster 80 from moorman's during the winter cutting it most of the time with plain salt, from time to time we cut with trace mineral salt. I have recently read about VitaFerm's Concept mineral to aid in conception. We were thinking about cutting the Roughage Buster with the VitaFerm this winter. Any thoughts on that? am I going to run into issues with too much something? :?: or are we crazy and just need to stick to one thing and quit changing it up?

 

[pdfangus]

I just bought a new bag of mineral that is basically a 5- 1 - 1 calcium phos mag ratio

giving it a try....

need to add that all stock on my place...cows horses and goats get the same mineral....some get it free choice and some get it mixed in the daily feed.

the equines also get a little bit of dried kelp and a supplement from blue seal called sunshine plus....very similar to calf manna. trying to build Petes hoof strength but he still has soft feet.

 

[TexasBred]

We feed roughage buster 80 from moorman's during the winter cutting it most of the time with plain salt, from time to time we cut with trace mineral salt. I have recently read about VitaFerm's Concept mineral to aid in conception. We were thinking about cutting the Roughage Buster with the VitaFerm this winter. Any thoughts on that? am I going to run into issues with too much something? :?: or are we crazy and just need to stick to one thing and quit changing it up?

Always possible. I'd stick with one or the other rather than a mix of two.

 

[TexasBred]

I just bought a new bag of mineral that is basically a 5- 1 - 1 calcium phos mag ratio

giving it a try....

need to add that all stock on my place...cows horses and goats get the same mineral....some get it free choice and some get it mixed in the daily feed.

the equines also get a little bit of dried kelp and a supplement from blue seal called sunshine plus....very similar to calf manna. trying to build Petes hoof strength but he still has soft feet.

Jim see if you can find some Zinpro ProCare 4 to add to the feed. This should help with the feet although the results are not immediate.

 

[pdfangus]

Thanks TB....

web site say available thru vets.

I sent off an e-mail request to a couple of local vets requesting a prescription or assistance in getting it...

 

[cowgirl8]

This is the first year we've used Wind and Rain with the fly stuff, started feeding it in Feb. ......Flies, so so..they come and go. Not as bad as years past, but still have some flies.
BUT, BUT, someone answer this. Out of everyone i've talked with, grasshoppers have been as bad as years past. We had them terrible last year. The ground seemed to move as i shredded. This year, you have to search for a grasshopper. Over our entire place its the same. I'm wondering.....could the stuff that controls the flies also filter over to the grasshopper eggs on the ground? We've fed a ton of that wind and rain.....if it also controls grasshoppers, how great would that be..

 

[NolanCountyAG]

It might be doing something to control the grasshoppers. I personally don't like IGR in my minerals because of the hit the dung beetles take.

 

[TexasBred]

It might be doing something to control the grasshoppers. I personally don't like IGR in my minerals because of the hit the dung beetles take.

Altosid is dung beetle friendly. A cow patty hardly has time to dry before the dung beetles have taken care of it on my place.

 

[cowgirl8]

Last year we lost so much grazing to the grasshoppers, if Wind and Rain controls them, i'd be happy with a few other bugs. If we had the grasshoppers like we did last year, before the rain we got the other day, we would have had nothing left. What is also so nice is, when i go out to check cows, i dont get pelted by grasshoppers in the face. Last year i was tempted to wear face gear.
We have just enough grasshoppers this year, that when i'm shredding and one flies out in front of me, a kite swoops down and eats it. They circle above me waiting and waiting....

 

[TexasBred]

Last year we lost so much grazing to the grasshoppers, if Wind and Rain controls them, i'd be happy with a few other bugs. If we had the grasshoppers like we did last year, before the rain we got the other day, we would have had nothing left. What is also so nice is, when i go out to check cows, i dont get pelted by grasshoppers in the face. Last year i was tempted to wear face gear.
We have just enough grasshoppers this year, that when i'm shredding and one flies out in front of me, a kite swoops down and eats it. They circle above me waiting and waiting....

After the rains stopped here it looked like we were going to ahve a huge number of grasshoppers for awhile but they thinned out. Still have a few but nothing like the "plague" we've had the past two years.

 

[BobbyLummus1]

Sometimes I wonder how much I get from what I spend on mineral . It adds up over the course of the year . I'm sure some will challenge this , My cows have free choice mineral on hand all year . My neighbor never has put out anything other than the red mineral blocks and has a nice operation

 

[pdfangus]

Sometimes I wonder how much I get from what I spend on mineral . It adds up over the course of the year . I'm sure some will challenge this , My cows have free choice mineral on hand all year . My neighbor never has put out anything other than the red mineral blocks and has a nice operation

well certainly it is not easily quantifiable at the farm level without a structured research program....
And cows are remarkably resilient and adaptable to the conditions of their environment.....
but if you have ever had a mineral influenced problem and lost cows and or calves then you would never question the value of good minerals.
the prevention of one cow dying of grass tetany will pay for a lot of mineral....
nothing much more diheartening than to hear a baby calf balling for it s mama who died over night....
been there done that....and it was not on a shoestring outfit....but it was on an outfit that was on the wrong mineral program....mineral was real good on paper but the only problem was the cows would not eat it....