Not all cattle mineral supplements are the same, says Adele Harty, South Dakota State University Extension beef specialist.

“It’s important to read labels,” she says. It will help you get determine if you are getting your money’s worth, and if your cattle are consuming the appropriate amount.

Some key things to look for are:

Salt amount, type
If a product contains 10% salt, you won’t need to add more free salt. With a 10% salt product, a cow will consume 3-4 ounces per day, which is an adequate daily intake. Mineral supplements that contain less than 5% salt are considered mineral concentrates, with cattle consuming approximately the recommended 2 ounces per day. If you are using a mineral concentrate, you should provide free choice salt.

Some salt products have trace minerals added. Frequently, you hear ranchers say they are using “blue cobalt” salt blocks as the salt source to cattle.

”On multiple occasions producers have told me that use blue cobalt blocks to prevent foot rot, but cobalt does not play a role in immune function and likely is not helping decrease foot rot in the herd,” Harty says.

Perhaps “blue cobalt” blocks are being confused with the copper sulfate blocks, which are also blue. Although cattle need cobalt, the “blue cobalt” blocks may not be the ideal source of salt for your operation.

Due to the potential for iodine deficiencies in the Northern Plains, providing iodized salt is critical. This can be strictly as iodized salt or a trace mineralized salt, which will contain other key minerals such as cobalt, copper, zinc and magnesium.

Bioavailability
Look up a supplement’s ingredient list to determine the type of mineral used in the supplement. Not all sources of minerals have the same bioavailability to the animal. For example, you could be spending extra money for a high copper mineral, but the copper is being provided by copper oxide, which is only 15% bioavailable. Therefore, the mineral tag may show that the supplement has 5,000 parts per million Cu (copper), but the cattle will only utilize 750 ppm (15%) because it is supplied as copper oxide. On the other hand, if tribasic copper chloride is a source of Cu, its relative bioavailability is 115. That means Cu is 15% more available to the animal than that in copper sulfate, which is used as the standard (100%). A product with tribasic copper chloride will provide more Cu to the animal than a product with copper oxide or copper sulfate.

Inorganic vs organic
Mineral sources are divided into two groups: inorganic and organic. Inorganic minerals will be less expensive, but are also typically less bioavailable than their organic counterparts.

Generally speaking, inorganic sulfates and chlorides are more available than oxides and carbonates. The exceptions to this are zinc oxide and magnesium oxide, both of which have a bioavailability of 100.

Chelated minerals are those that are bound to an amino acid or other organic molecule, and their bioavailability exceeds 100. If animals are stressed or mineral antagonists are present in large amounts, the extra price paid for chelated minerals may be justified. “Chelated minerals will provide more value to cattle during weaning or other stressful periods, but their cost will likely exceed the benefits in a standard mineral program,” Harty says.

Many companies formulate minerals for specific regions, or are willing to develop custom formulations for ranches. If you choose to use a mineral that has been formulated for a region, reading and understanding the feed tag becomes more critical.

For more information on mineral programs or custom mineral formulations for your ranch, contact Adele Harty at 605-394-1722 or [email protected].

Source: SDSU