I have written several times about Canadian studies documenting the importance of copper, selenium and other trace minerals, and their impact on health and reproduction. Although clinical disease can occur with severe deficiencies of these microminerals, many of the effects of deficiencies are not clinically obvious and may just result in lower productivity.

Two areas often affected are cow fertility and the ability to mount an adequate immune response.

A recent study published in The Bovine Practitioner adds some more information on this important topic. The study was conducted at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory and used its database from 2012 to 2021. Researchers downloaded 857 beef cattle and 638 dairy cattle cases that included both a liver trace minerals test and a post-mortem diagnosis.

This study differs from others I have written about because the animals examined had died. This is a very different population than sampling healthy cows within a herd.

The populations also included a wide range of ages, from calves to cows. The study focused on three important trace minerals: copper, selenium and manganese.

One of the most striking results is the drastic difference between beef and dairy cattle. Copper deficiency in the liver was found in 33 per cent of the beef cattle and five per cent in dairy cattle. Selenium deficiency was evident in 45 per cent of beef cattle and five per cent in dairy cattle. Manganese deficiency was the only one more common in dairy cattle, at 32 per cent compared to 17 per cent in beef cattle. Overall, 73 per cent of the beef cattle in the sample had at least one trace mineral deficiency, compared to 45 per cent of dairy cattle.

Manganese deficiency was more common in dairy cattle, but less is understood about this mineral, including the difficulty in establishing normal levels in cattle.

This observation was somewhat expected because beef cattle often rely on free-choice minerals throughout much of the year, while dairy cattle are typically fed a total mixed ration that includes a trace mineral package. The authors noted many dairy cattle may have been over-supplemented with trace minerals, as many cows were above normal levels in copper and selenium.

Trace mineral deficiencies linked to illness

The second objective of this study was to evaluate associations between the cause of death determined by the pathologist and trace mineral status.

Results showed beef cattle that died of bovine respiratory disease were more likely to be copper deficient. This could mean copper deficiency is affecting the immune system of these animals, but the study cannot claim it “causes” bovine respiratory disease. Respiratory disease is infectious, but the authors established a relationship between the two factors in this population.

The study reinforces previous work showing beef cattle herds are more prone to trace mineral deficiencies. This may be due to a reliance on free-choice mineral intake or to complex interactions with elements such as sulphates or molybdenum, which can cause secondary deficiencies that beef cattle are more exposed to.

Trace mineral deficiencies are complex, and their impact is not always obvious.

As cattle come off pasture this fall and winter feeding begins, it may be a good opportunity to work with your veterinarian and nutritionist to evaluate your herd’s trace mineral status. This may involve taking liver biopsies or serum samples from a sample of cows and submitting them to a diagnostic laboratory for trace mineral levels. Feed and water testing may also be necessary when planning your winter feeding program.

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Therefore, many producers might be compromising their cows’ reproductive performance. Many of these cows often fail to return to active estrus and fail to get rebred and finally become pregnant. Rather than go down this wrong road, producers should review their current mineral-vitamin program and choose one that drives successful reproduction.

Before I make any recommendation to producers as to what kind of mineral-vitamin feeding program is a good choice, most people should conduct a body assessment of each cow and calved-out heifer.

I advocate that all nursing animals should maintain a visible cow’s body condition score (BCS) of five to six (out of 10) by calving, which should be carried on to the end of the breeding season. Such adequate BCS has been research-proven to return a higher proportion of fertile beef cows compared to thin cows (BCS less than four) to active-strong estrus by 80 to 90 days postpartum. Strong estrus should result in highly successful conception rates.

Most mineral and vitamin requirements of even the best-bodied nursing cows and heifers soar as they return to active heat cycles in preparation for conception during a short 60-day breeding season. Postpartum cows’ calcium needs increase by nearly 100 per cent, while phosphorus, magnesium and trace mineral demands grow by 50-60 per cent, and the need for fat-soluble vitamins more than doubles.

For example, the requirement for manganese is about 400 milligrams per day per cow. Known to be involved in enzyme systems that drive follicular/egg development, a lack of dietary manganese is proven to lead to inactive estrus, or “silent heats.” Given that Canadian prairie grasses often contain less than 20 mg/kg manganese, the need for manganese supplementation in a typical cowherd diet is necessary.

In order to assure manganese and other essential mineral/vitamin requirements are achieved, I recommend a “breeder” cattle mineral be fed from calving and throughout the upcoming beef breeding season. Consequently, this type of special cattle mineral is a specific complement of macro-minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium) as well as a high level of trace minerals in particular copper, zinc, manganese and selenium, fortified at the best concentrations as well as in highly bioavailable chelated forms. Once these macro- and trace minerals are consumed at three to four ounces per head daily, they are designed to reach the cows’ digestive tract, where they are quickly absorbed, efficiently metabolized and highly retained to build optimum mineral status.

I have met many producers who believe in feeding such a breeder cattle mineral after their calving season is done — but some of them modify it to tackle specific nutritional mineral issues such as “grass tetany” on lush pasture.

In these cases, this breeder mineral can be formulated with four to 12 per cent magnesium and fed during the high-risk period of the first two to three weeks of the grazing season. Other producers I’ve known have added extra copper to the same breeder mineral to combat secondary copper deficiencies caused by excessive amounts of copper-binding molybdenum found in their pasture grasses.

All such types of well-balanced cattle minerals/vitamins should be placed in proper mineral feeders and be accessible to all cows. The feeders should be protected from rain, wind, sunshine and sometimes defecating cows. I am the biggest fan of a two- or three-compartment durable heavy-duty plastic feeder with a fixed metal bar in the centre, which secures a weather-proof rubber flap.

The best ones have notches moulded into the base to bolt it down on top of a truck tire and keep it out of water and mud. Then, two bags of mineral and one bag of salt can be poured into the separate compartments and checked every few days to be cleaned and refilled.

A few springs ago, a friend of mine bought two brand-new blue mineral feeders with the black rubber flaps. He operates a 100-cow red Angus herd and routinely feeds a breeder mineral fortified with extra organic zinc in order to strengthen hooves of the cow herd by the breeding season.

The offbeat thing is that he used to feed this cattle mineral in the trunk of a wheel-less 1962 Oldsmobile found in his yard. He would put out three bags of mineral each week in this way until one day the cattle abruptly stopped eating it. That’s because a fox gave birth to her pups in the back and prevented cattle from sticking their heads in.

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Most of the time, we simply forget it’s present when we provide loose cattle mineral on pasture. However, when it’s not there in the required amounts, or somehow gets biologically tied up, we eventually find out.

That’s why it’s important that cattle eat a well-balanced, zinc-fortified mineral in order to prevent any zinc deficiencies.

Most commercial pasture cattle minerals are formulated with about 10,000 mg/kg zinc to be fed at rates of at least 50 grams per head per day. Such predicted intake covers the National Research Council recommendations for dietary zinc in most classes of beef cattle. Factors such as age of the animals, growing and production status, stress and disease challenges are taken into account and often call for additional zinc to be added to cattle mineral.

Such trace amounts, compared to other essential nutrients, show us just how powerful zinc really is in beef cattle nutrition. For example, an average beef cow requires about one kg (2.2 lbs.) of crude protein per day to cover biological functions: vital body maintenance, producing milk, growth, immune function, reproduction. On the other hand, 500 mg of pure zinc equals 0.7 grams of zinc oxide, which gets lost at the bottom of a small teaspoon.

The odd thing about zinc is that it often works side-by-side with crude protein (and other essential nutrients) in the metabolisms of beef cattle. That’s because it’s scientifically proven to be part of more than 300 of their enzyme systems (specialized proteins that trigger chemical reactions in the body), and therefore is involved in energy metabolism, protein synthesis, DNA functions and the internal workings of cattle immunity.

Here is what we should expect from feeding zinc at recommended amounts to beef cattle:

Strong hooves

Because zinc is part of specific enzyme systems involved in epithelial (skin) formation and repair, feeding extra dietary zinc is thought to strengthen cattle hooves, particularly under harsh field and housing conditions.

A few years ago, I was working with a beef producer who calved out about 150 cows. Many of these cows seem to have very soft hooves and had a higher incidence of foot rot on pasture. Therefore, I formulated a loose mineral with four grams per head of zinc-methionine. It could have been coincidence, but fewer lame cows were treated by the end of that summer.

Good immunity

One particular field study showed zinc-methionine supplementation in spring calves enhanced their immune response to vaccination. The study was conducted on calves no more than two months old — when their colostrum immunity is in decline and their permanent immunity is not yet fully developed.

In this way, a Colorado study showed about one-third of pre-conditioned weaned calves were still getting sick after they were shipped to feedlots. This high incidence of morbidity was traced back to poorly formulated cow-herd mineral lacking sufficient dietary zinc and other important trace minerals.

Reproduction

Zinc plays an essential role in many of the average cow reproductive functions such as strong estrus cycles, improved conception rates, normal post-partum uterine involution and reduction of metritis. In the bull pen, zinc is essential for sperm production and circulating male hormones such as testosterone. A study at Kansas State University demonstrated that viable sperm counts in Angus bulls increased by one-third when bioavailable chelated zinc was fed.

Such positive responses were due to feeding more bioavailable organic sources of zinc — namely zinc-methionine. Subsequently, ruminant scientists will tell you that competitive inorganic zinc sources are still biologically active, but their supplementation in cattle mineral often doesn’t elicit a response due to many compounds that may bind them up in the cattle diets. Zinc-methionine, on the other hand, retains its high biological activity because it cannot combine with other systematic compounds.

Regardless of the source, there is no doubt as to zinc’s essential role in beef cattle nutrition. But zinc is only part of any well-balanced cattle diet, which must also contain other essential nutrients such as energy, protein, other minerals and vitamins. Plus, they must all work together to promote successful health and performance in beef cattle.

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First, I walk along the bunk and look at the cows that are eating — and look over to the cows lying in their stalls. I’ll also pick up a handful of lactation diet and pick through it.

In these short five minutes, these observations give me a ballpark idea as to how much lactating diet is being eaten on an as-fed and dry-matter intake basis.

When the dairy producer walks with me, I often fine-tune these observations by asking specific questions about the cows or something about the diet. By getting a handle on the dry matter intake of the lactation barn, I am really getting an idea of the amount of dietary energy intake that drives milk production — which in most cases is almost a perfect correlation.

With the advent of more robot milking systems, the dry matter intakes of lactating dairy cows have dramatically increased, and milk production follows along. For example, I can design a PMR (partial mixed ration) to be fed in the bunk at 50 kg on an as-fed basis (25 kg, dmi) and another five kg of robot pellets fed at the milking stations.

As a result, the dairy cows are cleaning up about 30 kg of actual feed on a dry matter basis to produce 40-45 kg of milk per day. Such intake and performance were really unheard of 10 years ago in the traditional parlour milking systems.

Whether lactating cows are milked in a parlour or robot barn, high-quality forages have always promoted high dry matter intakes. The science is simple: more kilos of a well-balanced lactation diet tend to pass through the cows’ rumen, because its fibre portion tends to be more efficiently digested by the resident rumen microbes, which also speeds up its rate of passage throughout the whole digestive tract. Naturally, there are many chemical restraints in the rumen that kick in along the way, which also help maintain such good rumen function.

Based on these broad-based nutritional principles, here is a set of dairy barn suggestions that in my experience help achieves optimum feed intake among lactating dairy cows.

Set up a close-up dry cow feeding program

Close-up dry cows (three weeks before calving), which consume about 12 kg of dry feed daily, have been shown to have greater DMI as early lactating cows and fewer post-partum metabolic problems.

Promote good rumen fermentation

Typical rations for lactating dairy cows should be formulated to contain 19-21 per cent acid detergent fibre (ADF), 28-32 per cent neutral detergent fibre (NDF) (with 75 per cent coming from effective forage fibre) and limitations of 35-42 per cent placed on non-structural carbohydrates.

Know DMI and as-fed intake

A weekly schedule of DMI and as-fed intake of the lactation herd, as well as the moisture content of the diet, should be recorded. A friend of mine, who milks 350 dairy cows, measures their DMI and as-fed intake every few weeks and their dietary moisture levels about once per week. In doing so, he has significantly decreased the incidence of ketosis in his fresh cow group.

Formulate healthy rumen diets

Feed a portion of the grain that has slower rates of starch digestion, such as grain corn, to prevent acidosis. Avoid feeding too much bypass palm fat. Make sure to limit feed unpalatable feed ingredients. Lastly, check forages and grains for visible mould and other contaminants.

Use a direct-fed microbial (DFM)

I often formulate a DFM into lactation diets. It contains bacteria, grain and forage enzymes and yeasts, which have been shown to improve feed digestibility and prevent sub-acidosis rumen acidosis. Fed at 10 g per head per day, it costs about 25 cents per head per day.

Most of these suggestions take time to implement, but sometimes it only takes five minutes of common sense to promote dry matter intake in lactating dairy cows.

At one farm I visited recently, the bunk ration seemed to be very dry. All it took was adding 100 litres of water to the PMR that helps increase its consumption and subsequent milk production — just a little bite.

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