Research from Cornell University has demonstrated that your cows could be achieving an extra 1.9kg/day over the first eight weeks of lactation just by changing to Zinpro Performance Minerals.
With the average milk price in Ireland currently running around 35c/L, you could be losing out on around €1/cow/day extra revenue.
This response can be achieved from every cow fresh in lactation, after the introduction of Zinpro and equally as important, the animals achieved this response without eating more feed or by losing more bodyweight.
Currently, every extra litre of production is profitable, and now seems to be an optimal time to invest in technologies that enhance milk production.
More precision in formulation and better quality of the feed ingredients and trace minerals can make a difference.
Feeding dairy cows trace minerals from highly metabolically available sources can maintain high immune function and reproductive efficiency.
Optimised nutrient requirements
The latest recommendations for trace minerals published by NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine) have seen a move towards the performance levels that Zinpro has been recommending for the past 20 years.
Since the last update in 2001, Zinpro has continued to forge ahead and conduct research to find what nutritional solutions are best for dairy cattle health, welfare and performance.
Each trace mineral, especially zinc, manganese and copper, plays an important role in the overall health of dairy cows.
- Zinc is responsible for protein synthesis, horn formation, immune function and insulin function. It is the primary mineral that helps dairy cows develop a rapid and robust response to immune challenges so they can utilise nutrients for milk production and maintenance;
- Manganese helps cartilage formation, immune function, progesterone and energy production;
- Copper is critical for killing bacteria, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production, iron absorption and metabolic function.
These trace minerals are dosed in mg/head/day, so farmers should ensure they are utilised as effectively as possible, minimising the need to overfeed, while maximising intestinal health and performance at the same time.
Traditionally, we classify two forms of trace minerals – organic and inorganic minerals.
To optimise the uptake and performance, it is important that the source of trace minerals supplemented are water soluble, stable, absorbable, and metabolically available.
Zinpro Performance Minerals are unique trace minerals where one metal is attached to one amino acid (1:1) that allows the metal to be absorbed more than other forms of trace minerals.
This 1:1 complex is water soluble, stable and not affected by dietary antagonists, and is uniquely absorbed through the amino acid transporters.
Zinpro Performance Minerals are absorbed like amino acids from the gut. This means that they are readily available to the cow.
The result is less minerals excreted in the manure and more retained in the body, offering dairy producers a better return on their investment.
Formulating trace minerals for the modern-day dairy cow
With over 50 years of research, Zinpro has defined the optimal levels and combination of trace mineral supplementation to achieve the best performance from dairy cows.
As a result, the combination of zinc, manganese and copper included in Zinpro’s proprietary Zinpro Availa Dairy formulation are optimised for the modern-day dairy cow.
When fed at the recommended feed rate, no other trace mineral source on the market can match the improvements in health, performance and ultimately profitability.
Research
A study at Cornell University determined the effect of replacing part of the inorganic trace minerals (hydroxychloride) with trace minerals from Zinpro Availa Dairy on health and production outcomes.
This study has shown that partially replacing a proportion of the zinc, manganese, and copper from inorganic hydroxychloride sources by an equal amount as Zinpro Availa Dairy resulted in:
- Increased milk yield by 1.4kg/cow/day;
- Improved offspring growth through weaning by 0.19kg/day;
- Reduced the services per conception by 0.4 serves;
- Lowered incidences of metritis (100%) and ketosis (42%);
- Improved metabolic adaptation.
Feeding modern-day cows is all about precision and optimising nutrients to get the best return on investment.
Zinpro Availa Dairy contains trace mineral sources that are metabolically available and better meets dietary requirements and gives a strong return on investment.
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