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Cow Mineral Nutrition During Late Gestation

By Adele Harty
 
The Range Beef Cow Symposium was held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, November 28–30, 2017. This event is held every two years and rotates between Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Colorado to provide applied, educational information to producers and educators. The two-and-a-half-day symposium is filled with multiple 30 minute presentations that address various topics affecting the beef industry including reproduction, nutrition, health, marketing, climate, etc.
 
Study: Trace Mineral Nutrition During Late Gestation
One presentation of particular interest to me focused on the trace mineral nutrition of cows during the last 95 days of pregnancy and the resulting impact on their calves. The study was conducted at Oregon State University (Marques et al, 2015) with three treatments; Control, Inorganic, and Organic trace mineral supplements. The Control treatment was not given a trace mineral supplement as the feeds provided were sufficient to meet NRC requirements. The Inorganic treatment contained sulfate sources of Cu, Co, Mn, and Zn. The Organic treatment was an organic complexed source of Cu, Mn, Co and Zn, specifically Availa-4 by Zinpro. The Inorganic and Organic Treatments provided the same levels of the trace minerals; Co-2.16 ppm, Cu-20.7 ppm, Mn-74 ppm and Zn-64 ppm. These levels are above the NRC requirement.
 
Findings
The results showed that cows fed the Organic treatment weaned calves that were 53 lbs heavier than the Control and 28 lbs heavier than the Inorganic. The advantage of the Organic was also evident with improved calf health and a lower percent of these calves requiring treatment for bovine respiratory disease in the feedlot. Finally, when comparing carcass weights of the three treatments, the Organic treated calves had a carcass weight that was 42 lbs heavier than control and 20 lbs heavier than Inorganic.
 
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