By Peter Vitti

The calving season may be weeks away, but there is still time to make sure that your beef cows are eating enough minerals and vitamins.

In most cow-calf operations, a common practice is to feed commercially formulated mineral (with vitamins) for beef cattle in loose granular form. There are many different ways this mineral can be fed; from tubs to bunks to well-designed mineral feeders. In many cases, a calculated amount of mineral is set out and replenished once the cattle have eaten whatever was provided.

Unfortunately, this method of feeding mineral does not guarantee that all the cows are getting enough mineral, particularly at a time when good mineral consumption is particularly important -- just before calving. With some effort to monitor mineral intake, cattle producers can make some simple adjustments to make sure all animals are eating the recommended amount of mineral that meets necessary nutrient requirements for an upcoming calving season.

These essential minerals and vitamins might be required in relatively small amounts compared to the large energy and protein requirements of the pregnant beef cow, but they play many important body and reproductive functions before the cow calves and afterwards. It is conservatively estimated that a late-gestating cow has at least a 50 percent increase in her mineral and vitamin requirements compared to when she initially conceived during the breeding season.

The general recommendation to meet these nutrient requirements is to feed cattle mineral so that each cow should be consuming between 56 - 112 grams (re: 2 - 4 oz) of salt-free mineral per day. If salt makes up at least 25 percent of this mineral, one should adjust suggested mineral intakes accordingly.

The calculations to determine how much mineral your cattle are consuming on a daily basis are straightforward:

1. Record how much mineral was initially provided (2 x 25 kg bag for 150 head).

2. When the mineral is almost gone, record the # of days fed (i.e: three days) and subtract any amount left over (3 kg).

3. Repeat the procedure each time mineral is put out for a week to ten day period.

The final calculations should look similar to this:

It is normal for daily mineral consumption to vary amongst cows in a beef herd. Furthermore, when new mineral is placed, consumption is usually higher than expected, but after a few days should return within given limitations. In contrast, producers should be concerned when mineral consumption falls outside of the recommended mineral guidelines (re: 2 - 4 oz/head/d) for considerable periods of time (re: several weeks to a month).

There are many options at a producer's disposal to correct a mineral consumption problem. It is a common practice to mix 1/3 salt with 2/3 commercial cattle minerals to either increase or decrease the amount of mineral that cattle are consuming. In recent years, adding distillers' dried grains or dried molasses at four to five percent of the mineral has also become routine to stimulate mineral intake. In many cases, when mineral consumption is high, it is a good idea to review the rest of the cattle diet and insure that an overall balanced ration for beef cows is fed.

Some mineral consumption troubles are not product, diet or cattle related, but due to the way the mineral is managed. The stocking rate of mineral feeders and their location has been implicated in many problematic herds. A rule of thumb is to provide a mineral feeding station for every 25 - 30 cows, and locate mineral feeders near (but not too close to) a water source. Cattle mineral should also be checked on every couple of days, never allowed to harden like concrete and whenever possible, kept out of any adverse weather conditions.

Good mineral consumption by pregnant beef cows sometimes is as simple as feeding well-balanced cattle mineral and never allowing their mineral feeders to go empty.

Peter Vitti is an independent nutritionist, having worked in the Western Canadian livestock industry for two decades before global warming was blamed on our cows.

For this story and more, pick up Manitoba Agriculture's Agripost News at www.mysteinbach.ca/newscentre/agripost.